And according to an Epsilon study, people are using social media for health reasons. Forty percent of online Americans use social media for health information, although engagement varies for many reasons. Patients often rely on doctor’s advice over social media and many simply do not have the time to engage frequently in social media. Trust was also a factor.  (And probably for a good reason – the NIH actually cited misinformation about health on Wikipedia as a crisis.)

The survey also pointed out something really important – that when it comes to social media, emotional needs are primary. Most people use social media for reassurance, support, and a sense of intimacy from people who are going through a similar experience.

This actually begs the question about how companies can get real value out of engaging with patients in the social media sphere. Should they be sharing information? Marketing to their audience? For brand awareness? That’s what a lot of health companies have been doing.  But that might be a wrong approach.

A handful of people are really getting innovative, and I think focusing on the right approach. That is helping people with their emotional well-being, just like traditional support networks work.

One innovative example is called the Buddy radio. Sidekick Studios in England designed a radio called Buddy that lets users broadcast their mood from a wireless device in their home to social media networks. A users can simply turn a dial on the Buddy radio to select how they are feeling, and the service instantly broadcasts their mood in real-time – via email, text, Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks. Caregivers and providers can get a real-time pulse on the patient’s emotional well-being, and respond as appropriate. This doesn’t even require the user to go online. The manufacturer is currently conducting a pilot study with the UK’s National Health Services.

Patientslikeme.com is an example of a strictly health social media network. It is just like it sounds – a community of patients, doctors, and organizations connected by similar health issues. They can talk to each other and feel comfortable that there are others with the same health conditions they face. There are many examples like this.

We know from studies that mental health status often plays an important role helping patients get through their health issues. Giving patients online support as they try to manage their health can have a tremendous payback in terms of outcomes, which are obviously tied to costs. This is important to pharma companies, insurers, hospitals and other health care stakeholders. These companies could get some real value by shifting their focus from marketing and sharing information to helping to support patients’ emotional well-being through social media networks.

The word “partnership” is defined generally by Random House as an “association” or “joint interest.” However, the American Heritage Dictionary relays a more specific and meaningful definition: “a relationship between individuals or groups that is characterized by mutual cooperation and responsibility.”

By its very existence, my position as Widmeyer Professor in Public Relations creates an association between the Widmeyer family, Widmeyer Communications and the West Virginia University P. I. Reed School of Journalism, where I teach. The money provided to endow the position affords research and professional development opportunities that otherwise would not be possible, and thus contributes to new knowledge and classroom enhancement.

Although monetary donations or sponsorships are welcomed in nearly any societal pursuit, they alone do not constitute substantive partnerships that offer intrinsic ROI. Instead, it is the relationship centered on mutual cooperation and sense of responsibility to effect positive change—not merely a joint association or interest—that make partnerships truly meaningful and robust. Such is also the case with authentic corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities.

My time at and exchange with staff and management at Widmeyer Communications exemplifies meaningful partnership and authentic CSR. The firm lives its dedication to education by putting its “money where its mouth is” and “walking the talk” to maintain meaningful support of and dialogue with our school. In doing so, they are living the principles they espouse and serving as national leaders who are actively working to bridge the gap between academe and the rapidly changing communications environment.

Of course, nearly all industries have been affected by the technological changes of the last decade or so. As a result, we’re blessed that our youth have so many nuanced professional opportunities they may pursue; yet most students have limited knowledge or understanding of their myriad options. I’ve found this to be true even in pubic relations, let alone in more obscure applications of math, science, economics or the trades.

Imagine if everyone who has donated time for his or her child’s elementary school Career Day would extend that largesse to help develop meaningful partnerships between their workplaces and other appropriate educational institutions, whether at the local high school, vocational-technical program, community college or university. Allowing students to hear specifics about various trades and professions and discussing how they might contribute to them, developing workplace shadowing or visitation programs, establishing short-term internships, volunteering to speak to classes, offering to serve on educational advisory committees or inviting teachers inside the organization—as Widmeyer does—to relay the latest challenges and best practices are all ways that individuals might demonstrate the mutual cooperation and responsibility for educating, mentoring and engaging the next generation.

Now imagine the impact of meaningful corporate partnerships—of mutual cooperation and responsibility—in areas beyond education: in public health, economic development, the environment and arts. There are examples to follow: Boston College’s Center for Corporate Citizenship lists Standards of Excellence in Corporate Community Involvement, along with case studies, supporting research and measurement processes. The latest standards and their rationale are discussed in an April 2009 center blog posting.

Such reflective and meaningful partnerships, like that of the Widmeyer Professorship, not only provide easily measured, or operationalized, benefits, but they also reap immeasurable rewards and lasting relationships far into the future. And, at its core, that’s what public relations is all about.

Through a class I took at Hopkins, I became aware that I had a passion for PR over all other forms of communication, and Widmeyer would be the next logical, challenging and rewarding step in my career.

In a class taught by Professor Marge Holtz, we were asked on the first day to think about target audiences. The professor declared that there wasn’t a single message or communications campaign that should be executed with the target audience of “the general public.” The class pushed back, but one by one, we realized that every message has a target constituency.

“What about a communications campaign on nutrition?”

“Yes, but wouldn’t the messages be different for mothers who plan meals for their entire family, as opposed to senior citizens who have different nutritional needs?”

“What about messages about safety? In case of something serious like a nuclear attack? Wouldn’t that be for the general public?”

“Even so, wouldn’t the messages be different for people who live in the city and those who live in a rural area?”

Once it became clear that we all need to adjust our thinking and start segmenting our audiences with tailored messages, the professor moved on to another favorite topic: strategy vs. tactics.

The class was challenged to come up with creative ideas about how to raise awareness for an upcoming event. Each classmate offered up creative ideas, but Professor Holtz interrupted and started telling us a story she called “the hot air balloon and the White House lawn.” The story is long and entertaining, but the gist is that it’s not always smart to make a big splash – especially if you’re not reaching the right crowd.

Professor Holtz’s class motivated me to pursue a career at a PR agency, so I could put to use the many skills I honed throughout that semester. I’m also thankful for many other lessons I have collected along the way.

Professor Hill’s class – spokesperson training – taught me that, ummm, I used to rely on the word “umm” a lot. We used Flip Video cameras all semester to strengthen our public speaking and message delivery.

Professor Weissman’s class taught me how to address barriers when communicating public health messages, and the importance of consulting research to ensure action is taken to reach underserved, low-income, hard-to-reach, and often high-risk populations.

Professor Falk’s class taught me what makes a survey statistically significant or when to employ qualitative audience research over a quantitative method. Thankfully, Widmeyer has an outstanding Research & Polling team that keeps me covered on all these bases.

I could go on and on about what I’ve learned at grad school, but instead I’ll wrap up with a closing thought.

Graduate studies can open new doors in one’s career and build a skill set that can be put to use daily in client services. To all young professionals (and curious Widmeyerites!), I encourage you to start the application process now. Valuable career lessons await.

The first has to do with accountability.  When a public thought leader (be it the First Lady or an NGO) raises an issue concerning the public good such as childhood obesity, the organizations (usually companies) who are pointed to as “the cause” will ultimately be perceived (and held accountable) by the public on an individual basis; each according to its deeds, so to speak.

Despite this fact, many times a company’s first instinct in times of crisis is to engage the debate at arm’s length – employing a trade association or industry coalition to carry the message.  A company’s stakeholders will ultimately reject this.  Especially consumers.  People are loyal to specific brands, not product categories.  They love particular companies, not sectors of industry.  And when questions arise, they want an authentic, first-person response.

This isn’t to say trade associations don’t serve many useful purposes.  They do.  But when it comes right down to it, each organization will have to answer for itself.

Which brings up the second point: The importance of experts.

Chances are that a company faced with a challenge has experts within its own ranks who have the answers to the key questions – and who probably know the subject far better than the detractors.  Most importantly, it’s a good bet those experts have already thought about the most innovative and intelligent solutions.

For us as communicators, developing and maintaining close relationships with the experts within our client or company is essential.  Combining an expert’s deep understanding of a subject with our communications expertise puts us in a unique position to help our organization reassure stakeholders using fact and substance.

In my experience, I’ve found the best way to gain the expert’s insight and be able to communicate an  organization’s accountability is by talking to the experts regularly; not just speaking with them in the course of scheduled conference calls or seeking them out when an issue emerges.

Rather, by approaching them at times when I don’t “need something from them right now,” I’ve found very rich conversations take place; ones that create transparency between us as colleagues (in most cases, they know as little about my work as I do about theirs), lay the foundation for a strong relationship and trust, and ultimately, enhance my ability to support the enterprise in meeting its immediate and long-term business objectives.

The sounds of “Happy Days Are Here Again” and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” are not likely to be sung anywhere in America today, and if they were, I think we would have to question the sanity level.

An article in the June 6 edition of POLITICO (“Pols turn on labor unions”) really hit home.  The article leads with how Republican and some Democratic leaders are sharpening their attacks on public workers and the unions that represent them saying they are “overpaid obstacles.”

Interesting.  While there are some shreds of truth in this, let’s look at the whole picture. And with that, I refer you to the most recent Pew Research data.   In their spring 2010 report, leading the way in terms of negative perception from the American public are banks and financial institutions with a 69% negative view.

Next in line are Congress and the federal government coming in with a 65% negative rating, and they are followed by large corporations at 64% negative.

By now, you are probably asking where does labor stand in terms of ratings.  Well, labor comes in with a 49% negative rating.  And, while that is nothing to brag about, it is 20 points higher than finance.

We all bear a huge burden in helping turn things around both domestically and globally.  And, business as usual is not going to work.  Not for business, not for labor and not for the American people. We need to work through a serious rethinking of our priorities, a redoubling around innovation and a new attitude that is built with honesty and collaboration.  One of the reasons for the high levels of negativity among the public is they are tired of being tricked, tired of the gamesmanship and backroom deals.

In 2008, we voted for “change that you can believe in.”  It is now 2010, let’s get serious.

Many people may believe that we now live in a colorblind society. Their daily experiences—where they work, shop, go to church—may even support this belief. But racial disparities still exist across the institutions that surround us—education, healthcare, the justice system and the business world. For example, whites are more likely than African-Americans and Hispanics to have college degrees and own their own homes. Minorities are more likely than whites to suffer from diseases, including cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. And among black males in their 20s, one in every eight is in prison or jail, according to the Sentencing Project, an organization promoting changes to sentencing laws and alternatives to incarceration.

I am proud that Widmeyer Communications is part of this initiative. With the launch today, 119 organizations from 29 states and the District of Columbia are receiving grants to confront racial issues and promote healing and reconciliation in their own communities.

They include non-profit organizations such as People’s Grocery, which is working to build a local food system in West Oakland, California. A low-income, predominantly African-American community, West Oakland has plenty of liquor stores, but currently no grocery store where residents can purchase fresh produce. People’s Grocery began addressing this problem by establishing community gardens and offering residents weekly “grub boxes” full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy ingredients. Along with cooking demonstrations and other events, the organization is working to improve health outcomes among families in the community.

Another grantee, the North Lawndale Employment Network will expand its U-Turn Permitted program, which helps formerly incarcerated individuals find employment. North Lawndale is particularly impacted by a large population of former offenders, most of them African-American, who return to the neighborhood after they are released from prison. The grant will help fund a curriculum that helps these men and women learn how to conduct themselves as well as addressing how local police perceive these residents.

And in Oklahoma, the Metropolitan Tulsa Urban League will implement a Tulsa Race Riot curriculum in local schools. The program will both educate students about the 1921 race riot, which currently receives little attention in Tulsa history classes, and teach conflict resolution skills.

The creation of online newspapers and blogs – HuffingtonPost, AmericaBlog, and TalkingPoints Memo – have provided instant reporting of breaking political and policy news.  Online news outlets have turned the 24-hour news cycle on its head by creating a vehicle for citizen journalists who can report in not just innovative ways, but instantly. Politico Ben Smith’s “running conversation about politics” breaks news all day delivering a summary to your in-box at day’s end. Social media has truly revolutionized the way the news is reported. An MSNBC producer recently told me that he reads his Twitter feed prior to his morning assignment meeting.

Traditional newspapers must constantly adapt to keep pace with this changing medium. Washington Post columnists like Chris Cillizza and Jonathan Capehart can turn directly to their blogs to influence the debate. Long-time Hill publications like National Journal have to cut back on journalistic mainstays looking to social media to keep-up. Mike Allen’s Politico Playbook has changed the way we get the news – many bypass the newspaper and coffee opting to read Allen’s digest “on the go.”

Everyone wants to be on television to advance their issue or cause, and the general rule was, first, get it in print. Then the tv producers start calling. To a certain degree, the rule still holds – but it’s not the only rule these days. I advise my clients that investing in social media gives you that competitive edge. Whether it’s hosting a Facebook chat, tweeting the news first, or blogging regularly – having a profile in the digital space provides just another vehicle for your message.  And people are listening on the other end – a whole online community of bloggers, followers, and fans.

Once fearing social media, I now embrace it. Its flexibility and ease is an important communications strategy. When I asked the same MSNBC producer about the next “it” thing? He didn’t know, but if he did, we all would be doing it, he said laughing.

Follow me on Twitter: @kristofere

This blog is cross posted on HuffingtonPost.

Stacia Tipton (ST):  What do we know about the new Haitian students?

Carline Faustin (CF):  We have about 1,000 students that have come in.  Most are from the upper middle class, they have a good education.  Many have been in the U.S. before.  Many attended tri-lingual schools (English, French and Creole).  They are of all ages, from babies and kindergarteners to beyond high school.  And they are living everywhere in the county.  They are living with cousins, family friends or sometimes with a parent.

ST:  How did Miami-Dade prepare for the students?

CF:  Before the children arrived, the Superintendent recommended that all counselors attend training.  We also set up a buddy system that paired the new students with a child in the school, so that the students could help orient them.  We sent out a survey for all the staff of Miami-Dade public schools to identify who could speak Creole and the different backgrounds that could be deployed to assist another school.

ST:  I saw that your office issued a press release within 24 hours of the earthquake with plans to collect donations and send volunteers.  What else should we know about the district’s effort to help Haiti?

CF:  We have a superintendent who is very motivated.  After the four hurricanes hit Haiti in 2008, he went to Haiti right after to help.  Then he made available some buses that the school system was not using.  Unfortunately, at that time nothing was sent because we were unable to find sponsors to pay for the delivery.  Just recently he went to Haiti because he was invited by the First Lady, and he came back with plans for a motor-school.  They have converted 10 buses into classrooms.  You should see them – they are beautiful!  We are hoping that through donations we can send those buses to Haiti.  The buses can be driven and be located where the needs are and children will have a place they can call school for awhile.

ST:  What are ways the Office of Public Relations supports Haitian students?

CF:  One is that we provide translations for all documents going home, so that parents, family or friends will be able to understand the message that the District is sending.  Then we have a radio program called Radyo Lekòl.  It is a 30-minute program, started maybe 25 or 30 years ago.  It airs five-days-a-week on WLRN, and then we have programs on local radio stations outside Miami.  I also have a hotline announced on the radio program every day.  I get a lot of calls from parents, who are not using the web, who are looking for resources.

Two other staff work with me.  We try to give as much information as we can to parents, so they get on board with what we call “parent participation.”  We want them to know what is expected of them, what is expected of the children.  It is our culture [in Haiti] that if you send the child to school, and he is dressed and had breakfast, you have done your part.  But here in the United States parents are expected to be part of the decision-making and work with the school.

ST:  You’ve touched on some of the challenges in working with urban immigrant students.  Are there other issues that districts need to consider?

CF:  I would say the #1 issue is finance.  As you know, we’re all in a crisis.  Here we are – we have about 1,000 children more than we anticipated.  Then we have the mandate of class size.  There’s no money to build more schools.  There’s no money to hire more teachers.  Also, because there was not a great need, the curriculum and content in the home language program was being phased out.  Last week our Superintendent went to Tallahassee with parents to make the case for more money, because we need money to serve these children properly.

ST:  How does the communications team help advocate for students?  What advice do you have for other districts or consultants?

CF:  The main thing for public relations is to keep the information out there.  Every part of what’s going on and affecting the school system is important.  It’s important to talk about the services the school system is providing, how the children are doing and even the not so good news.  Say you have a referendum, if the media and the community don’t know what’s going on; they are naturally going to say, ‘Why do you need more money?’

With the buses going to Haiti, we are very careful to explain to people that we are not taking buses from Miami-Dade public school students because that is taxpayer’s money.  We are taking buses that would be in the warehouses and no longer functioning.  We want to make that information clear because we don’t want people to feel like we’re asking for money and yet have things to donate.

I think our role is to keep people informed, to let them know what’s going on.  Once everybody is aware, they want to chip in.  That has been our experience.  The community has been such a tremendous help this year.  There has been an outpouring of money, donations and goods, whatever they can do to relieve the tragedy in Haiti.  And that’s good because it takes the community coming together to address these needs.

This is second in a series of thought leader interviews for widmeyer.com.

Additional resources:

• Superintendent Carvalho on NPR
• Dadeschools.net to Learn More or Donate
• Radyo Lekòl on WLRN

But what happens when the PR darling becomes your company’s biggest headache? When the new product misses production deadlines – or worse, doesn’t work like it should – CEOs find themselves trying to explain away the product that was supposed to provide profits for future years’ earnings reports. The company’s stock slides, the brand is tarnished and the CEO appears to suffer from “fools rush in” syndrome. Take for example these case studies from the energy and auto industries:

• Utility companies will forego talking about their biggest profit centers – usually older, less efficient coal plants – in order to highlight their green-tech products. For Oncor, a Dallas-based electricity provider, that technology is the smart meter, designed to make electricity delivery more efficient by providing real-time two-way communication between utilities and customers on their energy usage. The company has touted its recent installation of smart meters within its service territory, but is now receiving hundreds of complaints from customers who say the devices are inaccurately raising their electricity bills. The PR kerfuffle has escalated to the point that the Texas legislature is trying to stop the deployment of the new devices.
• Auto manufacturers frequently tout the benefits of their concept car, even though it hasn’t yet rolled off the assembly line. General Motors has practically deified the Chevy Volt since its introduction as a plug-in hybrid electric concept car in 2007, pointing to it as an answer to the company’s well-documented financial problems. But production delays and rumors that the Obama Administration would try to cancel the Volt program put significant doubt in consumers’ minds about whether the Volt would even be produced, much less help return GM to its former greatness. The Volt is now expected to debut in October, so it still has a chance to move the company to the forefront of the race for the plug-in hybrid market, but the ride has already been a bumpy one for GM.

What are the lessons for CEOs and PR practitioners?  Keep a skeptical eye on any new endeavor or product line, especially if it is outside the company’s core competencies. Whenever possible, don’t rest your company’s future on one concept; instead try to expand into several spheres of next-generation technologies within your industry. Build development and production delays into both your internal company timeline and the timeline that is released to the public. For new technologies in development, work to under-promise and over-produce when it comes to product capabilities.

Product innovation is a crucial part of ensuring future earnings for a company. But communicating innovation must be done cautiously and with a full understanding by a company that new endeavors create new risks. Overselling the new company gizmo in the short term can create problems that hurt sales and erode the corporate brand over the long term.

In any medium, the most engaging stories are the stories that are told through the eyes of interesting characters. Just ask a novelist, screen or television writer. Great characters are what creates a hit. Would a show like the West Wing have built such a loyal following of both liberals and conservatives without the likes of Jed Bartlet, CJ Cregg or Sam Seaborn? Not a chance. It’s hard to imagine that 30 million people would tune in every week to follow the minutia of the White House. The West Wing was just a device; it was how the characters behaved in that environment that created the fan base.

As PR messages are crafted, the strength of those messages can be built on the backs of the characters who are impacting the conversation. We can write great sounding messages but they will fall short without the strength of character. And it works both ways. Watching the Congressional hearings about the Toyota recall it’s hard to be as sympathetic for the company’s president Akio Toyoda when he makes the emotional appeal that his family’s name is on every car as it is to be sympathetic to Rhonda Smith, the retired social worker who choked back tears during her testimony about how her Lexus reached 100 mph on its own before slowing. Mrs. Smith’s emotional testimony personalized the Toyota recall and solidified the public relations disaster for Toyota.

So to create authentic PR it’s essential to look at the characters involved in our stories. A campaign for the National Association for the Self-Employed has a greater chance of success when we tap into the heart of the issues NASE is tackling through its members. As we work to help the Library of Congress get the word out about one of their amazing programs, it’s impossible to separate the programs’ impact from teachers and students. Telling their stories organically and authentically make Library of Congress programs enticing and valuable. Uncovering great characters makes the storytelling authentic and so becomes public relations that writes itself.