Case Study: American Red Cross

An organization as large and influential as the American Red Cross inevitably attracts lots of online attention. A few hundred comments appear every day and the organization recognizes that any and all of them can carry meaning and weight. To understand what is being said, Wendy Harman, the organization’s senior associate for new media integration, reads all the posts and comments she can find daily. Even those with few readers or limited engagement are important because many of those are writ- ten by people who are as passionate about the organization as anyone, and all of them have influence with someone.

Monitoring hundreds of blog posts about the Red Cross is a key component of a public relation practioner’s work to identify influencers in online communities. Every day she uses online search engines like Technorati to find blog posts and comments about the Red Cross. Technorati has a ranking system, where a blog with a higher ranking indicates that the blog has many other blogs linking back to that blog. Yet, for the Red Cross, even a blog with just a few links can be important and influential.

Social media is changing the way communications professionals within the American Red Cross are conducting public relations. This new media channel gives the Red Cross the ability to connect directly with the public in a two way conversation. The ability to set up their own blogs and other social media websites is especially important for the Red Cross when working on disasters or more mundane matters.

Wherever people are publishing, be it a blog post, Facebook or Flickr, there’s a lot of passion about the Red Cross. Whether what is published is negative or positive, Wendy focuses on those who are passionate about the Red Cross to identify key influencers. Measuring passion is complex and requires more focus than just a ranking number.

The Red Cross’ social media initiative has more than met its initial goals. Online conversations are monitored and tracked, and the Red Cross has found its voice online and not only regularly engages in conversations, but also has paced itself at the hub through proactive social media campaigns and initiatives. The organization’s social media program has enabled the Red Cross to track sentiment about Red Cross related issues, respond to misconceptions when they emerge, and support praise for the Red Cross where it exists.

The Red Cross’ social media awareness strategy, made up of a variety of communication and collaboration techniques, is resulting in new levels of success with its stakeholders. By adopting a policy of connecting with interested and engaged influencers, the Red Cross is maximizing the public relations value of new social media tools.