We Are Social joins CIPR advisory panel

simon.collister

In terms of stepping-up to the plate and tackling social media head-on, it’s fair to say, the PR industry has broadly lagged behind the wider digital, marketing and advertising sectors. Robin, our MD, sits on the IAB‘s social media council which has been in place for almost two years, and even the old-school IPA launched IPA Social six months ago.

The PR industry’s tardyness in waking up to social media is something Robin talked about last year and I addressed again my inaugural blog post when I joined We Are Social.

So I’m really pleased to be able to say that it seems the alarm clock has gone off for the industry, with its leading trade body, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), setting up an Advisory Panel to deal with social media and it’s impact on the PR industry.

I’m even more pleased to be able to say I’ve been asked to sit on the panel, along with a host of other luminaries, including:

I think it’s fair to say that the CIPR has gathered together some of the PR industry’s leading thinkers on social media and I definitely look forward to working with friends, ex-colleagues and new contacts to help address and shape the Institute’s policy guidance, education and training.

While the announcement has been largely well-received on Twitter a few leading PR bloggers have offered up more contextual opinions, with one PR academic suggesting that while overall the panel is a step in the right direction, ultimately it’s, “too little, and… rather too late”. Industry trade magazine, PR Week, has also covered the announcement.

As someone that has been pushing the CIPR towards greater engagement with online and social media since 2006, I say, better late than never.

When it comes to tackling some of the wider challenges social media has brought to the industry, such as the oft-debated issue of social media measurement or of ethical best practice, we’re looking forward to sharing our specialist expertise.