The Power of Social Media | Halldin Public Relations

The Power of Social Media24 Mar

Five years ago, I would have watched a late-night basketball game featuring my alma mater, Northwestern University, in the quiet of my home – alone.

Last night, I tuned in to ESPN2 for its broadcast of Northwestern’s third-round National Invitation Tournament (NIT) game with a group of people who I had no connection to a year ago.

While we weren’t in the same room, we followed the game together on Twitter, as we did two weeks ago when Northwestern took No. 1 Ohio State to overtime in the Big Ten Tournament (losing there, unfortunately).

@NU_Broadcaster provided more than 80 tweets during the game, which ended with another overtime loss, this time to Washington State. Once again, we all experienced the dramatics that make alums like @NU_Broadcaster and I cringe and has earned the school the nickname Cardiac Cats.

“NU never ever ever ever ever ever wins in this scenario,” @NU_Broadcaster tweeted at a key moment. “Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” tweeted fellow grad @DavidAtHome.

@TSutt22 provided more than 20 tweets from his vantage point as a former Northwestern running back and experience with heartbreaking losses on the football field. He’s now a Carolina Panther (that’s Tyrell Sutton).

An official Northwestern feed called @NU_SportsLive provided minute-by-minute updates on the game, as it does for all Northwestern sports. And, though it’s an official university Twitter account, it isn’t impersonal or unemotional. When the game was tied with 0.2 seconds left and we were waiting for Washington State to go to the foul line, @NU_SportsLive could only say one thing: “I’m dying here.”

When the Washington State player improbably missed both free throws, @NU_SportsLive exclaimed: “We are going to overtime!!!!”

What does all of this have to do with anything?

In social media, as in so many things, it is what you make of it – building relationships and connecting with people.

Whether it’s something as important as the disaster in Japan, regime change in Egypt or as admittedly frivolous as a third-round NIT game, social media connects people and, in making that connection, enhances our experiences.

Proven Track Record of Delivering Results

Halldin Public Relations obtains widespread traditional media exposure for clients in national business, general-interest, trade and local media outlets all around the United States. And we advise and help manage social media efforts on behalf of clients.

Our diverse clientele are businesses, corporations, organizations and non-profits that must clearly and effectively communicate to their clients, stakeholders, the public and the media. They range from Fortune 50 to start-up companies to civic groups and government agencies.

In 2009, The Sacramento Business Journal named Halldin Public Relations one of the region’s 100 fastest-growing companies. The firm has been recognized numerous times in recent years for its notable client work, winning a number of awards from the Sacramento Public Relations Association for professional excellence.