You won’t have failed to notice the fact that social media is incredibly important these days and a very powerful tool when it comes to PR. So you won’t come across many companies that don’t have a Facebook page or a Twitter account. It’s easy to get carried away with social media as most people are very comfortable with the concept these days, but for anyone updating their Facebook or Twitter account on behalf of their company, it’s imperative to stop and think about what you are writing and how this may be perceived. Social media is a great tool which allows companies to get their messages across without having to rely on other forms of media and this is an extremely positive development; making PR campaigns easier to launch and spread. But now more than ever, companies need to be aware of what they are using their social media for and how they will come across from it. Social media has the power to publish to millions of people so if your updates are defamatory, offensive or in any way inflammatory, this could have a devastating effect on your reputation. And the thing about social media is that once something has been unleashed onto the World Wide Web; it’s there for all to see, for a very long time. A PR agency can confidently deal with the meltdown of a company’s reputation but the best way to always ensure positive PR is to not let the meltdown happen and to always think before you hit the publish button.