Earlier this month, I participated in the PR+MKTG Camp Seattle organized by Dan Greenfield. The event was well attended with a wonderful mix of marketing and PR leaders from the Seattle area, including Rob Brooks, PEMCO; Brad Nelson, Starbucks; Amy Bohutinsky, Zillow; and Greg Shaw, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as many others.

The PR+MKTG Camp format encourages interactive discussions. Attendees were divided into four groups called cabins. The cabins met to discuss a particular topic, led by two facilitators. After the breakout discussions, the cabins all came together and the facilitators shared the key takeaways from their specific cabin.

The discussions during the breaks were as interesting and informative as the official sessions. Below is a recap of the key takeaways from the sessions and discussions I attended.

Key takeaways:

• Social media is a tool that should be tied to specific objectives and integrated with other communication activities. Similar to a company Web site, engaging in social media is quickly becoming an expected marketing tool and may be used to serve multiple objectives within an organization. To that end, ownership of social media within an organization is not uniform. However, most attendees seemed to agree – success executing social media requires C-level support.

• Internal communication is critical. As individuals are engaging in social media, and the lines between personal and professional are increasingly blurred, companies are wise to ensure everyone within an organization understands the company’s business and communication objectives. By sharing information broadly within an organization, companies such as Zillow, are empowering  their employees to become effective, informal spokespersons.

• Communicators are still hungry for case studies that clearly articulate how social media demonstrated measureable results and contributed to ROI. Many questions from attendees centered on what tools are best for measuring social media activities. While there are a growing number of tools focused on measuring everything from engagement, influence and reach, consensus proved there is no silver bullet. The facilitators all agreed it is important to first determine what you want to measure then identify the right tool to track that metric.

While the information was not revolutionary, it was valuable to hear from other PR and marketing leaders on how they are addressing the common challenges of integrating social media into an organization’s strategic activities.

For additional perspective from other PR+MKTG Camp participants check out the event blog.