New blog, new staff appointment
Tony Balasandiran
Flowers Communications Group (FCG) recently launched its new weekly blog, BLOOM (http://www.flowerscomm.com/bloom/) to contribute thought leadership and best practices to the constantly evolving social media landscape, particularly as it relates to multicultural communications and consumers within ethnic segments. Building upon social media work FCG already is doing on behalf of its client partners, BLOOM will provide a new space for the agency to share resources and information, insight on key moments in time, and spark discussion on hot topics, breaking news and other issues of the day, from a public relations perspective.
The launch of BLOOM comes at a time when multicultural audiences are becoming more social media savvy and engaging online through networking sites, search engines and other mobile and interactive technology more frequently. According to a recent Pew study, African Americans are more likely than any racial or gender group to use Twitter or another status update service. Likewise, research conducted by AOL Latino shows that Hispanic consumers continue to be the fastest growing segment in the Internet, outpacing the general market by double the frequency.
“Our goal as a company is to continue to employ strategies and resources that benefit our client partners and contribute to best practices within our industry, so the launch of BLOOM is a logical and timely next step for FCG,” says Michelle Flowers Welch, president and CEO.
In addition to BLOOM, FCG also has made other enhancements to its social media capabilities with the appointment of Tony Balasandiran to New Media Specialist. In his new role, Balasandiran will develop and lead the agency’s social media initiatives, explore new and existing opportunities on behalf of clients, and help establish a stronger presence among the growing ethnic segments in this space.
“I’m personally passionate about this ongoing evolution of interactive engagement, and through my new role at FCG, am excited about contributing to sound thinking and new ideas on behalf of our clients and agency,” says Balasandiran.
As the company continues to grow, FCG prides itself on providing opportunities for its staff to do the same. Balasandiran is a great example of how the agency was able to offer an employee an opportunity to develop a deeper professional skill set, through a personal passion point. To support his role, FCG also is infusing social media resources into its overall staff training and development program, so like other key areas such as media relations and program management, each of its employees is equipped with the necessary tools to take the agency and its clients to a new level, with creative thinking and innovative solutions.