Michael Olguin

Michael Olguin, who heads Formula PR, ranked No. 1 on the Business Journal? 2008 Public Relations Agencies list, says social media is as important as any of the other services the firm offers, including co-branding, or cross-marketing, promotions and experiential marketing, which gives consumers a chance to personally sample or test products.

All of his 38 clients have an Internet presence, and 60 percent are engaged in such social media outlets as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace or YouTube, where users post personal videos, and Flickr, a photo-sharing site.

The decision to launch a social networking campaign depends on whether it? relevant to a company? ?ore customer,?or target market, Olguin said.

An example of an ideal fit is Los Angeles-based Pinkberry, a chain of frozen yogurt shops with locations in California and New York. Formula PR posts ?weets?several times a day for the company on Twitter.

?t might be something like the Jonas Brothers just popped into the Hollywood Pinkberry for the launch of new chocolate shavings,?he said.

While it? commonly perceived that social media appeals mostly to a younger demographic, Olguin disagrees.

?eople over 40 are getting more exposure,?he said.

Not For Everyone

He doesn? recommend it for all his clients, though, particularly those in the ?-to-B?or business-to-business category.

He used the example of Littler Mendelson, a national law firm with headquarters offices in San Francisco.

?ittler Mendelson would want bloggers who cover the legal-labor space, but not necessarily talk on Facebook,?he said.

Formula was launched in 1992, and has a staff of 52, including 27 at its local office, 12 at its New York office and 13 in Los Angeles. It had gross income of $5.65 million last year, up 38 percent from 2007.

Olguin is a firm believer that Internet media, whether it? social networking, online versions of print publications, or columnists and reporters who maintain their own blogs, is vital to his business. But he also concentrates his client roster on national firms, or locally based companies that are national.