Social Media Marketing
With the internet evolving at speeds faster than light, it’s hard to keep up with the times. PR techniques that worked perfectly a decade ago are now outdated. Television ads have nearly become a thing of the past, and now social media allows people to share articles and information instantly. A business needs to be ahead of the game to garner clientele, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the use of social media for PR.
Here are six quick strategies to make your social media PR effective:
1) Be brief but exciting.
Many social media sites – Twitter in particular – are fashioned around short attention spans. Your press releases and public relations posts have to be short enough for the impatient, and filled with enough content to be interesting. Meaningful posts are the ones that are shared on social media. Without content that strikes a chord with readers and potential clientele, your company’s social media profiles will fizzle.
2) Keep up-to-date on the news.
The best way to keep up-to-date is by seeing what trends are taking over social media. You can comment on them on your company’s social media outlets, as well as contact local reporters and hold news conferences to discuss the issue. Business is politics, and you’ll have to take firm roles if you want to be noticed.
3) Offer help.
One of the best ways to boost your customer base is by establishing yourself as a knowledgeable leader in your company’s field. Nothing is better for this than being helpful. Post links to tutorials as well as helpful advice. Know what questions people are asking and be prepared to answer them.
4) Avoid Facebook for PR.
Facebook can be good for advertising, but it’s not so good for PR. The website tends to be for connecting with friends and colleagues, as well as sharing different articles found on the web. Though this may sound like the ideal place for PR, many Facebook users – even if they are part of your clientele – aren’t likely to reblog serious news stories. If you have a funny advertisement then by all means, share it. But even the most engaging press release probably won’t get picked up on Facebook.
5) Live in the moment.
Sometimes a crisis of epic proportions will arise. Whether it’s a natural disaster or something that affects solely your business, you’ll need to respond to it. Social media outlets shouldn’t be your one place to respond, but they should be utilized. You’ll need someone on your PR team to man your social media accounts during the crisis, while another calls a conference to comment on the news as it develops.
6) Utilize videos.
Know about video management sites all over the web. Your company should probably have a Youtube channel, where you can post everything from press release videos, to new product lines, to tutorials. Some people find that watching a video is much easier than reading an article, and so you’ll pull in more clients this way.
Underestimating the powerful role that social media plays in PR is a costly mistake. By creating a plan that incorporates these successful strategies, your company can maximize its social impact.
Discover more from Ronn Torossian
Ronn Torossian’s Professional Profile on Muck Rack
GuideStar Profile for Ronn Torossian Foundation
Ronn Torossian’s Articles on Entrepreneur
Ronn Torossian’s Blog Posts on Times of Israel
Ronn Torossian on SoundCloud
