Social media has revolutionized how people communicate and how many businesses reach consumers. It has transformed public relations by providing PR with new tools to directly engage with consumers and other stakeholders. Still, many PR pros struggle with how best to use social media.
“It’s amazing to step back and realize that social media, as such, barely existed a decade ago,” says Rosemary Plorin, president and CEO of Nashville-based PR and marketing firm Lovell Communications. “As ubiquitous as it seems today, in many ways, we’re still figuring out the implications, both good and bad.”
These tips from experts can help PR take full advantage of social media.
Match formats to channels. PR can transform information to a format that’s best for a particular social network. Images are ideal for Pinterest and Instagram. Short videos are fine for many networks, but longer ones are better for YouTube. Infographics can contain statistics that fans can pin, tweet and share from your blog or Facebook. When you create customer testimonials and case studies, interview customers on-camera. You can share the video on YouTube and then share the best quotes on Twitter or Facebook, explains Maggie Patterson at Social Media Examiner.
Be brief – not boring. Some networks, like Facebook and Tumblr, do allow you to post entire press releases. But don’t do it. Rewrite it without the jargon, stock quotes and meaningless phrases. Write it as if you’re telling a friend why your announcement is important.
“The last thing you want to do is simply take a press release and post it to a social network. It’s much better to tailor your announcement in a human way for each social network your audience will care about,” Muckrack CEO Greg Galant told Forbes.
Jump on the news. Through newsjacking, PR can inject its brand into breaking news coverage. Tweet or post about a breaking news event with an established hashtag. Many brands prepare to newsjack major events; others believe watching for everyday news events related to your brand is more effective.
Reach out to bloggers. “Blogosphere is the perfect link between social media and PR, as bloggers are active on social media and many of them are closely monitored by journalists,” writes Ann Smarty, brand manager at Internet Marketing Ninjas, for Entrepreneur.
Blogger outreach techniques include submitting guest posts, providing expertise in interviews, sending products for reviews, and holding an exclusive, on-site event for top bloggers.
Recognize the limits of social media. Face-to-face personal relationships with journalists are vastly better than social media connections. In addition, relying on social media as your only PR crisis communication tool can be disastrous. It’s essential to provide a real spokesperson for media inquiries during a crisis. “Some of the worst crisis PR in recent months occurred when companies defaulted to Twitter to handle press inquiries,” writes Jim Crawford, president of Crawford PR. “Media went berserk and wrote about their frustration in trying to find a live human to answer questions.”
Bottom Line: Social media has transformed public relations for both good and bad. Although many PR pros use social media, they frequently simply transfer old methods to new channels. Such methods don’t take full advantage of the power of social media. These tips and ideas can help PR pros use social media to its full potential.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
“PR can transform information to a format that’s best for a particular social network.” Choosing an appropriate social media and extension are really difficult problems.