Social media is PR’s lovechild. We cherish it. Why?
We get to speak directly to consumer and media without jumping through hoops. We get to post images and have our say.
Traditional PR was to write up a press release and pitch it to journalists. The better the story and the pitch the better the pick up by media.
If there was no pick up what happened then? It was a wasted story or perhaps all it got was a mention and it was gone, having had it’s brief moment of glory. With social media, this story can now take many forms and with editing and re-purposing it can reach a wider audience in different forms. You have control of what’s communicated and how, plus we can track metrics.
Social media should therefore be at the forefront of all businesses PR strategies. It is a sure fire way to get you more sales and you will find customers you didn’t know existed. Plus, it’s basically free and the social media marketing arena is a fairly even playing field with equal opportunities for all types of businesses.
Follow these simple yet effective tips to start up or improve your business’ social media:
1: Develop a social media strategy:
In order to benefit from your social media, you need to have clear goals outlined of what you want to achieve from it before you go about changing it. For example, is your main aim to get your brand’s name out there and increase customer awareness, or are you hoping for it to aid you with market research, by finding out more about your customers, and prospective customers? Once you have decided on your goals, you can then create and develop social media strategies to achieve them.
2: Edit content for different platforms and think about how each campaign can be used across different platforms:
Produce suitable content. Good campaigns become great when they are developed across various social media streams, however choose a realistic number of platforms as your soapbox, spreading yourself too thinly will only lead to poor quality.E.g: Develop the campaign with visuals which can be posted via Instagram and Facebook.
Make a video series which can be broadcast via YouTube. Get a business angle and post on LinkedIn. Whatever platforms you are using make sure the content is suitable.
3:Think of every PR campaign in terms of online longevity:
4: Re-purpose quality content:
Smart bloggers and journalists know that writing is a commodity. It costs time so it’s worth recycling but with relevance. E.G: you ran a blog post about who you are and what you do. A few months later you launch a new product, or you have another news story. Go back and dig out the piece on your introduction, edit it for brevity and include it or link it to your new story. Do not re-post old posts because that’s just lazy.
5: Regularly update your social media:
There is no point putting in effort to launch a successful social media campaign if you are not going to keep it up. In order to keep your social media ”alive”, you must consistently update and add to it. If your blog, Twitter or Facebook page is not regularly delivering new content to followers, then they will more than likely lose interest and the whole campaign will simply have been a waste of time and resources.
6: Make use of visuals and extras:
In the technological age which we live in, there is no excuse for simply relying on plain text. Use images, videos, web-links and uploads to add life to your social media profiles. This will help capture people’s attention and hopefully attract new customers. It will generate interest and if you can include images of your business or a logo it will help your brand stick in people’s memories.
7: Use it as a platform for improvement:
Don’t delete customers complaints from you social media channels. Instead, focus on what you can do to turn these complaints into compliments. Constructive criticism can be invaluable in the long run and social media is the ideal outlet for customers to share their views and opinions, no matter how strong they may be.
8: Engage with your customers:
Social media is often the only way you can reach out tot the people keeping your business alive. By running promotional offers or competitions via social media, you are engaging with your customers, encouraging loyalty and hopefully attracting new customers along the way! It is also often much more time effective to communicate with customers via social media, whether it be responding to inquiries or dealing with complaints, as most people now have smart phones with social media applications downloaded onto them.
9: Refer back to your goals and track your progress:
There is no point setting goals if you are just going to leave them by the wayside after deciding upon them. The best way to get the most out of your social media is to track what you have achieved in terms of your stated goals. This way, you will know what is working for you and what isn’t. Measure content consumption as well as engagement rates to track just how far your social media strategy has come. This will establish where there is room for improvement as well as leaving you with a feeling of accomplishment.
10: Get with the times and join the Social Media movement :
By refusing to acknowledge that times have changed and social media is the way forward, you are cutting yourself off from a whole range of opportunities and avenues that could potentially transform your company! Just because you are lacking in computer skills does not mean you can just let social media pass you by, that’s what your PR company is for. Do not delay as you can be guaranteed that your competitors are up to date with social media and are reaping the benefits.
Contact Food PR today at 091 385600 or email [email protected]
