Social media and publicity go hand in hand. In fact, they need each other in order to function most effectively. Intelligent and responsive community management for a brand will often help or exacerbate a PR crisis as it unfolds in real time. When a news story breaks now, it typically happens on Twitter. Broadcast news channels often refer to tweets as part of their newscast, media live-tweet events as they occur and TV stations put shows on the air with content exclusively based on social media. In short, it's all closely connected.
Oprah was recently passing through a number of cities on a speaking tour and one brand, David's Tea, was lucky enough to get endorsed by her on instagram. This example of celebrity seeding led to exorbitant amounts of press, generating a huge spike in sales, all from supplying one of the world's most powerful celebrities with a gift bag at an opportune moment.
Here are eight easy ways to ensure a traditional PR campaign is leveraging social media to help generate results online:
Monitor the conversion relating to your brand online
1.) Make time for a daily Twitter search of your client's name and key words associated with their brand. This will help you find out if any influencers are already engaging with your brand. For example, if it happens to be a soft drink, search for the brand name, along with "soda" and "pop". I found out that radio host Dean Blundell was a Dr. Pepper fan from watching Twitter, and was able to coordinate a special delivery directly to the radio station while they were on air.
Sharing is caring
2.) Once a print story has dropped, send it to the spokesperson with a friendly reminder for them to tweet or post the link, thanking the journalist and outlet for speaking with them.
Include social media information in interview confirmations and schedules
3.) When confirming an interview with a spokesperson or journalist, include the Twitter handle of the person they will be speaking to, provided they are on Twitter. This will help remind both parties that they could connect pre or post interview to further establish the relationship.
Document interviews with fun photographs to share online
4.) If you have facilitated a broadcast interview, take a photo of the spokesperson and the host of the show. Tweet it or post it to instagram, driving to the interview airdate to help remind viewers to tune-in. Send it along to the interviewee and kindly ask them to tweet it too.
Create key messaging specifically for use on social media
5.) If you are creating a key message document for an interview or event, be sure to include a section for 'suggested social media messaging'. Script a few potential tweets with all the relevant information, so it can just copied and pasted directly into Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. This helps spread the word, while making life easy for everyone involved.
Establish yourself as a resource for journalists
6.) Follow journalists who cover your beat on Twitter and keep an eye on the conversation daily. Media are often looking for sources and Twitter is the first place they turn to tweet out the request to their audience. If you are paying attention you just might seize a great opportunity. This profile on a friend of mine from The Grid was a direct result of a Twitter introduction.
Keep an eye on potential opportunities
7.) Subscribe to Help-a-Reporter-Out (HARO) and follow them on Twitter. This is an incredibly easy way browse through journalist inquires in real-time and see if any opportunities are a fit for yourself or a client.
Use video to tease your announcement
8.) Before sending the standard press release or media alert, consider using Vine or Instagram video to tease your announcement in a creative way.
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