Reading the social room with PR

Written by SOCIATE’s copywriting intern, Shanice Chrisel

 

PR has always gone hand-in-hand with networking – but with people now glued to their devices, trusty ol’ word-of-mouth conversations have been kicked to the curb as social media marketing takes over. Pair this with an ever-increasing value of online business profiles and you’ll find your business in a cyber-room that has suddenly placed social media at the top rung. 

 

Social media’s boom in the digital sphere is merely a bird’s call to PR agencies to divert their strategies and focus on the new-and-improved means of networking. 

 

Time is of the essence: Instant access to information is all people really want. Make it easier for your customers and clients to “know more” about you on the go by regularly updating your socials on your daily dealings. Club this with an up-to-date website and you’ve got yourself a killer combo – they’d always prefer to look you up instead of sending across an email.  

 

Mirror, mirror, on the wall: When you’re in the PR & Communications industry, your first impression matters. Most of your stakeholders will whip out their phones to conduct a quick analysis of your profile to ascertain your professionalism – timely, polite replies and a consistent colour palette are vital in maintaining a good brand image. 

 

Use DMs to bond: Instant communication has always been the cherry on the top when it comes to social media. Easy access to a company’s top chairs gives readers a sense of importance. Creating an online atmosphere that encourages questions will allow you to gauge their interests and ultimately, build a relationship with them. Since PR is all about mutual understanding, use DMs and your comment section to ascertain what tickles their brain – swooping in with a timely blog post that answers these questions will nab you an extra ten points. 

 

Navigating through a criss-cross data web: The law of attraction in the online community depends highly on engagement. Most of your employees are sure to have social media accounts of their own – use this to target a much larger group of people by politely asking them to promote your business online. The higher views your story receives, the greater number of customers you reach. 

 

It’s all about visibility: PR’s motive is to make your company’s dealings, the “talk of the town”. Incorporating PR techniques into your Instagram posts creates a profitable loop – if your social media posts are up-to-date with your daily happenings and gain traction, higher engagement is promised. Interested readers are then sure to Google your firm and when they like what they see, voila, a new client!

 

The social sphere is an ever-evolving platform – it may baffle some and exhilarate others. Nonetheless, for PR agencies, it works as a direct bridge into the minds of their target audiences. Don’t save PR strategies for press conferences alone, include them in your social media calendar and wait for the magic to happen. 

 

Wading through the ever-evolving social sphere is no walk in the park – contact our PR consultants at [email protected] if you’d like to ride the waves.