In the past decades, public relations professionals used to give a statement on air. They also used to release their statements in print or publish it online. But now, the trend has totally changed. There comes a tool that has disrupted the field, making public relations a faster-paced and more delicate matter. And you know what? This tool is none other than the SOCIAL MEDIA.
Now, you do not need to choose best press release distribution service and send out the press releases and then wait for the media to write about you. There is no need to wonder how you can integrate social media with public relations. Don’t wait for the media to write their story. Because organizations are now choosing the Social Media to share those stories.
This is a fact that a good small business marketing strategy uses a number of different components. These components are:
- Public relations
- Social media
- Email marketing
- Blogging
- Online ads
All these factors mix in some form. Sometimes, these different factors tend to overlap. This is especially true in the case of social media and public relations.
There are many ways in which you can use social media to support and enhance your public relations. Let’s discover them.
- Always use Social Sharing with Press Releases
The first method to enhance your public relations is to include Social Sharing with Press Release syndication service. If you are going to write a press release, just find out a way to support and extend your message through SOCIAL SHARING!
Nowadays, there is a trend that is common in journalists. They usually depend on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other platforms to source and research the stories. So, by using social media, you can share your story socially. You get a chance to meet them where they are instead of interrupting them in their inbox.
For example, you want to share a story about a charitable contribution. The best way is to use Social Media for this. You can translate it very well to video (building up your YouTube channel). Or you can use the medium of info graphic that fans can pin, tweet and share from Facebook or any blog.
Back in year 2014, the marketing team at Halogen Software made every story visual and made it social. The company added social components with a Twitter campaign. It also used an info graphic and a blog post.
- Use Customer Case Studies and Create Social Campaigns
The second method is to create social campaigns around customer case studies.
There are many public relations teams that create customer case studies to highlight the successes. They also build credibility by this. In fact, there are several customer stories that really make a good write-up. But we cannot deny the fact that most people do not like to invest their time reading long-form articles. So, if you want to create social campaigns around customer case studies, the best way is to pick out the key facts from the client’s success story and highlight those across the board.
“The stories become powerful when told through the right social channel”
The American multinational technology company used video to share a story about how their technology is making a difference in people’s lives.
- Publish your Story on LinkedIn
Develop the habit of asking the executives to publish on LinkedIn.Nowadays, LinkedIn is a good place to develop and enhance your public relations. It can be considered as a starting point because it is the leading social platform for professional networking. So, if you ask executives to share and publish the stories on LinkedIn, it will be a good start.
- Offer Expert Opinions in Real Time
Try to give expert opinions in real time. Because expert opinions really make an immediate impact on your audience. So, never miss out this opportunity!
Like discussed above, social media platforms offer thousands of potential benefits for improving public relations strategies. So next time when you send out your new press release, don’t forget to promote it on social media.
