By Cassy van Eeden
There is more to maintaining an online presence as a PR
agency than there is to running a personal Facebook
or Twitter account. Below are some
hints and tips about running social media specifically as a PR agency.
Do: Put press
releases on social media
Relying on journalists to react to your press release and actually write an article
about it is a risky way to get media attention. Having a strong social media
presence can actually get you more media attention than simply sending a press
release to a newspaper.
“Keep in mind that journalists rely heavily on Twitter, Facebook and other platforms to source and research stories,” says
communications strategist, Maggie
Patterson. “When you share your story socially, you are meeting them
where they are instead of interrupting them in their inbox.”
Don’t: Be boring
While posting press releases on your social networks is a
great way to gain attention, it is important that there is more to your content
than just a long write-up.
“The last thing you want to do is simply take a press
release and post it to a social network,” says CEO of Muckrack, Greg Galant. “It’s much
better to tailor your announcement in a human way for each social network your
audience will care about.”
Do: Post rich
content
Social media gives you and your clients the unique
opportunity to share content that supports your PR efforts, rather than just
having a plain press release and a photo published. This includes infographics
and even videos.
“Video is often an excellent way to raise awareness about
news and announcements,” says Jamie
Carracher writing for Mashable.
Powerful visuals and interactive online campaigns makes the
information that you are sharing more exciting, and more likely to attract
attention.
Don’t: Just teach
clients the basics
Part of the service you may provide as a PR is to train your
clients with regards to using social media, especially as you have planned it
for them.
Moncur recommends that you educate rather than just train
your clients. “Clients should want to better understand why they are doing the
things recommended to them,” he says.
“Agencies that educate on the why – not just the how – will
be truly helping their clients while separating themselves from the
competition,” he adds.
Do: Be part of the
news
David
Meerman Scott, author of The New
Rules of Marketing and PR, says “In the old days, pre-social media, when a
news story broke, PR pros would send emails, faxes and make phone calls to
their list of reporters to announce their client is available to comment on the
story right away.”
He says that these days PRs need to inject ideas into a
breaking news story to reach buyers directly and generate “tons of media
coverage”. He recommends encouraging clients to blog about their take on the
news and to tweet using an established hashtag.
Don’t: Be vague
Moncur recommends being wary of over-using buzz words on
social media, particularly because it throws audiences off.
Robert
Wynne writes for Forbes saying
that PR agencies should rewrite press releases to exclude jargon, stock quotes
and meaningless phrases. He recommends writing “as though you’re telling a
friend why your announcement matters”.
Are there any other dos and don’ts that you can recommend to
PR agencies using social media? Let us know in the comments below.