Social media has exploded in popularity over the past decade, and every day billions of people share everything from their work life to pictures of their cats at the touch of a button. For many people, social media is a vital part of their social interactions, meaning they spend hours a day scrolling through these sites. How can businesses harness this new social frontier?

The new connected generation
Social media enables businesses large and small to interact with customers in a far more personal manner than ever before. They can gauge public reaction to their business, creating customer awareness and loyalty in a matter of clicks. However, this can be a double-edged sword as customers can also reach you. Criticism and vitriol can also be thrown in a matter of seconds and may very well overwhelm unprepared businesses.

Managing reputation online
PR skills are invaluable for managing social media platforms, from content creation to handling negative feedback in a public arena. The potential for everyone to be a publisher at any time means a seemingly harmless post could turn into a public relations disaster in the blink of an eye. This positions social media platforms as the potential source of reputation risk as well as meaningful channels of communication.

Does this mean companies are better off steering clear of social media and sticking to traditional PR activity such as press releases? Although this will always be a vital part of PR, companies may be missing out on great brand exposure by ignoring the value ‘going viral’ can present. Storytelling is a fundamental part of PR and social media allows a campaign to be shared with a much larger and wider audience than ever before. Where you are speaking directly to your audience, rather than through a journalist, the tone and message will differ in order to be appropriate. PR expertise ensures you tailor your tone of voice and content to suit each platform and audience.

Going viral done right
Brand social media campaigns have the power to go big. Take Weetabix’s controversial baked beans serving suggestion, which was released earlier this year. The brand received a lot of backlash but was mostly good mannered and meant that millions were talking about their product. Even MPs in the House of Commons were giving their view! However, BrewDog’s ‘Strike Gold’ campaign, which promised lucky customers solid gold beer cans, was less well received. One winner used social media to point out that the can consisted of far more nickel than gold and was worth far less than the value the brewer had said, which led to media furore. Social media campaigns live and die on public reaction – Weetabix used humourous debate to spark conversation, whereas BrewDog was scrutinised by disgruntled customers.

How social media can save the day
Social media, when properly used alongside a PR campaign, can have tremendous results, making a greater impact. Trying to sell more of a product? Post eye-catching pictures on Instagram and use hashtags to draw in interested customers! Excited for an announcement? Show that excitement in a more personal way directly to the customers through dedicated posts! Social media doesn’t replace traditional PR but rather amplifies it and strengthens marketing campaigns as a whole, providing brands with an additional communication channel. It is a marriage made in heaven for earned and owned brand activity.

To see just how effective social media can be for you, contact Caroline Walker on 01732 779 087.

Thought leadership PR programmes are an effective way to create a recognisable profile for company spokespeople and raise overall brand awareness. They use an individual’s or organisation’s specialist knowledge to create influential advice and opinion articles for press. 

This approach demonstrates expertise to the press and prospective customers and in turn secures more media opportunities and drives new sales enquiries. It also dovetails with content marketing initiatives, turning ideas that can be used editorially into sales and marketing collateral and social media posts.  

Creating engaging content
Understanding your target audience is fundamental to success. As PR professionals, when we plan and pitch in content, we always consider how to engage several audiences – our clients, journalists and their readers. Our clients want to convey their business’ key messages, the media wants to attract readers and increase web traffic, and readers want to learn something relevant and commercially valuable. 

As with all editorial content, successful thought leadership PR, gets your message across without sounding salesy. It is written in a style and format fitting of the platform it is published on. Online content uses sub headers, bullet points and use images and video to express data. Print journals seek longer form articles written in more formal language written to a prescribed layout, whereas blogs and social media content can be chattier, pithier and make use of abbreviations. 

Choose the right topics 
It’s always best to stick to what you know well and what your target market wants to know about. When developing thought leadership concepts with clients, one of our first questions is: “What do your customers most frequently ask about?” This indicates how your current customers view you as a specialist, what they want to learn about and where there might be confusion or uncertainty. If your customers seek this information from you, it is likely prospective customers will too.  

Potential topics include:

• Raising awareness of an important industry issues  
• Developing insight and research 
• Sharing best practice and offering solutions to specific problems

Alone, this content may not secure editorial opportunities. To make content newsworthy, we give content a media angle. Tactics include exploitig calendar hooks and upcoming key dates, and reacting to the news agenda, positioning our clients as credible commentators on relevant stories. Of course, giving journalists an attention-grabbing headline also helps to secure column inches!

Demonstrate knowledge and expertise
To stand out from competitors and become a go-to media source, it is best to find niche subjects and be ready to own them. Not only will this build a recognisable profile with key media contacts, but it also builds recognition with customers and helps businesses to stand out from the competition.

As a thought leader, it’s vital to providing an original view point or add new ideas. If journalists are looking to add to a wider conversation they want fresh perspectives, likewise if a thought leader wants to introduce a new topic to the media, it needs to have compelling reasons to be given the spotlight. 

To raise your profile as a thought leader, contact Caroline Walker on 01732 779 087.

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We have spoken about how the media has evolved in the past year – Covid-19 has both accelerated some changes to industry practices and redefined others, giving journalists even less time and space to create. But what does this mean for PR and marketing tactics? The press release has been PR bread and butter since Noah built the ark, or at least since he told the newspapers he was building it, so does it still have a place in today’s fast-paced world? 

Journalists receive hundreds if not thousands of press releases every week, so it is inconceivable to believe they read every one. This may call into question whether it is worth spending time crafting a press release or whether there is another way to engage media in your story. Short pitch emails or phone calls successfully secure media interest, but we also firmly believe press releases should remain part of the PR toolkit, just not as the only tactic.  

It ensures everyone is on the same page
There are often multiple stakeholders that want a say in how news is released and messaged. A press release provides one central document that can be viewed and signed off by all parties. It also enables supporting web pages and social media accounts to be included and the right spokespeople to be properly referenced – having all the facts in one place is useful and can really help when a journalist is up against deadlines.

It helps build existing relationships
To stand out in a journalist’s inbox, we often condense stories into a couple of sentences that appeal to their specific interests, attaching a press release so they can look at the bigger story if helpful. When journalists get to know and appreciate that you will provide them with interesting stories and accurate information, they often request to be added to press release distribution lists. 

It can increase coverage results
Working as smaller and tighter editorial teams with a focus on content generation, regional and trade publications are more likely to run press releases as full articles. If they are carefully written and have a strong headline, a press release can be quickly adapted, so it is fit for publication. It’s a win for everyone as these titles get quality written content and brands get more exposure.

It can be passed on
Stories can be easily passed between journalists and content writers before being written up. The beauty of a press release is that your messaging remains consistent, with all key information and weblinks to hand for the write up. This also applies to wider marketing activity, once you have a press release written and approved, it can easily be shared with partners, stakeholders and internal teams for promotion. 

It can be shared easily
Publishing a press release online gives your business website updated content and can offer SEO benefits, it also makes it easier to share with journalists and influencers via social media. Increasingly, we reach out to journalists on Twitter or LinkedIn, which can be more informal and achieve an immediate response. From a media distribution perspective, a press release enables us to send out information to a huge range of press efficiently at the same time, which is hugely important for time-sensitive news.    

In the same way that a CV is not a job application, a press release is not a story. It is a tried and tested method of communication and is still widely accepted (and expected) by journalists when it comes to announcements. Tailoring your approach for specific media contacts still yields the best coverage results, but the press release certainly remains relevant for at least a while longer.

Discuss your next PR campaign with Caroline Walker by email or call 01732 779 087

From headlining seasonal events such as Christmas to dedicated awareness and national appreciation days, barely a day passes that doesn’t carry some significance. 

For brands, important dates can be used to make stories newsworthy – giving journalists an extra reason to write about a specific topic and use your spokesperson to lead. In wider marketing, it provides another opportunity to repurpose existing content, tap into trending hashtags on social media or launch a time-sensitive promotion that stands out in recipients’ mailboxes. 

Be selective
It’s easy to become overloaded as you try to tap into every calendar hook. Lack of focus can steal time and budget from marketing teams and bombard customers with multiple messages. Focusing on a few key dates spread throughout the year enables you to maximise resources, make a greater impact and establish stronger links to specific topics. 

Stay relevant
It can be tempting to jump on the latest trends and capitalise on interest surrounding big news stories and emerging social media hashtags. While it pays to be reactive on some occasions, it is important that the hook you are tapping into is relevant to your brand and aligns with at least one of your key messages. Building a recognisable brand means the stories you share must make sense to your audience and continue to add to your brand persona. Does it align with your corporate values or highlight your key message(s)? Can the date help you inform, educate or entertain your target market? If not, concentrate on other activities.

Boost existing activity
A lot of time and energy goes into creating content, and we’re great believers in getting as much mileage out of it as possible. In an age where the news agenda is constantly shifting, it pays to be flexible when launching your story but also identify multiple opportunities across the year to promote your material. For example, if you have launched a report looking at wellbeing, repurpose the content around mental health awareness days, giving you another chance to approach the media. 

Put it in the diary!
To stay on track, create a PR calendar highlighting important dates and fitting these in alongside planned launches, events and campaigns. This ensures you have enough time to develop assets and content and helps you to maintain a steady flow of activity across the year. 

Evaluate
It is worth looking at the amount of engagement specific calendar hooks have received in previous years, whether on your own platforms or in the wider media. Some prominent dates command media attention every year and gain momentum. International Women’s Day is a good example, while 8th March has been marked by UK business press for more than a decade, mainstream coverage has continued to grow since the #MeToo movement hit the headlines in 2017.

New awareness dates take time to establish, so coverage opportunities are likely to be limited in the first few years but should grow in reach year-on-year. If it is a cause particularly close to your brand, it can be beneficial to associate yourself with a date early on, fixing your connection in people’s minds and incorporating it into your brand’s identity – such as M&S’ partnership with Macmillan Coffee Morning. 

To discuss your brand’s PR calendar, contact Caroline Walker on 01732 779 087.