The collision of social media and PR: why they work so well together
For quite some time, I’ve felt that PR is one of the most closely aligned industries with the web.
Why? Because the web has a huge demand for content and great PR is about developing interesting, relevant and timely content. I still believe this is the case, that’s why I was really pleased when Catriona Pollard, Director of CP Communications in Sydney and blog author of Public Relations Sydney, happily accepted my challenge of a guest post!
Social Media continues to be a hot topic so… enter Catriona…
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The collision of social media and PR: why they work so well together
By Catriona Pollard, Director CP Communications
While businesses have been using public relations for years to raise their profile and communicate with their target audiences, social media is still finding its place. Is it a part of IT, a part of marketing or customer service?
After 18 years working in PR, the introduction of social media to our strategies actually came quite naturally, mostly because PR and social media are incredibly similar.
Both offer two way communication between organisations and their target markets. They both provide a way to influence people and communicate with them. Simply, both are about relationships.
When you’re working with traditional PR, the media’s representation of a story can significantly impact on how the public see you, however if it is a positive story, the fact that it is written by a journalist makes the message even more credible.
There is always the risk that you can’t control what the journalist writes so then you consider going straight to the source – via social media.
Using platforms like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, you’re cutting out the third party and offering your messages directly. It is a much quicker, more direct route of communication to a very targeted audience who have chosen to engage with your brand on social media.
You can actually become the direct source of news about your company or brand by writing a blog and posting articles or media releases on your website, this can help raise your profile, increase your credibility as an expert in your field and all that fresh, relevant content being posted online certainly doesn’t hurt your SEO efforts!
Just as there is crisis management within a traditional public relations role, social media can also lead to some negative ‘press’ which is understandable when you have a platform that can become anyone’s soap box. A fear of what people might say about you in the public space is not a reason to avoid using social media.
In reality, people are going to say whatever they want about your company, the difference is whether you are already a part of the conversation with them giving you the chance to intercept and implement damage control before the conversations get out of hand.
Remember it’s all about two way communication.
[Note from Toby: This is a really important point from both a relationship growing point of view and a resourcing point of view. Don’t forget that, like in real life, if you start a conversation, you can’t just walk away from it…]
By using a combination of both traditional PR and social media as marketing tools you’re giving your business the greatest opportunity to be seen and heard by the audience that matters most to you.
About the Author
Catriona Pollard is director of CP Communications, a PR and social media agency which provides specialist media, traditional and online PR strategies that achieve positive media coverage, increased brand awareness and improved sales results. Catriona also writes the PR blog Public Relations Sydney.