How to get started in social media. Learn how social media works with public relations and how you can use it to manage your brand and public persona.

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Social Media for Real-time Engagement

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Definition
 Social Media is a real-time approach to
communications and engagement
 Not a tool or technology

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How Things Have Changed
 Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is
developing a new definition of ―public relations‖
 More appropriate for the 21st century
 Crowdsourcing
 Suggestions from the public, PR
professionals, academics, students
 Three definitions under consideration

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How Things Have Changed (cont’d)
 The web puts power in consumer’s hands
 Consumer can easily find information
 Marketing key to customer engagement
 Sales becoming a tactical function

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You are Now The Media
 Immediacy has
changed news cycle
 Anyone can be
editor, photographer,
reporter
 Easier than ever for
PR professionals to
connect with their
audiences

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Today’s Media Relationships
 PR/reporter relationship has changed
 Reporters seek information/sources online
 Many have blogs and are active
on Twitter
 PR professionals have better
access
 Easier to gather information about
potential stories

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It’s a Two-Way Street
 Social media means the communication is now
a conversation
 Benefit from invaluable feedback
 Refine strategies and tactics
 Make deeper connections with target
audiences

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No More 9-5 News
 Social media never stops
 Consumers can connect at any time
 PR pros need to host the party:
 Maintain conversation
 Make new introductions
 Facilitate constant engagement

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Getting Started with
Social Media

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Listen
 What is your audience saying about your industry?
 What are they saying about your company?
 What are their worries?
 What questions are they are asking?
 Understand your audience;
build relationships that cater to
their needs.
 Tools:
Hootsuite, Beevolve, Keyword
Discovery, WordTracker

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Assess
 Should you join every social network?
 Where is your audience? Where do they
participate in social media? Where should
you spend your time?
 Influential bloggers – their social media
choices and blogroll
 Tools – Google Alerts, Google
BlogSearch, Sysomos, Radian6, Technora
ti, Trackur, Tweetdeck

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Engage
 Develop SMART goals, a plan/content calendar
 Monitor influentials
 Comment, be
controversial, encourage
conversation – NOW
 Give
 Share expertise freely
 Make a name for yourself as useful
and knowledgeable
 Credit and share sources
 Post ―magnetic‖ content
 Tools:
SproutSocial, Buzzlogic, Lithium

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Measure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx74jrzBRsU
Tools: Radian 6, Sprout
Social, Wildfire

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Refine/Improve
 Analyze the results of your measurement.
What does it mean?
 Make changes - strategy, messaging etc. - and
measure again
 Fail fast!
 Continuous pursuit of
excellence

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Content is King
 Content can:
 Showcase your company as an industry
thought leader
 Get you covered in the media
 Generate a huge amount of interest for
your company
 Support SEO and lead generation goals

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Content is King (cont’d)
 People absorb information in different ways
 Variety
 Include interactive elements
 Use video
 Make content magnetic. Think storytelling
 Strong, compelling idea. Create
conversation around relevant brand
experience
 Focus on human experience -
fundamentally social. Reflects and
expands people’s vision of themselves
 Tag it – Bitly
 Tools: Letterpop, Writer Access

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Content is King (cont’d)
 Use Video
 Information recall: 10% oral, 35% visual, 65%
oral/visual
 Well received on the web, from YouTube to
Facebook to blogs
 50,400 hours of new video uploaded every day
to YouTube; upload to as many video hosting sites
as you can – Vimeo, Squidoo
 People pass along memorable videos on their
personal social media accounts. Your goal: go viral
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BDiDmSotqs

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Content is King (cont’d)
 Use Video
 Highlight your personality. Be more than a
faceless company or brand. Reflect your brand
aspiration, engage around its promise
 Be entertaining and creative – no talking
heads
 Be quick and to the point — keep it under
2 mins, 3 mins max. People don’t have
time
 Quality doesn’t have to outdo
Hollywood. People get the concept of
mobile video

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The Importance of Blogging
 A must for social media – highly credible
 Platform to share expertise
 SNCR finding – for executives blogs are the third most
important tool used in decision making
 Engage by encouraging comments
blogs get shared, syndicated
 Great way to build relationships with
your audience and media
 Long shelf life
 Improves SEO rankings, use
keywords

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Social Proofing
―A psychological phenomenon where people
assume that the actions of others reflect the
correct behavior for a given situation…
driven by the assumption that the
surrounding people possess more
information about the situation.‖
Wikipedia
People are wired to learn from the actions
of others – huge driver of consumer
behavior

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Social Proofing (cont’d)
 Digital PR = Social Proofing
 Leverage!
 Gaining endorsements?
 Getting tons of buzz?
 Create a digital marketing newsroom

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Social Media Newsroom
 Make it easy for journalists/bloggers to find
you
 Provide Clear Media Contact Info at the Top:
 Email address, phone
number, Twitter handle etc.
 Don’t clutter your page with tons of
information
 Include links to other pages and
expand

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Tips
 ―Free‖ but don’t discount the time commitment
 Go deep, not broad
 Don’t try and sell - be authentic and
informative
 Blog, Blog, Blog
 Incorporate social media links
 Always explore and embrace new
technologies

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Beverley Bird
 Founder and principal of Blaze Communication
 25 years in PR, marcom, social media
 Worked alongside tech titans Steve Jobs and Bill
Gates
 Ran domestic and int’l communications programs
for Microsoft, Schlumberger and Applied Materials
 Worked at marketing agencies and several
startups
 Focus on integrated programs that ensure brand
consistency, generate leads and improve ROI
 BA (Hons) French, University of Lancaster, UK