Tag: social media

How To Make Content More Shareable (And PR-Friendly)

Posted on by Michelle Han

Creating content that is shared broadly is a great way to build good PR, whether it’s for yourself, your company or brand, or for others. And while there’s no way to predict precisely which posts, pictures, videos or articles will be most popular, there are some basic guidelines to improve the chances of your content’s being shared. Here are five guidelines to consider.

Be useful and helpful. The first rule about shareable content is that people share things that make them look good. Social media is a world where people create carefully constructed versions of themselves. So naturally, shareable content is anything that will make people look smart, witty, creative, or expresses a belief that’s an extension of who they are. If your post contributes to those goals, that’s a good start.

Create an eye-catching headline. Sometimes ideas for content start with a catchy title, sometimes the title is more of an afterthought. But it should be top-of-mind when creating content that’s share-worthy. After all, in most cases only the title and first line of the post is visible anyway, so if those don’t catch readers, nothing will. Grabby headlines tend to include mentions of lists (i.e. The Top 5 Ways to Share Content), something witty (try a pun, but only  if it works), or surprising.

Be inspiring. Life can be tough, and everyone needs a boost once in a while to keep them on the journey toward a goal or dream, whether in business or personal life. Share content that helps others see the bigger picture, remember what they’re working for, and be a better version of themselves.

Let your personality shine. Readers want to feel a connection with the content they’re reading, so writing with a strong individual voice — even in business, to a degree — helps create that emotional bond. We’re producing a content program for one client that includes frequent blog posts. SEO is the goal for them, so that’s top-of-mind for us as we’re writing, but at the outset we were (wisely) told by our client, “I won’t publish anything that doesn’t sound like a real human being wrote it.”

Be classy. Ever hear the advice, don’t put anything in a work email you wouldn’t want broadcast publicly? The same goes for whatever you publish via social media. It can be tempting to put less thought into a 140-character tweet before hitting the publish button, plus you know you can always delete it later, but it doesn’t take long for real damage to be done.

Optimize your share buttons. In general, it’s good to offer multiple share buttons, because readers are drawn in by choices. They should be uniform in size, and most importantly, displayed prominently where readers can’t miss them. For lengthier articles, place them both at the top and the bottom of the post to prevent readers having to scroll.

Why You Need To Hire A PR Firm Now

Posted on by Marijane Funess

Even if your hot ad/tech business isn’t being acquired today for millions of dollars or you aren’t quite ready to launch your latest sure-to-wow consumer product, you may still need to consider professional PR counsel for your company. Here are some good reasons why:

You are being left out of a story right now. Without a dedicated PR team representing your interests with vigilance, that next round-up story on your industry’s products, or leaders or POV will occur without you.

It’s a whole new media world. And who has time for that with running a business and managing employees, etc? A professional PR firm is up on trends like native advertising and the latest blogger campaigns as well as the art of traditional story placement and selling in a byline article. Media contacts come and go, as do outlets, and the best PR pros know this world inside and out.

Writing for PR is an art and a science. Just like a book publisher choosing the most compelling fiction “pitch”, the editor of a top site or magazine is looking for the most compelling, intriguing communiques, summing up a client story that begs for a deeper look. You need agency representation dedicated to understanding your messages, crafting story angles and communicating them in a way that works to pique media interest.

In the event of a reputation threat. You want to be prepared for anything. Does your company have an up-to-date crisis plan? Was it vetted by a PR practitioner? Based on historical crises large and small, industry experts agree that a team with relevant experience is invaluable to your organization in the event your brand is subject to negative coverage or criticism.

“I’ll just have my intern handle social media” doesn’t cut it. Sure, your college intern will know the mechanics of posting to Facebook and tweeting, but would you want to give such an important task as content development to someone who doesn’t thoroughly understand your business, your positioning and your company “voice?” Using social media successfully takes a combination of pop culture and industry savvy, strategic know-how, research, and understanding of each platform’s role in promoting your business. Leave this work to a professional!

Spring-Clean Your Tech PR Tool Kit

Posted on by Marijane Funess

Though much of the nation’s weather belies it, spring starts March 20th. With it comes a good excuse to examine how your PR firm is doing “digital” and do some sprucing for the rest of the year. Start with these five tips.

Define and declare. Everyone wants to jump on the tech PR bandwagon. If your firm genuinely knows the space inside and out, including the leaders in enterprise tech and other segments, shout it to the rooftops. Can you do a byline demonstrating your expertise, appear on a key industry trade show panel, or create a separate agency blog on the topic? At the very least, make sure your PR client win releases in the sector are out there.

Win at storytelling. While you’re waiting for Wired or TechCrunch to tell your client’s story – tell parts of it yourself. Today’s companies shape their own narratives via social and other owned channels, especially when they’re savvy enough to know the difference between what the tech reporters will jump on and what will make theme say “meh.” Don’t wait for validation from traditional and digital media to vet the smaller stories, run with them.

Don’t forget about the personal side. Are you sticking to your client’s new products and services for most of your media outreach? Don’t forget the human faces behind the devices or apps. There are many outlets focusing on scintillating personality stories, philanthropy angles, or up-from-nothing entrepreneurs. Delve into the people on the team and see what stories rise to the top.

Know your social media. Don’t roll your eyes! If you’ve let your client’s social media efforts become complacent – settling for likes and retweets instead of more actionable lead-generators, take a page from Marc Ostrofsky in his new book, Word of Mouse: 101+ Trends in How We Buy, Sell, Live, Learn, Work, and Play.  Ostrofsky counsels treating different social networks as different languages, with each network also offering its own demographic.

As an example, he says “I don’t want to market my book via Twitter as much as I want to market it via Linkedln.. Why? Because Twitter is much more a young person’s medium, whereas Linkedln is much more beneficial for promoting a book that’s business-related. More than ever, knowing who your customers are and what their needs are is tremendously important-without a deep understanding of their customers, brands will lag behind competitors.”

Keep on top of the sales cycle. Tech companies are bought and sold at the speed of light. Are you aware of where your digital client is in the cycle? Are they positioned for sale to the right company? Does your team know enough about the buy side to provide the most current counsel? Bring salient research and recommendations to the client ahead of being asked and position yourselves as in-the-know experts.

PR Agencies: Does Your Client’s Plan Include a Social Media Policy?

Posted on by Marijane Funess

We’ve all seen examples of uncensored tweets, negative Facebook postings and disastrous Instagrams. From your friends, no problem, but from your client’s company accounts? That’s cause for alarm. One way to prevent such indiscretions is to create, maintain and enforce a strict social media policy as part of your overall PR plan.

A smart social media plan includes objectives, strategies, tactics and some type of calendarized schedule of deliverables just like a consumer or B2B PR plan, but with one noticeable and very important addition: a posting policy specific to your client’s business needs and corporate culture.

Assuming you have already covered the basics above, start by asking your client these important questions and build out a customized policy for each one to implement.

Which social networks will your client maintain a presence on? One size seldom fits all, and this is true for SM platforms. While it’s tempting to try to force fit every client onto every platform, it can backfire if the company sees little or no engagement from a network that makes no sense for them. For example, unless the company is very visually oriented and offers up interesting “DIY” interactions like recipes from Whole Foods or design tips from West Elm, Pinterest may not be ideal for them. Prepare a “pros and cons” list for each offering and make a strategic recommendation on what will perform best.

Who is authorized to post on your brand’s behalf? One company may benefit from several voices in different departments, which keeps posts fresh and stimulating; another may need the continuity of a singular, yet compelling POV. It is the agency’s job to present the best recommendation for the brand voice. Factor in your PR plan components as well as the company’s social history. Make sure everyone understands the ground rules.

What type of information can employees share? Assuming your client permits employee posting, an editorial calendar will help sort this out for most, but a company news event or external event impacting the industry can upend the day-to-day policy. Build in contingencies for such events and make sure there is a “pecking order” for responding to such news. Have some posts drafted in advance that can be tweaked to cover possible events such as a CEO stepping down or launch of a new product, but for the less predictable, such as a Grammy-winning producer wearing a hat that mimics your logo (Arby’s) be ready to punt!

How will you monitor conversations about your brand on social channels? The way one responds in 140 characters on Twitter will not necessarily be the same as the way one responds on Facebook, where a lengthy chat can ensue. For example, many companies have entirely separate “customer service” pages on Facebook to handle customer comments, freeing the main page to be more entertaining, engaging and fluid. A PR agency often takes responsibility for monitoring social media sites the same way staffers monitor news media each day. This way, they can provide recommendations and sample language in a timely fashion.

Who will respond to these conversations? Responding to conversations is sometimes more art than science. Situations that require responses in real time range from irate JetBlue travelers to other brands (as in Sunday’s Super Bowl), so a mix of content and customers service skills is required. The job of the communications strategist is to develop a game plan to make the interaction successful.

PRs, Don’t Pitch Media On Twitter—Build Relationships

Posted on by Chris Harihar

In tech PR, Twitter is as valuable an asset as Cision or Vocus. It’s a strong tool for staying up-to-date on what reporters are writing about and interested in. What it’s not? A tool for explicit/direct PR pitches.

Despite articles that say otherwise, when was the last time you saw a colleague or company successfully pitch media on Twitter or social, in general? You probably can’t recall a single example. It’s that rare. In fact, it’s safe to say that the mishaps—which are often very public—are much more frequent and common.

So, for PR, how can Twitter actually help?

We can use it to build relationships with media and master the “soft sell.” Instead of pitching,  demonstrate that you know a reporter’s beat and are interested in their writing. This helps when you open Outlook or pick up the phone for your actual pitch efforts. They’ll be familiar with you.

But how does one build relationships on Twitter? Here are 3 tips that I live by.

Show you’re paying attention.  This one is simple enough—retweet a reporter’s articles/tweets and favorite their content regularly. This will put you on their radar and make them familiar with you.

Don’t just RT; start a conversation.  Whenever you tweet an article, be sure to include the author’s handle (if you don’t know it, find it), as well as a POV on their piece. If you agree with it, let them know. If you disagree, ask questions. There’s no better way to show that you know a reporter’s beat. You’ll also learn a lot about the writer’s POV for future pitches.

Share information. Another way to show you’re following a given reporter is to share information that’s relevant to their beat or personal passion. This should be totally distinct from a client pitch unless it’s a truly great fit.

Don’t focus only on the rockstars.  It’s great to engage with a journalist or blogger with 100K followers, but don’t ignore those who are less known. Their feeds tend to be less cluttered, and there’s often a greater chance for a real dialogue.

Not everything has to be business.  I find that the most memorable tweets are often the funniest/oddest. That’s why sometimes being silly or quirky is your best bet. In fact, my most meaningful interactions with reporters have come from somewhat bold tweets with an odd remark or funny GIF. This works if you give it some thought and think through the idea. If they respond, great. If they don’t, no harm done.

Social Media Tips For Millennial PR Pros

Posted on by lauren

By guest blogger Heather Scott

Are you on Facebook? Twitter? Instagram? Tumblr? For at least 25 hours a week? Do you think you have phantom phone syndrome?

If so, you are probably a millennial, and if you can claim that you do at least some of this social sharing for work, then you are more likely a millennial at a PR firm! Members of this cohort seem to share more intimate details of their lives via social media than other generations, leading experts to advise caution in how and how much they express themselves.

In this time of high unemployment and an economy that is only slowly recovering, millennials must learn how to use social media to advance their careers. Here are some tips to keep in mind when it comes to smart social media activity.

Profanity. Sometimes you just want to let your anger and frustration out with a four-letter-word tirade. While the occasion “hell” or “damn” is okay, keep the others off the internet. There are more articulate ways to express yourself.

Pictures. As with profanity, keep the drunken antics off social media. And profile pictures should be of you in career wear, not a halter top or a bridesmaid gown. This is not to say pictures containing alcohol should be kept off social media entirely (college students, proceed with caution), just keep it professional. A picture of yourself and friends enjoying a glass of wine says you’re a social person and that there’s more to you than your work.

Networking. Use your social media accounts to help get your foot in the door. Follow companies, employers, experts, etc. on sites such as Twitter and LinkedIn. If you want to go a step further, try to actually connect with them. Respond to a discussion post on LinkedIn or comment on an article they tweeted. Engagement shows employers you’re not afraid to speak up and interact.

Expand your social media skill set. While it is presumed that all millennials know how to work every social media site in existence, it isn’t always the case. Take time to learn all the ins and outs of the social media sites you frequent. Know how to start a discussion post on LinkedIn or tailor trending topics on Twitter to a specific region. Know how to set up a Google+ chat. You never know when these skills may come in handy. More importantly, familiarize yourself with the most successful PR or marketing campaigns with social media at the core. That way, you can converse with prospective employers on the merits of “Dumb Ways To Die” vs Virgin’s #fitfoo campaign.

Politics and Religion. There’s an old saying: you should never discuss politics or religion at dinner parties. This also generally applies to social media. Until you’re the next Rachel Maddow or Ann Coulter, keep your personal feelings/stances on these topics to yourself. If your comments are too extreme, future employers could be hesitant to hire you.

What other social media practices would you recommend to millennials? Leave a comment below.

When Brands Overreact To PR Problems

Posted on by Dorothy Crenshaw

Social-media-fueled brand controversies are more common than ever in the digital age. But even in the current crisis-of-the-hour media environment, it’s natural for major brands to take slights very seriously. Where millions of dollars are spent and fat profit margins are at stake, overreactions are understandable. You can almost sense the confusion, conflicting advice, and panic beneath the surface.

Most businesses will back down in the face of controversy, even when the criticisms are groundless. Remember when Gap backpedaled as brand-watchers criticized its new logo? Admittedly, the new logo was bland and the backlash probably added color to its reputation, but it was a stunning reversal in such a short time.

Sometimes a brand will simply cave. Home center chain Lowe’s pulled its ads when threatened with a boycott over its support of a reality show called “All-American Muslim.” The decision was met with fresh outrage from progressives, so it was a true lose-lose for the chain. But word like “one million moms” have been known to trigger a hasty media planning redesign.

That’s why it was refreshing when Cheerios, assaulted by YouTube trolls over a charming ad featuring an interracial family, was so unfazed in its response to criticism. Not only did it refuse to back down (and why should it?) but the tone of the brand’s response made it clear that the ad would go on.

Of course, it’s easy to stand your ground when confronted with ugliness, but lots of companies would have quietly killed the ad. More importantly, most probably wouldn’t have produced it in the first place.

So, cheers to Cheerios for wanting to position its brand as inclusive and up-to-date. And even more for unapologetically disabling nasty comments and seeing the PR gold in letting the commercial’s actors speak for the brand.

By meeting its critics head-on instead of overreacting, Cheerios elevated the spot from a progressive commercial to a statement about brand values. And it reaped bowlfuls of good will in the process. Well done.

To Friend Or Not? Best Practices For Connecting With Clients On Social Media

Posted on by Iman Sandimanie

These days, it seems that everyone and their grandmother is on Facebook. For PR pros, embracing social media often means connecting with clients. Team members start friending client staff, and vice versa, but are personal social media accounts really the best way to communicate? What are the risks? Whether you’re a social media super user or a silent stalking type, here are some best practices for dealing with clients on social platforms.

Build a Stronger Partnership
Accepting friend requests from clients can be good for business, because it allows them into your personal Facebook world and lets them learn more about you outside the job. This may create a better professional relationship in the end. However, it’s important to keep in mind that your every post or update can be scrutinized.

It’s Not You, It’s Me
If friending clients isn’t your thing, tell them that you separate your business and personal lives, and that you use Facebook to keep up with family and college friends, but you’d love to connect with them on Twitter and LinkedIn. Just be sure to follow through afterwards.

Brag and Tag
Many PR pros already post their coverage to social media, but tagging your client in a status update or wall post helps spread the word to your contacts and triples the visibility. Your update will appear on your page, your client’s, and the outlet’s page. Supporting client content by tagging is also a good way to network and promote your own accomplishments, so it’s a win-win.

Be Smart
If you post your innermost thoughts and deeds on Facebook, then friending a client isn’t the right choice for you. Complaining about your hangover, or venting about your frustrations at work, your boss or an unwelcome task will make your client think you don’t enjoy your job and question your commitment.

Naturally, posting lewd or inappropriate images doesn’t portray you in a professional light. Keep in mind that everything on social media is open for public consumption, even when you think it’s not, so posting anything that’s questionable is a risk you shouldn’t take.
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PR And Social Media Move Movies

Posted on by Jason

Memorial Day is the unofficial kick-off of the summer movie season, marked more and more by social media-infused promotions. The goal is to drive interest among the typically young, male movie fans with a fusion of traditional and digital PR and marketing, increasing the hype and the ticket sales.

Beginning in 1999 with the “found-footage” film ‘The Blair Witch Project’, the practice is now a must-have movie promotion strategy.

Hunting for (box office) treasure. Think of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) as online scavenger hunts to build hype and provide background for new projects. They act as modern-day grassroots PR campaigns. “Cloverfield” hopped on the bandwagon in mid-2007 with MySpace character pages and “in-world product” sites. The mysterious trailer and secrecy-saturated campaign spurred curiosity, and coverage.

“The Dark Knight” raised the bar with worldwide scavenger hunts led by the Joker, including cakes embedded with cell phones and a mock District Attorney campaign. The results were no joke; the campaign generated TV coverage as it connected more than ten million players in 75 countries.

More recently, “Tron: Legacy” rallied moviegoers with a “crashed” press conference and tokens to the film’s arcade. Even the upcoming “Man of Steel” joined the party, creating an in-world online project that mirrored the hunt for extraterrestrial life through satellite signals.  All the campaigns were covered by popular film blogs.

(Smile for the) cameras. Another form of social media promotion is interactive or 3D theater standees, the attention-grabbing larger-than-life posters like this one for “Transformers”.  Standees encourage theater-goers to take photos and share them on their favorite social networks while tagging the film’s accounts to build buzz. Despite the visual appeal of a photo with Gandalf or a “Despicable Me 2” Whack-a-Minion display, they rarely result in traditional media coverage, but the social sharing can be a blockbuster in itself.

The “Social Network” path to profits. More and more movies generate buzz with exclusive hashtags, Instagram reveals, and Facebook “likes”.  The horror fad film “Paranormal Activity” built a fan base through screening demands on Eventful, an event-sharing and requesting site, with resulting buzz in non-film outlets like Advertising Age.

The savviest film marketing uses in-world social media reveals, custom apps, and hashtags that unlock special poster content. Part of the success behind the megahit “The Hunger Games” was clever use of social sharing and exclusive content, generating recognition on such “mainstream” sites as CNET. For the “Hunger Games” sequel, “Catching Fire,” the studio has already created an updated “Capitol” fashion site, Instagram page, exclusive stylized images linked to the movie, and its first trailer, all some six months before its premiere.

Pay attention this weekend and in coming the months to spot some new trends.

Avoid Social Media Disasters

Posted on by Cliff Maroney

As PR and social media professionals who often share content on behalf of brands and company executives, we literally have their reputations in our hands…and on our dashboards.

That’s why every PR pro must guard against the unscrupulous. Recent Twitter hacks of major brands like Burger King, Jeep and Chrysler show that no one is immune.

With hackers growing more sophisticated by the day, no one can guarantee a 100% bulletproof social account. But we can avoid the kind of sloppiness that invites trouble. Hacks are not only embarrassing in professional circles,  but they can have reputation repercussions for companies and their brands.

Here are some tips for dealing with, and preventing social media mishaps.

Follow good password protocol. Passwords such as “hello123” and “love” are a temptation to mischief-makers. By regularly changing passwords, limiting the number of approved users, and safeguarding your personal email and social accounts, you can eliminate easy security loopholes. Also, never save passwords to your browser; it’s an invitation to hackers.

Be prepared. Have a written and approved set of steps for a social media hack or mistake so you can “nip an issue in the bud” and minimize any damage as quickly as possible. Build in redundancy. For example, make sure that automated tweets can be suspended quickly and easily in the event of a disaster or other breaking news.

Think before you delete. If a questionable update is posted, think before you rush to delete. Sometimes, a deleted tweet just calls greater attention to the situation. A simple correction could be all you need to fix the error; or, if you have caused offense, apologize promptly and sincerely.

Separate your personal and client streams and dashboards. It’s easy to make mistakes (e.g. auto-log in), which is all the more reason to separate your business and personal streams. This helps safeguard your Twitter worlds with an extra layer of security if one of your accounts be compromised, and it reduces the chances you’ll tweet about your wicked hangover on a client’s account.

Double-check vendors. If you use a subcontracter, make sure they’re buttoned up. Every entity contracted to deal with your brand needs written security and content guidelines.