How to use Social Media for PR

Social media has become one of those things we just can’t live without. It’s like when you forget to grab your phone before leaving the house and you feel naked without it. It seems like not checking your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that very moment when you wake up or updating your feed one last time in the last blinks before falling asleep would be wrong. And although social media has become something of an obsession for some people, it has become an incredibly useful tool to be included in the PR toolbox.

Build Relationships:
We are all about the relationships in PR, and social media has made it significantly easier to build relationships with peers, colleagues and brands. It’s almost effortless to find people who have the same interests as you by following a hashtag or performing a simple search. Attend an event with someone who you’d like to connect with? Follow that hashtag and spark up a conversation, it’s that easy.

Pitch your Story:
Are you having a hard time getting your story picked up through email or a phone call? Why not get in touch with the journalist through twitter? This might be a better way for you to get their attention and sell your story. But be quick, you’ve only got 140 characters to do so. Just like when you are pitching to a journalist elsewhere you have to give them a reason to pick it up. Mention a quick something about your story or drop the brand in there to give them something to work off of and then you may be more likely to receive an email or a DM.

Storytelling:
Storytelling has become a rising trend in the industry as it has become more important to tell the story of your brand as opposed to simply selling one product or service. Instagram is a great platform for this. Studies show that when brands use Instagram as a tool for their brand they receive exponentially more engagement than Facebook and Twitter. Consumers would much rather be told a story than provided with a sales pitch and would rather look at a pretty picture than read the information.

Sharing:
Social media is a great way to share what your brand and/or clients have been doing (there’s nothing wrong with doing a little bragging). Sharing blogs, client news and relevant industry news is a great way to gain engagement for your brand and your client’s brand.

In an industry that utilizes digital assets it is important to become in-tuned with the inner workings of social media and how social media can be used in your PR toolbox. Share your work, tell your story and build and maintain new relationships all through the digital world. 

Lauren Krzesicki is senior at Grand Valley State University earning her degree in Advertising and Public Relations. Lauren is an Account Associate at GrandPR and a member of Grand Valley’s PRSSA chapter. She is currently spending a semester working as an Associate at local PR firm 834 Design & Marketing. In her free time she enjoys taking pictures, browsing Pinterest and catching up on industry news.