How to use PR to Build on Social Media Stardom
By Robyn Sachs, President & CEO, RMR & Associates, Inc.
Social media stardom brings its own brand of panache. Legions of followers and influencers affirm the value and credibility of your brand in digital channels. So why use PR to reinforce and grow your visibility?
The truth is, PR is an essential element to not just build on the awareness you’ve already achieved, but to ensure your brand is primed for growth and has the staying power necessary to ensure you’re not just a passing trend on social media.
The decision to implement a consistent, targeted public relations campaign is a key strategic move to help you leverage your brand for maximum visibility and awareness. Doing so helps you amplify the awareness you’ve built already and take it to the next level.
If you’re curious about how to effectively leverage PR to achieve greater influence, add to your followers and mentions and create lasting growth, here are some top tips to consider:
- Lead with your expertise
When you’re planning your PR campaign, ensure your company’s expertise and unique selling propositions (USPs) are center stage. The knowledge you and your team have to deliver your services or products is the backbone of the confidence and credibility that inspire prospects to select your company over a competitor.
- Mine your network
Maintain your database consistently and proactively, and don’t discount the often unsung power your network of contacts holds for new, repeat and referral business. Keeping in contact with them via regular social media and email marketing outreach is a great way to remain top of mind while also expanding visibility for your news and announcements through your larger PR campaign.
- Focus on thought leadership value
A tried-and-true way to ensure you build followers and fans quickly, while also backing up your social media sensation status, is to play up the thought leadership positioning your organization possesses whenever possible. Simply put, raising the perception for you and your company as a leader in your industry builds comfort, stability and confidence while eliminating fear, uncertainty and doubt. PR announcements and initiatives like authored articles or blog posts placed in top-ranking publications and then merchandised and promoted to your contact list and target audiences are great ways to achieve this, and you’ll see the positive returns over and over again.
- Leverage influencer power to support PR goals and expanded initiatives
When you’re implementing a PR campaign to build on social media visibility and status achieved to date, it’s critical not to discount the importance of an integrated program. Multiple vehicles, from email marketing to press releases to creative development, advertising and digital vehicles all play a role in achieving the goal of sustained business growth that you are after. And the power of influencers that you may have already cultivated also is a worthy addition to your PR mix.
Here’s an example of how I recently leveraged the power of PR to build on a client’s social media success.
I had a client who created a new product that was sweeping the beauty industry. They were already famous on social media before embarking on a PR campaign, and they had an existing relationship with a beauty influencer. They used that relationship to line up an unboxing video of their products and offered a discount code to followers.
A campaign like this can earn your company recognition in local and national media outlets, furthering its reach.
Social media stardom: A launching pad for a targeted PR campaign
Leveraging these tips and ensuring your PR campaign is a strategic integration of traditional and digitalmarketing communications vehicles are key elements to success. If you build past social media sensation status to cement your organization as a thought leader and expert using PR, you’ll ensure you are positioned for growth for the long term.