How to factor in social media into you PR strategy 

The last popular question PR specialists get asked is around social media. Truthfully, many of the big questions asked of a PR company or individual has the phrase social media.  

What this tells me is that people seeking out PR advice know how big social media is. Whether they use it themselves on a daily basis or are social media absent, it’s often the start of the conversation. 

Social media in a PR strategy is VITAL! A lot of people receive their information, news and stories online now. Social media fits with people’s lifestyles, especially those under 50.  

You must be on social media because there’s a huge audience out there! Plus, if you meet someone in real life, they will likely look you up online after. If you aren’t there you don’t exist or will often go down in their estimation. 

Some clients have expressed, before working with me, a sinking feeling the minute I say this or push them to be on social media. For some, they may think I’m pushing them to make videos of them dancing (if that’s your niche, do it!), but that’s often not what I mean. You need to be on it, and you need to keep using it. 

There are a ton of gurus online that’ll preach about algorithms changing, that certain actions or hashtags will be your success. There are definite flukes in “the algorithm” with people or businesses gaining traction suddenly, but don’t put all your eggs in the hope of being one of these flukes.  

The only constant is showing up regularly to your social media. You can’t anticipate or influence what a social media company or algorithm will change to next. It’s important you’re very clear about the demographic of the social media you’re accessing use and what platform your audience uses. Just because you love TikTok doesn’t mean your audience will be on there. If you love a social media platform, like Pinterest, by all means be on there, but be in other places where your audience sits. 

Search engines like Google will measure you based on your quality and level of content and how much you share. Increasingly it will measure social media posts. This helps as people start to search using AI tools rather than generalised search engines – AI can crawl social media faster. So being committed to social media will make you more visible. 

Be wary. Social media is not an excuse to avoid having a website. A website is the only digital asset where you have full control. It’s great for you to be an influencer on Instagram but what if you’re hacked or banned – having a website is essential. 

A key benefit with social media is that it allows you to keep in touch lightly with a larger audience than you could physically do in the real world. You aren’t bombarding with calls, you aren’t on notice boards, you are in people’s online world – don’t take how important that is for granted. 

How do you factor in social media? You do it consistently. You do it over multiple platforms. You do it because you are committed to your business. 

As with everything in your business being present and showing up makes all the difference. You have to be seen by the public for public relations – this is the easiest way! 

Contact Scott Media today for your PR strategy.