An Impact Guide on Social Media’s role in the PR mix

Once a supporting accessory to PR, social media has quickly become a driving force in the world of public relations, and an essential tool for any business’s PR strategy. With today’s digital landscape always changing, PR is no longer limited to press releases and media outreach.

As an internet-based form of communication, social media is an effective tool for building brand awareness, trust and loyalty, and a solid social media strategy can help aid and develop longstanding relationships, manage reputations, and help your business stand out in a crowded market. When done strategically, creatively, and in line you’re your brand values, social media delivers measurable results that will support your wider marketing and communications goals.

What are the benefits of embracing a social strategy?

A solid social media strategy goes beyond posting basic updates and content. To effectively utilise social media as a tool within your PR & communications strategy, it’s more about homing in on storytelling, and curating intentional, on-brand messaging that will resonate with your audiences and boost your engagement.

Before social media and public relations began to operate in-tandem, traditional PR focused on press conferences, print media, and tv and radio. The combined power of social media and public relations provides a two-way channel which unlocks direct, instantaneous access to consumers and clients. Whilst social media encompasses creating visually appealing and insightful content, it also involves actively engaging with your audience, via comments, discussions, and interactions.

As social media content can be easily accessed by most users with internet access, the content your brand produces can reach a wider audience and increase opportunities for your business.

How can social media enhance your campaign performance?

Whilst increasing your reach, social media platforms offer incredibly accurate targeting features that can help concentrate your target audience, gain insights on what content resonates with which demographics, and can positively change the scope of your campaigns and messaging.

Key insights including audience demographics and behaviour, content performance, competitor analysis, campaign performance, and customer feedback will help you tailor your content to your audience for future social media campaigns as well as campaign messaging beyond your social platforms.

This instant, two-way channel with your audiences also gives your brand access to instantaneous feedback and allows you to adjust and pivot your messaging and approach to encourage stronger communication and build customer relationships. The benefits of real-time engagement span across increased engagement and enhanced customer service; yet, to attain the benefits of social media’s immediacy requires consistent and constant monitoring.

The Power of a Shareable Concept

We are currently living in an overwhelming digital environment. It’s essential to sustain your audience’s attention with content that informs, engages or entertains. Eye-catching, relevant, and interactive content is an essential, as is an appropriate participation in trends. Brands that master these opportunities for quick responses via social media can better cut through the clouded and chaotic digital landscape and reach new audiences on the back of these high-viewership trends.

There’s a reason why Spotify Wrapped goes viral every year. Each December, Spotify delivers product usage metrics to its 696 million monthly active users. The online music and podcast streaming platform compiles unique statistics for each user, outlining their top songs, artists, genres, and total hours listened – then, it allows users to compare and discuss their stats via social media. Reader, I raise you this, Charli XCX and I spent 8,080 minutes together last year, and I was in the top 0.005% of Charli XCX’s listeners…

Another excellent use of social media as positive PR occurred with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge; as a means of raising ALS awareness and funding, the Ice Bucket Challenge involved recording and posting a video of ice water being poured over your head, as a means of promoting awareness of ALS. The innovative social media campaign captured global attention with celebrities and grannies alike getting in on the trend. Subsequently, it led to increased research funding, discoveries about the disease, and created a lasting impact on the public understanding of ALS. Both of these campaigns serve to show the possibilities of integrating social media into your PR strategy.

Enter the Influencers

Influencer marketing is not a new aspect of PR; celebrity endorsements and spokespeople have been longstanding feature of public relations campaigns as far back as West End star Lillie Lantry’s endorsement of Pears Soap in the 1880s. Today, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Christiano Ronaldo and David Beckham, carry a significant amount of weight with potential customers, meaning they wield a significant amount of leverage when it comes to shaping public perception.

With the rise of social media, the spotlight has widened to include influencers. They connect with their followers on a more personal level than the ‘traditional’ celebrities, although influencers are now situated as a new form of celebrity. Many influencers exude authenticity and trustworthiness in their fields of interest or expertise, meaning their opinion gains increased value for your brand when shared with their audiences.

Ranging from micro-influencers to mega-influencers, brands have a wide range of opportunities to engage with influencers to reach new audiences and help strengthen their brand reputation or drive sales. Consider the recent success of Belfast-based, Vietnamese coffee shop, Phin’s, collaboration with one of Ireland’s favourite food, fashion and lifestyle figures, Emma Neill, on a signature drink: Emma’s Peanut Butter Oat Latte as a great influencer partnership which struck all the right boxes for relevance, authenticity and engagement.

Looking ahead, social media and its role in the PR toolbox will continue to evolve PR, but there is no doubt that it will continue to play a very important part in impactful and effective brand communications. Brands that continue to adapt and combine social media and public relations will see the best results, and by staying ahead of trends, staying true to your brand values and tone of voice, and tapping into the benefits of social media like collaboration, you can leverage a significant amount of influence and power.

Looking for any help with your social media, or PR, or even both? Get in touch today.