Integrating Social Media and Your PR Campaign

In our social media and digital PR blog post, we talked about the power of social media and its effect on public relations, or really on digital PR.  There’s no doubt that social media’s growth and popularity has had a huge effect on PR campaigns.  The ability to utilize social media has become vital for PR professionals, there’s no doubt about it.  Integrating social media into any and all PR campaigns has become a standard amongst PR agencies everywhere.  To successfully integrate social media into your PR campaign, consider the following:

Get to know the landscape

One of the first steps of integrating social media into a PR campaign is fully understanding the landscape. Social media has changed the way consumers think and act.  Social media is used not just to communicate with one another, but it is also one of the prime places to effect purchasing decisions.  To integrate social media into any PR campaign it is crucial that PR professionals fully understand the realm of social media and that the consumer is getting the information they are seeking.  

Understand the social consumer

Incorporating social media into a PR campaign requires that the campaign, and public relations firm creating the campaign, keeps the needs and wants of the consumer in mind at all times. Consumers are looking for assistance in making decisions and are turning to social media to help them make up their minds.  The social consumer is also looking for conversation and dialogue between themselves and a company.  They want to feel like they are a part of the campaign and that their voice counts.  Unique contests and offers are a great way to attract the social consumer and are a good addition to a PR campaign.

Make parts of your campaign focused on social media

One of the best ways to integrate social media into a campaign is to pre-identify what social media's role will be in a PR campaign.  Ask yourself, "What role will social media serve in this campaign?" Having a designated role for social media in a PR campaign is one of the best ways to ensure a solid integration.  Social media should always be a part of the initial discussions for a PR campaign to ensure proper integration.  Adding social media tactics into a campaign last minute, or as an after-thought, will not make it successful.

Social media must tie in with the campaign and stand out

With so many marketing and PR professionals reaching out to consumers via social media, the bar has been set pretty high with great social media campaigns being carried out by some of the biggest brands in the country.  In order for social media integration to be successful in a PR campaign, the social media tactics being done have to be unique and stand out, which can be hard to do with so many company's engaging in social media.  Brainstorm with your PR firm team to come up with some groundbreaking ideas to ensure that integrating social media into your PR campaign will be successful.

Feel free to leave us a comment or contact us for on integrating social media into your PR campaign.