Social Media Secrets Revealed: Helpful (and Awesome) Tips from the PR World

Attention Inbound Marketers: you need to use social media to attract the right strangers. Social media platforms are becoming the most powerful ways to connect with your audience, especially when you want to attract new people to your brand. Twitter has 241 million active users with 5,700 tweets posting every second. Facebook has over one billion users worldwide and presents the largest opportunities for communication with consumers. Basically, you have over a billion opportunities to attract new people to your brand.

Don’t jump into the gold mine just yet. To build a successful social media campaign you need to understand that social media is about participation, sharing and collaboration, not straightforward advertising and selling.

My public relations background has taught me some important and valuable lessons about being successful using social media. I found it particularly helpful when I applied this advice to inbound marketing. Here are some effective social media tips inbound marketers need to take from the PR pros:

Inbound marketers must choose social media channels carefully.

Yes, inbound marketing is multi-channel by nature, but that doesn’t mean every channel is the right channel for your message. Choose the right social media platform(s) for a specific purpose. Interact on the platforms where your buyer personas spend the most time. Determine the goal you want to achieve and what message you want to deliver to your targeted group. The right channels will allow you to share valuable information and engage with the right traffic.

Should inbound marketers be active on social media?

Absolutely. Being active on social media will attract the right traffic to your site. Consistently post creative content to keep your brand fresh. Stay relevant to your targeted group by researching new keywords to use for hashtags or crowdsourcing. Engage with your customers through discussion, but be sure to respond beyond the negative comments.

All social media posts must be consistent.

Consistency is key. Your social media activities should be aligned with each other through cohesive messages across your chosen channels. This reduces uncertainty and resolves ambiguity between your brand and your target audience.

What are the best ways to engage with your social media audience?

Create your content wisely. Personalize your content for those who are viewing it. The more you learn about your leads, the better you can personalize messages to their specific needs. Be sure to avoid overly professional content offerings. Try to blend in with other users and viewers because they are people just like you. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, it just makes you more human. Once you get the content out there, be humble and start engaging with your audience.

Traditional media is underrated. 

Traditional media still has its perks within a digital world. Integrate social media with traditional media. This is the perfect mixture that will drive strangers to specific online destinations. Integrating content creation, publishing and analytics allows you to focus on publishing the right content, but don’t forget about advertising and PR efforts, too. Traditional media still has major advantages because some of your target audience may not be as digitally native as others. Think about how often you watch TV or listen to the radio. Traditional media is not dead (yet), so take advantage of it and extend your reach.

The benefits of having a social media management team – interns included.

Establish a team within your organization that is dedicated to social media management. Have other staff members occasionally engage with guest blogs in their area of expertise or, in my case, have the intern test the waters. Interns are always eager to put their new skills to use, and this is the perfect opportunity to let them.

The Golden Rule of PR

Be honest and transparent. Always put a human face behind the brand. Identify who are you as the person behind the brand and let people know whom they are talking to.