Smart PR Meet Social Media – Haven’t We Met Somewhere Before?

by Jason Mudd, APR

How does smart public relations come alongside rapid-fire, mass-distributed social media? In many cases, by using the same tools for strong, savvy PR that worked in the days before the social media culture infiltrated our news and our lives. Even more importantly, social media tools open new opportunities for the best PR agencies to rise to the top by using even more targeted and effective strategies for clients.

While the tools in the hands of public relations professionals look different and have new functionality, they’re still used to complement and enhance the work of skilled PR executives. What does this look like in day-to-day operations?

1. Receiving quick and constant news feeds across Twitter means the best PR firms can respond in terms of news pitches, crisis or brand management with a moment’s notice. They can also use Twitter hashtag trends to simultaneously capture attention and build momentum among specific audiences for messages they’re sending out as news releases. They’ve been doing this for decades, but previously had to rely on breaking TV news or blasts on the fax machine.
2. Thoughtful distribution of the message still matters for smart PR firms, but the creativity element can really shine with social media tools. Email can be effectively used to distribute news quickly, as long as the headlines and angles are spot-on and clever. While no one is ready to bring back the carrier pigeon, PR agencies are thinking of how to maximize the interest level while also including the news … perhaps bicyclist delivery isn’t out of the question, if the moment calls for it. YouTube videos are another distribution option, for example, that compliments solid, well-written news.
3. Relationships with online editors, top bloggers and social media content curators create serious and effective leverage for the best PR agencies who know how to use these platforms for targeted message distribution. The relationship is often maintained through consistently providing high-value, newsworthy content and then following it up with a genuine phone call (timeless philosophies meeting ultra-modern tools).
4. Strong message quality allows smart PR to stand out in a sea of online content. Smart PR involves really digging in to trends across Facebook, Twitter and other platforms to know what stories will resonate with editors’ unique audiences. PR professionals can drill down into the details like never before across diverse groups – thus providing high-quality, distinctly pitched news angles that may be more effective than numerous mass-produced bits of information some editors receive.

Smart PR is faster and more targeted now, and it isn’t really all that different at its core, even with the social media and online revolution. Yes, we’ve met before.

Axia Public Relations understands how to blend smart PR with social media. Call on us and we’ll help you.

Jason Mudd, APR, is the CEO of Axia Public Relations and an Emmy-Award-winning accredited public relations practitioner, speaker, author and entrepreneur. His public relations portfolio includes work for established national brands such as American Airlines, Dave & Buster’s, Florida Blue, H&R Block, Hilton, HP, Miller Lite, New York Life, Pizza Hut, Ray Charles and Verizon and emerging brands like Brightway Insurance, Pragmatic Works and It Works! Global.