Social Media

Why use social media as part of your communications strategy?

Eight out of 10 US adults who use the internet, use Facebook. Others use Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and even specialty sites such as Houzz.

Brands use social media to humanize themselves, solidify their reputation and have conversation with their customers. But standing out from the crowd requires insight, strategy, and planning.

Done well, social media presence can increase the awareness of your products and can lead to more website visits and even sales.

If you’re looking for insights into how to manage your social media, or what to do to create a presence, our articles on social media will guide you in the right direction.

Don’t want to DIY? Give us a call. We’ll DIWY.

Reputation Management: Can I do it myself?

Posted by Cheryl Smithem

Your reputation is everything

Your professional and personal reputation is one of the most valuable assets you and your business *own*…except it’s not something you can lock up and protect. As valuable as it is, it can be stolen from you in the blink of an eye by a poor review, a flaming post on social media or by a negative post on a review website. There are many online services which will manage and respond to reviews, mentions, and help monitor to prevent exploits against you and your brand. However, they can be expensive. You can potentially do it yourself if you go about it in the right way. 

What are others saying and sharing about your company? About you? Can you manage your reputation online yourself?

In response to a HARO query, we came up with the following action steps you can take to set up a management system to monitor and respond to mentions and activity around you and your business name.

  1. Develop a crisis communications strategy which allows you to have pre-formatted thoughts and procedures for how to respond to a *wilding* scenario when something flames on socials or forums or blogs.
  2. Make sure you have purchased all the domains in your company name so that you are not vulnerable to people setting up hate sites.
  3. Set up Google Alerts for your name, business name, product names, and any variables on your website and company.
  4. Set up searches on Twitter and other social media around your name and company name.
  5. Select and choose a social media listening/monitoring service, such as Hootsuite, and set up searches around your company, name, product names.
  6. Set up a schedule to regularly monitor all the major ranking and evaluation sites such as Yelp, Healthgrades (if you are a physician), AVVO (if you are an attorney), and others. Respond to negative and positive reviews with a balanced and careful strategy. You should have pre-developed messages of response for all types of reviews, e.g. the product was defective, they never delivered what I ordered, they were amazing, etc.
  7. Claim, update or claim your GoogleMaps and My Business listing. Update your listing with images, posts, and questions and answers. Regularly monitor it for reviews and respond as appropriate.
  8. Set up social media accounts (if you do not have them) for your business and regularly post there according to a social media strategy which aligns with your brand, goals and consumer personas. If you do not have a social media strategy, create one. You may choose not to post, but it is important that you claim your business name on social channels in order that you not lose control of it. On platforms such as Facebook, respond to reviews and monitor for mentions of your company name.

If you are not currently monitoring your reputation, resolve to take care of this as soon as possible. Don’t wait for a negative situation to damage your brand.

 

 

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

Top Ten Blog Posts Cover PR, Social Media, Innovation, Ecommerce, Marketing

Posted by Cheryl Smithem

Marketing and PR Tactics and Helps for Small Business Owners

We’ve been blogging for a long time. We’ve focused on creating content that resonates, answers questions and helps you with your public relations. It’s our sincere goal to give back to the very types of businesses who help support us.

What do we write about?

We share tips, strategies and how-to articles that help owners of small businesses compete with large businesses. Through our content, we help you achieve your goals and become a more informed business manager.

If you want to up your game and improve your skills, master the tactics and strategies in each of these articles.

Our top ten most frequently read blog posts are:

  1. When to Send a Media Alert Rather Than a Press Release: A media alert or advisory is a critical component of your public relations strategy. Learn more about when to send one and what they contain.
  2. A Rant: Why I May Ignore Your Social Media Invitation: Don’t ignore a basic rule of social media etiquette. How often have you invited someone to Link, Follow or Friend without reminding the person how you are connected?
  3. New Hire Announcements and Press Releases: Your public relations strategy should include regular new hire press releases for media outlets in your industry, community and association. Learn how to write one.
  4. Blue Sky Thinking and Innovation: Blue sky thinking is more than just pie in the sky. It’s critical to innovation. Read our insights about how to cultivate it in your firm.
  5. Pros and Cons of Using a PayPal Button: What are the pros and cons of using a PayPal button rather than a full e-commerce solution? Our post helps you comprehend when a simple button works better.
  6. Ten low cost marketing and PR tactics that work: What low cost marketing tactics have small business owners used to gain new business? Here is a list of 10 tested tactics.
  7. Marketing and Public Relations Recommendations for Every Business: Learn which six marketing and public relations activities will be critical to your business success. Master the 6 tactics that will make a difference.
  8. Cognitive and gender bias in advertising: images are powerful, to be used with care: Images in advertising can sustain a bias or confirm a stereotype. Using images to tell a story, and avoid bias can forge new ways of acting and thinking.
  9. What Does it Mean to Take Your Business to the Next Level?: Want to take your biz to the next level? Use these insights to identify what the next level is, and what it is going to take to get there. Strategy matters.
  10. PR Important Dates and Holidays: Planning your PR and marketing around national holidays, wacky holidays and observances gives you an opportunity use creativity in your promotions and events.

 
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

The Future of Social Media Has Arrived: Meet Broadcast App Periscope

Posted by Cheryl Smithem

Broadcast app Periscope invites you to “Explore the world through someone else’s eyes.”

Social media keeps evolving. Far from being the one-sided stream of inane pics of food or defamatory posts about politics, social media in our opinion allows people to create and build interpersonal interactions. From San Francisco comes the newest face of our socially centered world, one that may just have a way to further confirm a more immediate and interpersonal element that outlets like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter may be missing.

Periscope

Social broadcast your business

Meet Periscope, the newest video broadcasting app for social media users. This smartphone app for Android and Apple isn’t like watching television or even YouTube. Broadcasters live stream and connect with others in real-time. Viewers can send direct messages to interact with the broadcaster, or tap the screen to send “hearts,” showing appreciation in the same manner as a “like” on Facebook. Viewers ask questions as well creating a truly interactive video stream. Though separate from Twitter, the two companies have joined forces to cooperate with one another, making the perks of both apps available to users for optimal usage. As such, Periscope videos can be shared on or linked to Twitter, allowing users of both applications to glance into the lives of their fellow posters. Followers are instantly notified when broadcasters are live, offering audiences everywhere the power of the shared experience.

Different from Vine or Instagram video posts, Periscope allows users of the broadcast app to serve up video in real-time. Vine and Instagram video posts were captured in the past and then posted and shared.

Thus far, Periscope users have been treated to the sight of someone rising in a hot air balloon over the Sonoma Valley, a live performance by a private pianist who could play any request the audience could throw out, a tour of Glacier Park guided by one of its rangers, a monologue rehearsal for Jimmy Fallon before an episode of The Tonight Show, and a backstage look into the Paris Opera ballet provided by Benjamin Millepied.

Locally, Charleston news broadcasters Rafael James of WCSC Live 5 News and reporter Hanna Raskin of the Post and Courier used the app to report news and cover events related to the “Mother” Emanuel AME massacre.

Periscope is a broadcast app

Within the app, you may follow people from your Twitter group who are also on Periscope or you may use third party website Perisearch, which requires registration to find and follow or watch on your laptop, tablet or desktop (does anyone really use desktops anymore?)

Upon starting a broadcast, you can let your Twitter followers know that you’re live streaming by tapping on the Twitter icon. Live streams will be viewable on the web, but not after they are over. For details on all aspects of using Periscope, consult their easy to use help files.

There are many marketing and public relations uses we envision for Periscope. With it, live tweeting now becomes live coverage. Rather than wait on news media to cover and broadcast your event, with Periscope you have the tools to connect with current and future  customers and people following you via your Twitter stream. You could broadcast workshops, gatherings, sales, and more.

If your firm finds itself in a crisis situation, using this app to broadcast key leaders as they update people on the situation can help you reach directly to consumers and interested members of the public.

Make your own reality TV broadcast

Luxury Spot lifestyle blogger Bryce Gruber-Hermon has used her Periscope to share beauty tips from her home in New York City. She says, “I’ve been using periscope as a combination of a daily video diary, mini reality show, and live, in the moment version of YouTube tutorials. It’s so much fresher and more authentic than YouTube’s canned music and editing. I love it.”

The Tour de France is also using Periscope to share and interact with viewers.

If you’re interested in using Periscope for yourself or promoting your business, check out the app’s website and learn about its many awesome features.

Need help with your brand’s social media strategy, public relations, marketing or identity? We’re just a phone call 843.628.6434 or email away.