The rise of social media has revolutionized communication and information sharing, impacting various industries, including public relations. With approximately 7 in 10 Americans using social media, brands, and PR professionals have recognized the importance of utilizing these platforms to engage with their audiences and build brand loyalty. Sharing press releases and communicating with customers through social media has become an essential strategy for PR professionals, allowing them to effectively reach and connect with their target audience.
In this article, we will look at how to share PR content on social media. However, before that, we will look at the role and influence of social media by breaking down how you can use each platform to your advantage.
No matter where you go, you’ll find people who spend loads of time on Facebook every day. While many people have a love/hate relationship with Facebook, we can’t deny the influence this platform has over our daily lives. Even with new social media platforms mushrooming, Facebook is perfect for businesses that want to engage with their audience through high-quality content in the form of posts, images, videos, infographics, and links.
In order to succeed on Facebook, you need to become a conversational brand. By doing this, you will be able to build a strong audience base of people who follow your page so that they can receive updates from your brand. Furthermore, you can also explore the other features that may be helpful when engaging audiences. These include Mentions which is only open to public figures; Facebook’s improved search function which makes public posts more accessible; the shopping tab which can help businesses partner with marketers and generate more sales; Instant Articles that can offer valuable content to customers, and Facebook Events which helps when you need to manage the events that you’re hosting.
Twitter is yet another popular platform. While it may be quite challenging to get a message across and ensure that it is thoroughly understood within the limitation of 140 characters, Twitter is great for making announcements about your business. These announcements could include the launch of a new product/service, the winning of an award, or an upcoming event. Twitter can also be useful when you need to keep audiences updated during a crisis. Hashtags are a big part of the platform, so you need to learn how to use them well. Companies and PR professionals alike use Twitter to conduct research by recording what clients, competitors, friends, the media, or influencers are talking about. Twitter is a networking tool that makes it easier to connect with new people, follow them and get them to engage with your business.
The success of Instagram comes mainly from its ease of use. All you need to do is click on a photo and post it. Additionally, the Search and Explore functions have turned the social network into an easy-to-navigate news source. People are generally visual, which is why pictures speak louder than words. The main goal of Instagram is to deliver exciting accounts, photos, and places to consumers. One of the biggest benefits for companies and PR practitioners on the platform is the fact that Instagram is a ready-made source of influencers and brands to connect with.
In addition to showcasing your products and credentials on Instagram, you can use visuals to raise awareness about causes that you support. You can also use the platform to show followers a behind-the-scenes look at your business, make a personal connection, and promote events.
You can add value to your audiences by curating content rather than creating it through Pinterest. You can simply systematically ‘Pin’ images and other content (typically DIY) from other websites onto designated pages. Audiences can look at these images for inspiration, entertainment, or both.
Most people still believe LinkedIn is more of a professional networking platform than a social one. However, with its new focus on publishing, this has changed. LinkedIn can now also be used as a blogging platform. You can use the platform to promote your expertise, disseminate content, find influencers, gain industry insights and connect with new customers. It’s also a great place to discover media opportunities, identify new business opportunities, and boost your media coverage.
While LinkedIn is best known for its networking opportunities, you can also use it to build a positive brand image and boost your online presence. This type of page can be an essential point of contact for your brand.
You can broaden your reach by joining or creating LinkedIn Groups where customers and prospects congregate. However, quality should always take precedence over quantity. Being a member of several groups does not imply that you will have more contacts or referrals. You can also establish yourself as a thought leader or influencer by regularly contributing thoughtful comments and valuable content to these groups. The groups are also beneficial if you need to conduct market research. To gather feedback on a product or service, marketers can create free polls and post them to LinkedIn Groups.
Now that we have looked at how to use social networking platforms to grow your audience, let’s talk about how to make your press releases and other PR content more shareable on social media.
1) Craft a creative headline
The purpose of a press release is to make an exciting announcement or share important news with an audience, and sharing your release on social media is a great way to do this. However, in order to capture the attention of online users, press release writers must develop a compelling press release headline. You need to come up with captivating headlines that will entice readers to click your post to learn more and interact with it.
Creating a unique headline will help you to increase the amount of interaction and shares that your press release and other PR content receive. You will need to be creative while ensuring that the headline is short, concise, and informative. You will also want to use specific keywords to ensure that the message is clear.
2) Blog about it
Blogging about press release posts is a great way to increase their exposure. Blogging, for example, can help you improve your search engine rankings while also providing customers with helpful information about the company or industry. However, it is not adequate to just copy and paste the press release into a blog post. Instead, you should summarize the release, add other materials or sources, or create guest posts to support your point. You can also include other media like videos and images to make your blog posts more interactive.
Infographics are a great way to break up written content. They are great visual representation tools to present information in press releases that may be more complex. Additionally, infographics make a great content marketing tool because they allow you to use charts and graphs to convey statistics more efficiently. You also need to make the infographics scannable by using different aspects to separate other ideas. In order to make your blog posts easy to scan, you should form short paragraphs and list or bullet point key points whenever possible. You can then share these blog posts on social media and email newsletters, encouraging people to read your press release and visit your website. The more content you create about your press releases, the more buzz and interest it will generate.
3) Go live on social
You can go live or make videos for platforms like Instagram and Facebook to broadcast information about your press release in form of an announcement. This is an excellent way to convey messages to your online audience for quite a few reasons. For starters, it allows you to diversify your online content in real-time for viewers.
Building awareness around an event or newsworthy content can also help you build brand awareness as a whole. Going live helps build excitement around a press release, especially when highlighting an upcoming event or new product launch. It can also drive leads to your blog, social profile, and website. Live videos are also a more cost-effective way to engage audiences and make them part of a conversation compared to other marketing tools. Over time, connecting with audiences will improve customer loyalty.
4) Include captivating quotes
You can make your content more engaging and relatable by including great quotes in your press releases. Quotes can help to amplify content by making it more exciting. Ultimately, you want your quotes to motivate, entertain, educate, or persuade readers to take the desired action.
Including a few quotes from reputable sources can help you establish credibility for whatever news you’re sharing in your press release. This will help you to attract your target audience as well as increase online shares.
5) Create mobile-friendly press releases
You must first ensure that your press releases are mobile-friendly before sharing them on social media. This will allow you to communicate with users regardless of the device they are using. You must ensure that your content is easy to read and navigate, regardless of the screen size.
Since many people access information through their mobile devices, if your content isn’t mobile-friendly, you’ll most likely lose a lot of viewers and readers, making all your press release promotion efforts ineffective. With the rise in mobile internet usage, it’s more important than ever to ensure that all online platforms and content are accessible on various devices.
Conclusion:
Regardless of your personal views about social media, it has become clear that we can’t live without it. Even so, since so many brands use social media for promotion, it is imperative to know how to set yourself apart from your competition. While you can develop a social media strategy on your own, sometimes it is advisable to hire a PR agency. After all, PR specialists can give your social media strategy the boost it badly needs.
If you need help standing out on social media, partnering with the experts at Pressfarm could make all the difference. Backed by a team of PR specialists, expert writers, and certified designers, Pressfarm can help you stand out with quality content. With a professional press release, some engaging guest posts, and an eye-catching media kit, you can capture attention.
In addition to helping you create all this content, the team at Pressfarm can connect you with the best people to share your brand story. By submitting your content to the right media outlets and startup directories, Pressfarm can boost your online visibility and help you feature in relevant search results.
Finally, each client at Pressfarm also gets custom media lists, and access to a media database of 1 million+ journalists, bloggers, and influencers. With these contacts, you can connect with the best professionals in your niche and share your news widely.
With any of Pressfarm’s affordable packages, you can create a memorable brand image online.