 It seems like there’s a new social media platform every week; besides the giants like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, there’s Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest. Creating content for this large array of platforms can seem daunting.
However, just because your organization or company can create a profile for each platform doesn’t mean you should. Just like your company probably caters to a specific audience, different platforms appeal to different audiences. For example, LinkedIn is more often used by individuals looking for business/networking content, while Snapchat stories are more likely to contain culture and lifestyle content. Rather than blindly posting the same press release or story on ten different social platforms, instead consider choosing a few platforms that best match your target audience and then tweak content for each one. As the saying goes: quality over quantity!  The internet and social media make it easier than ever to spread information (factual or not) like wildfire. If your company or organization has big news to share, choosing to make a big announcement gives you more control over the message and tone of your news (rather than waiting for the media to find out on its own).
Here are three things to consider before making big announcements:
 Tell your story: don't leave it to the media to get it right. You'd be surprised at how many businesses and organizations do exactly the opposite. Whether it's fear of the media or a bunker mentality, that kind of thinking is usually a recipe for badly damaged media relations.
How do you tell your story? Over explain the issue and the response. While you're dealing with the media, take the same information directly to the public through social media and your own website.  The next time you write a press release, don't write just one. Considering writing several, each one with a different twist or variation on the same theme.
A press release can be revised to fit multiple niche media outlets. With all of the websites, blogs and social media pages available today, your message can be targeted to the perspective or point of view of those sites.  More and more of us are getting our news through so-called "incidental exposure." That's the term E-contentmag.com uses to describe how people come across news serendipitously, while they are surfing the web or clicking on links suggested by someone they know.
Consider your own experience when you see a link to a story from a friend or in a Tweet from someone you follow. You weren’t looking for it. You weren’t even on a news site, but you click on the link and, presto, you're now reading or watching the story. The impact from a media relations and public relations perspective is to understand that it's not enough simply to get a story placed with a newspaper or broadcast outlet. That story then needs to be shared with friends and followers who would otherwise never see it. The process might go something like this: |
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