Playing the Social Media Symphony
By John Pilmer, President of PilmerPR
Too often companies are so eager to jump on the next hot thing that they forget to strategize their approach. This concept is painfully true for businesses of all sizes when it comes to social media. Disjointed, unplanned and poorly executed are too frequently the adjectives that best describe a company’s social media tactics. This causes company “energy leaks” that can be prevented.
A blog post about X, a Tweet about Y, and a press release about Z, waste time, energy and resources. Blog posts, Tweets, press releases, social bookmarking and more should be done in a strategic manner to create synergy and to play the symphony of social media.
Playing the Social Media Symphony
The symphony and social media tactics have a lot in common. Just as a symphony carefully coordinates many instruments, a strong social media strategy should employ all the available tools for optimal success.
For example, pretend your company is having an upcoming open house. How do you use social media to let people know? First, write a blog post about the event. Talk about the open house, why you are having it, who will be there and most importantly, why your customers or clients should come. After posting your blog, you should bookmark your post on popular social bookmarking Web sites like Delicious, Digg, StumbleUpon and others.
Next, Tweet on Twitter about your blog post. Create an intriguing Tweet and include a link to your post. Remember to send any special @name Tweets to those you want to make sure read your Tweet.
While you are tweeting, you should also update your status on Facebook, LinkedIn and MySpace to let all your friends, family, and coworkers know that you will be hosting an amazing open house. Don’t stop at updating your status. Post a link about the open house from your Facebook business page to your blog post, so all of your fans will know the information they need to attend.
Along with a link to your blog on your Facebook business page, you may want to upload a preview video with directions on how to find your business location, what to expect at the open house and anything else you want to talk about. Follow up your video by creating an event on Facebook and inviting all your Facebook business page fans to the event and encourage them to invite their friends.
By using all the available social media tools in symphony, you not only can spread your message faster, but you can also help your Web site with increased traffic and SEO. The key to a social media symphony is strategy. Strategically plan who you are trying to reach, why they should care and what you want them to do. After your plan is set, strike up your social media symphony and enjoy the harmonious results.
About the Author
John Pilmer, APR is the founder and president of PilmerPR, LLC. In its 6th year, the award-winning PilmerPR team provides enterprise-level expertise at a small business price. The company is a 2008 recipient of the Provo/Orem Chamber of Commerce Arthur V Watkins award for excellence. PilmerPR was recognized at the National Press Club in Washington, DC for its work in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Also, see the KSL Channel 5 interview of the author regarding crisis communications.
The content of this blog reflects the views and opinions of the author, and not necessarily those of Utah Business.
Tags: Communications, Facebook, pilmerPR, public relations, Social Media, strategy