Representatives from Hallmark, Ticketmaster and Guinness Book of World Records were among the many marketing professionals who shared social media success stories during the recent PRWeb Social Media Summit.
I had the privilege of attending this year’s PRNews Social Media Summit in Huntington Beach, California last week. I’ll share more of what was discussed over the next few weeks. However, for now, here are some quick, yet critical take-aways from Day 1.
- Focus on Shared Experiences
Rather than always getting caught up on how to reach Baby Boomers, Gen X or Millennials, create social media campaigns that bond people around a shared experience or belief. - Traditional, Digital and PR teams must work together
As digital, PR and traditional marketing roles blur, its critical to collaborate with each other. PR teams must coordinate with digital media professionals to build longevity and greater reach of messaging and media mentions. - When it comes to metrics, business outcomes still come first
Be a business person first. Social Media (and PR for that matter) is not about how popular you can be online or how much exposure you can create for your client. It’s about the bottom line. What are you ultimately trying to accomplish. How will you measure success of a campaign? CEOs don’t care about impressions or spikes in web site traffic, they care about the business outcomes. How will you measure what is important to the business? - Data Story Telling
Look at the data (Facebook Insights, Google Analytics, etc) and see what’s working. What do your current customers and potential customers consider newsworthy? What is shareworthy? This will give you a deeper understanding of your customers’ motivations. Then build your digital content strategy around those stories that drive customers to take action. - Paid Social isn’t the Driver, it’s the Vehicle
With Facebook’s most recent algorithm changes, businesses have to pay more to be in front of consumers. Don’t just boost posts to boost them. Be purposeful. Define your goals and create the content your audience wants to see. Then make sure the technology is in place to measure the business outcomes of that boosted post. - Journalism Skills Still Apply
Don’t lose the ability to write. Journalism still has its place. The medium may have changed, but you still need to write well to communicate quickly and efficiently in the digital world. - Think beyond the obvious paid social ads
Everyone wants to invest in the top 4 – Facebook, LinkedIN, Twitter, Instagram. Think about other ways your audience is consuming content. BuzzFeed? Blogs? Consider Influencer Marketing strategies to have others help tell your company story in an authentic way. Think of core influencers as your content creation workshop with peer to peer influence beyond what a company can say on their own.
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Holly Berkley is an author, educator, speaker and professional Internet Marketing Consultant focused on helping all size businesses increase online sales, strengthen their overall brand, and dramatically boost web site traffic through proven online marketing concepts. Berkley’s newest book is “The Social Media Advantage – An Essential Handbook for Small Business” Learn about her latest books and marketing services at www.BerkWeb.com
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