We know that public relations is an essential part of running a business. It gives you the reach you need to take your business further. But public relations (or PR) is more than just reaching out to journalists and asking them to cover you in their latest article. So much of public relations is about making genuine friendships with leaders in the publishing and media industry and working with them to tell your story in the best possible way. So what’s Twitter and social media got to do with PR? We invited PR consultant and writer Michelle Garrett to talk about how brands can use Twitter for PR. Here’s a summary of our chat.
Guest: Michelle Garrett
Topic: Leveraging Twitter for Public Relations
Format: Eight questions directed at the guest. Everyone’s welcome to share.
They’re both fairly closely related. As our guest explained, social media is both a great boon and sometimes a challenge for PR professionals. In many ways, social media can help brands widen their reach and amplify their messages.
If a crisis – or even a perceived crisis – begins to brew, it can spread on social like wildfire. PR teams no longer have the luxury of time to get a response together. They need to be ready to respond quickly. 2/2 #TwitterSmarter
— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
That said, it can also go the other way. During a crisis, things can escalate on social media really quickly and PR professionals often don’t have the time to prepare, react, and respond accordingly.
Our friend from Clover Media Consulting emphasized Michelle’s point. Social media can open up doors that traditional public relations won’t. However, it’s also important to know and understand the nuances of each social media platform.
A1. You are no longer bound by the restrictions of traditional PR. Social media allows you to create your own buzz. That said, you’ve got to understand each platform’s specific role in the industry #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/elmtCxOSrj
— Clover Media Consulting (@clovermediahq) February 24, 2022
PR professionals can use social media to reach audiences they haven’t reached yet. What’s more, it’s also a great way to research journalists and make valuable connections.
A2: Social media can help amplify messages PR teams want to get out there.
It can also help you do research on reporters. Use Twitter to research journalists & their beats (as media databases can tend to be out of date-journalists keep their Twitter bios updated) #Twittersmarter— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
Julia from NOW Marketing Group also spoke about the importance of participating in conversations and joining in chats that are relevant to your brand and industry. That’s a great way to build friendships and broaden your network.
A2: start contributing to conversations happening around hashtags that relate to your product or service/the way you help the world! – JJS #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/aPluN9Vv5s
— NOW Marketing Group #SMWL22 (@NOWMG) February 24, 2022
If you follow journalists in your industry, you’ll realize that they tweet out asking for sources for stories they’re working on. As our guest suggested, you can also follow hashtags like #JournoRequest.
A3: Journalists share stories they’re working on and may need sources for. If you follow journalists on Twitter or hashtags like #JournoRequest you may see tweets from them re: stories they’re actively working on. #TwitterSmarter
— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
Twitter is also an excellent way to find out trending topics and stories. If you notice a story that’s relevant to your brand or industry, you can even pitch your story.
A3: Twitter is also a great resource to see what's trending- if you happen to see a trending news story or topic that your brand can weigh in on, you might be able to pitch a story based on that (aka newsjacking). Do use common sense as not _every_ topic is a fit. #TwitterSmarter
— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
Madalyn also suggested following the #PRRequest hashtag. Furthermore, she recommended creating a Twitter list of popular journalists or other profiles who cover stories relevant to you. That way, you can easily keep up with their tweets and find new and upcoming trends quickly.
A3: Create a Twitter list of journalists as well as accounts that you know frequently share PR opportunities. It’ll be easier to keep track of them this way. You can also check out popular hashtags like #journorequest or #PRrequest. #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/qGc9CVWCw2
— MadalynSklar.eth Digital Marketing since 1996 (@MadalynSklar) February 24, 2022
Technically, you can. But our guest advised against it. When a journalist plans to cover you in a piece, the first thing they’ll do is look you up on social media. If you don’t have a solid presence online, they won’t be as keen to feature you.
Kaitlyn, who’s a journalist and freelance writer, confirmed Michelle’s point. She added that it’s also important for a journalist to be able to get in touch with a brand on social media.
Speaking as a journalist…100% this. If it's difficult to get in touch or it doesn't look like the company/person is active, I'll find someone else. #TwitterSmarter
— Kaitlyn Arford — Freelance Writer (@kaitarford) February 24, 2022
An active social media presence is invaluable because it helps establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry.
A4 From a reporter: “I always check..for roundups & mentions, I consider keeping a fresh online presence to be critical if I’m implying you are a thought leader or best-of in my article.”
Wrote about it here: https://t.co/UJ3Arp3zVf 2/2
#TwitterSmarter— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
If you haven’t been posting anything on social media for a while, it’ll seem as if there are no PR activities happening for the brand.
On the other hand if your social media echoes your PR efforts that helps the brand appear to be more on top of its game.“I see this message in the pitch/press release–also see it echoed on the brand’s social media channels”–it’s all in synch–much better look. 2/2 #Twittersmarter
— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
But if you’re consistently posting about what’s happening with the brand and your PR activities, you will seem far more lucrative for a journalist. They might look at the pitch you’ve given them and realize that your messages align and that you’re actively pursuing your goals.
As Doug and Madalyn pointed out, when you have a strong social media strategy and a community to support you, your PR efforts will get more reach.
A5: What Madalyn said. It would be a shame to have great PR without a community strategically built around your brand to share that PR swag and engage around it with… #TwitterSmarter https://t.co/2PgtfU9pWe
— Doug Cohen (@dougcohen10) February 24, 2022
Journalists usually look for what a brand shares on social media, but also how frequently they post. As our guest quoted a journalist, an unconvincing social media activity makes the brand seem inconsistent and uninterested.
More from reporters re: social media activity: “…if not updated, it makes me leery of doing the story (like are they really doing what I’m being pitched) and makes my job much harder if I do decide to pursue it still.” 2/3
— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
Additionally, journalists want to see a brand’s social media activities because they want to tag the brand on socials knowing that they’re active enough to engage with that mention. No journalist would want to tag a brand and initiate a conversation on social media if the brand seems unlikely to respond and drive the conversation further.
“I want as much background information as possible. Plus, I want to be able to tag them in my social media posts.” 3/3 #TwitterSmarter
— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
And of course, journalists want to see that the brand is a real expert in the field, as Christine pointed out. They want to see credibility, expertise, and networking. They want reassurance that the brand won’t let them down.
A6.
Expertise. Connection. People are having newsworthy conversations and you’re part of it.
You also need to be trustworthy; clearly a LEGITIMATE expert.#TwitterSmarter— Christine Gritmon ❤️ #ChatAboutBrand (@cgritmon) February 24, 2022
This is a subjective question. For some brands, yes, it makes sense to have a face behind the profile. But for some others, it doesn’t make much of a difference.
A7: I think it depends. I know there are brands that don’t identify the person doing the posting/engaging on social – but in some cases it does make it feel more personal. An example I noted recently was @McDonalds – @HuinGuillaume manages its Twitter account.
#TwitterSmarter— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
For example, consider the CEO of a large company. They may not want to be involved heavily on Twitter, but doing so will help boost the brand itself. Like Elon Musk and Tesla—except, it’ll work even if your brand isn’t as shiny as Elon’s.
A7: Another thought re: this Q – some CEOs don't want to be active on Twitter (I think they find it a bit scary – don't blame them) – but it can be important. Being present on social media increases trust with shareholders and employees. #TwitterSmarter
— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
Lance raised some good questions as well, especially if you’re considering hiring someone to represent your brand. Having a friendly, trustworthy, and sometimes influential personality as the face of the brand can increase credibility and liveability. However, it’s important to ask yourself if that person resonates with the brand. People want to connect with an authentic person—if the face of your brand isn’t a good match for the brand’s philosophies, it may do more harm than good.
#TwitterSmarter A7: Adding a known, admirable personality (or character: every insurance company) adds familiarity, credibility. Celebrities/influences add interest, drive traffic. But do they really believe in your good/service? Are they worth the investment? pic.twitter.com/H5nOGmZmhD
— Lance A Schart 🌻 (@LanceASchart) February 24, 2022
Twitter, no doubt about that. It’s where every journalist lives. Even if they aren’t as obvious about it, they’re just around the corner, listening, observing, and scouring for stories.
A8: Twitter by FAR is the best for PR! It's where the journalists are. #Twittersmarter
— Michelle Garrett (she/her) (@PRisUs) February 24, 2022
Well folks, that’s all from me this week. Thanks a lot for reading through and for more great insights from our chat with Michelle, have a look at this Twitter thread. If you think this summary is pretty good, you’ll love the real-time chat. Join us every Thursday at 1pm ET on #TwitterSmarter. We also hang out on Twitter Spaces at 5pm ET to continue our chat. Catch you there!
About me, Narmadhaa:
I write all the things—marketing stuff for the bills; haiku and short stories for the soul. A social media enthusiast, I hang out with the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and am always happy to take on writing gigs.
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