Using Social Media for Positive PR

Refer to our previous post for an overview of how Social Media has changed the face of Public Relations. Because what the public sees on the Internet often makes up most of what they know about your business, managing your online image is very important.

An unhappy customer has access to the same Internet as your business does. And these days a happy customer tells 3 people, but an unhappy one can now use the Internet to tell 30,000 people! In addition to the need to maintain high customer service standards, you want to get the positive PR on your company our there on the world wide web.

As Lee Iacocca said "you can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, your ideas won't get you anywhere." Social Media is a great tool for getting your ideas "out there" to be responded to. Instead of just being at the mercy of what everyone else is saying online, our Social Media optimization services advocate using Social Media to your advantage is about creative persuasion (aka marketing) and getting across why your prospects should WANT to do business with your company. We call that "Marketing Communications" and it is how you attract the business success you want.

Here are the Top Five ways to use Social Media for beneficial PR.

1 • Instead of the happy customer just telling 3 other people, put them on your blog so the goodness can spread to all the areas your blog is broadcast to. Better yet, do a video feature on your website and blog (it does not have to be fancy, just real) so prospective customers can see and hear someone who appreciated the value of what your company offers.

2 • Blogs are great for positive PR for two basic reasons. First, you yourself write them so you control the content. (Or hire professionals like Promise Productions to ghost write your blog entries in a marketing-savvy way). Second, you can moderate any comments that outsiders make -- filtering out those who would devalue your content.


3 • Put your Press Releases on Your blog. These newsworthy announcements deserve the extra boost in awareness that your blog's (when properly setup) RSS feed can give it.

4 • Be your own publicist. A publicist is there to accentuate the positive spin on whatever their client does. Don't distort the facts, but feel free to utilize Social Media to announce donations made, how your employees volunteer at other charitable organizations, community involvement, to explain the positive motivations and intentions behind company actions, changes and so forth.

5 • Put positive PR out there on other blogs. Find complimentary blogs with common interests and leave a positive footprint there. Comments and testimonials, when done in a win-win fashion and not a self-serving, opportunistic style, can let readers of other blogs know what worked for you. Pay it forward. Think of this as a place to share your positive comments and testimonials.

For Strategic Blogging and Social Media Optimization services call Promise Productions at 972-822-3587.