PRSA Gift of Guidance Program Presentation

On November 10, I was invited to give a presentation at the Public Relations Society of America –  San Antonio Chapter’s annual Gift of Guidance program. The program allows public relations professionals to give back to the community by sharing a gift that only they can give – their expertise – directly assisting several nonprofits with free communications counseling. This is PRSA’s way of supporting charities and other organizations that contribute so much to our community. It was an awesome experience!

My presentation was over the basics of social media and the small do’s and don’ts that can make a big impact of an organization’s overall goals.

Here are 4 takeaways from the presentation for those who maybe aren’t as familiar with how social media could work for their business and impact their overall goals.

• Make a plan.

Before you start to dive into the world of social media, or any tactic for that matter, you need to make a plan to figure out if social is actually the right route for you. Ask yourself these questions.

• What are my organization’s overall marketing goals?
• What are you hoping to achieve?

• Who is the audience?
• Hint: Everyone is not the answer. 🙂

• Where does my target audience receive information?
• Will social media actually work for this audience?
• If so, which channels is this audience most active and engaged on?
• How can my message be integrated into different marketing channels?
• What is my plan? Time to build your strategy before bringing in the tactics.
• How am I going to leverage social or other channels?
• Establish key performance indicators (How will you measure success?)

2.  Understand the Channels

Once you have your plan in place, it is time to choose the 1 or 2 channels that you will believe will bring the most impact related to your goals. See a couple options below.

• Facebook
• Most popular social platform in the world!
• Most robust advertising capabilities of any platform, including Instagram
• Use it when you need to reach a large audience quickly
• Twitter
• Twitter is a fast, concise way to get information out to your audience
• Easy way to find topics that might be trending online, including current events and pop culture
• The birth of the hashtag – where you can put relevant content into categories for people to find you better
• Instagram
• Considered the most visual social tool. Lends itself well to storytelling
• Best tools of Instagram include Stories, hashtag use for page discovery, visual components, fun tools like Boomerang for content diversity
• Beneficial for e-commerce and event promotion
• LinkedIn
• Professional platform that connects businesses and individuals
• Considered to be the strongest for potential B2B leads
• Used primarily for job postings, professional updates, B2B interactions, etc.

3.  Level Up to Amazing

Now that you have chosen your channels, follow these tips to take your social presence to the next level.

• Establish or learn the brand voice
• Keep copy short, creative and concise
• Proofread. Proofread. Proofread.
• Engage with everyone, haters included
• Know that providing value in KING!

4.  Keep Your Resources Close

Here are a couple resources we recommend to help you get started and get smart. You have totally got this!

• Facebook Blueprint
• Social Media Today
• Sprout Social Resources
• HootSuite Academy
• Social Media Examiner
• Canva
• Facebook Marketing Resources

Still have questions? Drop us a line, and our social experts are here to help you.