Effective corporate media relations is a multi-step process for any online business who wants to enjoy success and productivity. A successful branding campaign takes time, effort, diligence and careful planning. Corporations don’t build their brands overnight, and nor should social media be expected to sprout in a small matter of time. Many heads of corporate media relations spend the bulk of their time solely on building their brand online and creating a presence. A lot of thought is placed into this effort because they want to maximize their exposure.
How can social media benefit your organization? The main answer you will always hear in response to this question is exposure. The one way that you can drive interest to your product, cause or service is through exposure. With online activities of many organizations becoming the standard, exposure in its basic, pure form is ideal for the corporation to embrace and maximize its usage. Using and maintaining social media is just the beginning of what corporations can use to enhance their online presence.
Ways to Campaign in Social Media
To launch an effective social media campaign, there are four key components that should be implemented for total effectiveness. Try incorporating these into your business model for maximum results and client attraction and retention.
1. Target
Your corporation should identify the target market that they wish to attract. Whether they will attract their audience by using standard marketing efforts or social media engagement must first be decided before any action is taken. Decide which of the many social networking tools works best for what your corporation offers. Is the organization a proponent of education and enlightenment? Or, do they have a hard product that they want to sell direct to customers? Knowing to whom you are selling and marketing can make your target attempts more valuable and more precise.
2. Strategic Placements
What works best for your product or service? How can you better cater to your audience? Developing a systematical, methodical plan of approach is what works best here. Nothing should be done as an aside; careful strategic planning is necessary. Some of the biggest, most productive corporations on the planet have teams of strategists that work especially with target markets and analyzing trends. Although these types of resources may not be available to the average online corporate business, the same principle does apply. Research thoroughly and see what areas are conducive for your product or service. Develop a succinct marketing plan targeting that group and engage them through the most effective acts of social networking.
3. Engage
Use every available avenue of engagement to work with your audience. This includes social networking on standard sites like Facebook and Twitter. A very good article at steinarknutsen.com thoroughly discusses the ways to use corporate social media to drive traffic to your company’s website.
4. Maintain
It is just as important to maintain all forms of social networking once you have implemented the preceding steps. To neglect maintenance essentially undoes everything that has been put into action. Maintenance doesn’t have to be involved or complicated. Simple dedicated attention to the systems that have been put into place should be sufficient.
It may be necessary to tweak those areas that may or may not apply to your organization. Your marketing department director or staff can certainly identify any areas where changes can be made but yet keep the basic principles of the marketing effort. Another excellently written article at The Globe and Mail talks about how to build up and maintain your standing in any social media environment. Involving these basic criteria can have a positive effect on any marketing campaign.
I am a freelance writer, blogger and professional motivational speaker. I primarily focus on business content, offering my clients strategic marketing strategies for their businesses. I have been an entrepreneur for over 13 years, after having worked extensively in corporate America.
Bridget,
This is a great 4-part approach! Thanks for referencing my work! I appreciate it.
– Steinar