Hostetler Public Relations

Providing public relations and marketing communications counsel, strategy and support

Indianapolis social media company

Is social media a fit for your company?

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Last night I had the pleasure of speaking at a Boone County Economic Development Corporation event. The topic was social media. I was asked to have a small group conversation about the ins and outs. The approach was to ask the question: is social media right for your company? The audience included a large regional business leader to a small solo shop owner along with a couple of women business owners opening store fronts. Regardless of the business size and scope, the list to the right shares what anyone should consider before jumping into social media. I’ll briefly touch on each.

Brand and message: Do you know what you want to say about yourself and your business? What are the three to five key messages your company is trying to convey? And be sure you’ve got your colors/images in good order. Social media is visual.

Goals: What are they? To drive business to your website? To share information? To be an expert? To get likes? Carefully consider your expectations before starting.

Channels: There are many! What might be right for one person’s business isn’t right for your company. Instagram is visual only. What if you just want to write messages without photos? Audiences are different for each social media channel. Also consider the time it takes to manage multiple channels.

Time/Process: How much do you want to spend? Post to one social media channel and it’s manageable. Start doing more and carefully consider how you’ll be able to keep up and do it well. Managing social media means having a good process. Consider, do I post daily? Could I get by with a few times a week? If I have multiple channels should I invest in a tool such as Hootsuite or Buffer that links channels into one tool for easy management? Does your team know your process?

Budget: Don’t just think dollars also think time. What’s your time worth? Should you hire someone to help you? If you do, review and use this list as you consider a good partner for your business.

Tools: I mentioned Hootsuite and Buffer above. There also are graphic tools. Canva has become a standard. Someone asked last night what Canva is. My best comparison, when we all start a PowerPoint presentation, we review options for layouts/graphics. Canva is very similar with posts for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. The tool lets you put in colors and fonts for brands. It’s DIY design simplified. And it’s affordable.

Management: Once social media starts it’s hard to stop. Manage your likes and comments. If you get messages, respond. Preplan posts to simplify.

Measurement: Go back to your goals? Are you achieving them? Or should you adjust?

And as always, if you need help or have questions give us a call.

Maximize your impact through social media

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By Shannon Philllips

Let’s face it, not only is social media here to stay, its dominating presence makes it essential for companies and organizations to think differently and creatively about communicating with target audiences.

Here are a few ideas to consider in developing your social media strategy:

Upgrade your “app” knowledge – Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are popular platforms, but there are dozens of other apps (YouTube, Google+, Periscope, Snapchat, etc.) that are just as well-known and widely used. Before you create a social media strategy, spend time learning about various apps and how other companies and organizations use them. Remember, every app is not a perfect fit for every company. During your research, determine which apps will be most useful for your company or organization.

Here’s a list of popular social media apps to get you started in your research:

Top 5 Best Free Social Media Apps for iPhone & Android

Here’s a list of apps to watch in 2016:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jaysondemers/2015/08/13/7-social-media-platforms-that-could-explode-before-2016/

Designate a social media person or team – It is impossible to have a social media strategy without a team or person to create, post and control content. To succeed in communicating your message on any social media platform, content must be consistent (at least one post/ tweet per day) and response to followers’ questions or concerns should be timely. That’s where a social media team or person comes in handy. In addition, assigning social media coordination ensures accurate communication of your message. So often, companies assign this task to 10 or 20 people without providing direction. Very little gets posted or messaging is inconsistent. The common phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen” definitely applies here. Assign one to three people to maintain your social media pages to avoid these pitfalls.

Make social media part of your daily conversation – It’s easy to focus on traditional media (newspapers, TV, radio) during communication meetings. Always remember your followers on social media who will read the information on their timeline faster than reading it on a website. Social media is a great opportunity to get creative with messaging at no cost. Planning a BIG announcement? Build anticipation with photo posts or hints each day prior to the announcement. Share the big news on social media with a short video from the CEO with the website link for more information. Remember, this is your opportunity use YOUR page to engage thousands of YOUR followers. Keep your message short and to the point.

Social media can be a fast way to connect with customers and supporters. With a solid strategy and a bit of creativity, your company or organization will experience a different level of engagement.

Shannon Phillips coordinates social media for clients at Hostetler Public Relations.

The message: It’s your communications foundation

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Social media, content management, blogs, enewsletters. The list of cool and new communications tools goes on and on. Over and over business owners read and hear about these tools and many are ready use them, but often forget the foundation of communications: the message.

As a business owner, if you’re considering undertaking a marketing/communications campaign, consider the following question before undertaking use of any of these tools.

  • Can you and your employees share your company’s mission/vision/values?
  • Do you know your company’s message or story?
  • Can your employees and sale team effectively share the company story?
  • Other than revenue growth, what are your company’s short- and long-term goals?
  • Do you know your target markets to strategically grow your business?

If you’ve answered no to this list of questions, consider taking a step back and spend time designing a well-organized communications foundation that includes these elements: mission/vision/values; message; and audiences. With these elements in place you and your employees will be able to strategically navigate the use of communications tools consistently and effectively to meet your goals and generate ROI.

Social Media: Stake your claim, start with the message

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I was invited and went to a great social media presentation yesterday given by Tim Sanders–a self-touted social media guru. He was there on behalf of Chase bank. They’d invited their business clients, who ranged from owners of retail stores to manufacturers and scaled from small- to mid-sized company owners.

Tim gave a great presentation. He’s truly a believer in social media and how it can work for business. He was great! While I listened sipping my coffee and nodding in agreement along with Tim, it was apparent that many of the people in the room were energized, excited and enthusiastic BUT not sure how to jump into the world of social media. That latter observation came during the Q&A and networking post talk. It seems overwhelming to many of these company owners After all social media is the wild west (I’ve called it that for years and Tim used the same phrase; high-five Tim). Where and how do you stake your claim?

Tim had one great nugget that he glossed over pretty quickly. He said that among the newest trends in social media is determining how to keep consistent communications and messaging from post to post, site to site and so on. That’s true, but it’s also something those of us in the public relations profession have know for a couple of years. Maybe we’re trend setters?!

Social media can be overwhelming. Starting at the beginning with your message is critical. Think about it this way: while the marketing and communications tools have changed, the methods have not. You have to know what you’re going to say, who you’re talking to (who to follow/friend/link to) and how you’re going to to it (which social media sites work best). That gives your company personality, style and brand.

Want to stake your claim in social media? Start at the beginning with your message.

Good luck!

We look forward to helping you communicate your image!

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