SOCIAL PUBLIC RELATIONSA Step by Step Guide to Creating Sustainable Long-Term Strategy

Overview

Take control of your brand online using social media by using the following step by step guide which takes you from having little to no social media presence to a sustainable long-term strategy.

Scheduling

Create your routine Consistency is key No minimum required time, just be

realistic within your strategy for the time you budget

Commit to times where you’re not typically as busy Right before or after lunch

Listen

Set a Google alert for your company/brand Google will email you whenever your brand is

mentioned online (News, Social Networks, Websites) at an interval set by you

Perform a Google search monthly for your company/brand name See what results are returned and in what

order so you can see what people see when they search for your company

Securing Your Company Name List relevant social networks Take 5-10 minutes per social network to

sign-up It’s not necessary to fill out your profile

more than the absolute minimum required to sign up

This stops people from cyber-squatting your company name

Save the usernames and passwords to a spreadsheet

Selecting a Social NetworkBase your selection upon:

Website Demographics Average Age Location (Local, Regional, National,

International) Education Level Ethnicity Male/Female Children Income

Content Type Text Audio Video

Where people are currently talking about your company (site:twitter.com “your company name”)

Ease of use

Facebook Demographics January 2009

Set Permissions

Set an internal policy to moderate and respond to comments/discussions that can be applied to all social networks

Set permissions/moderation based on this policy

When receiving critical feedback use it as an opportunity to address their concern and develop a relationship

Integration with Current PR Strategy Do not create a separate strategy for

Social Media unless you have the necessary resources to dedicate to it

Utilize social media to add an interactive aspect to your public relations Discussion of topics Sharing of information and resources Relationship building

Create a Content Strategy

Based on your level of time dedicated to social media you will need to create a scalable strategy to add content to your social network account

Create content internally Recruit bloggers internally and schedule them to

write routinely Push content from other websites related to

your industry

Connect

Connection Hierarchy Connect with people your company has a natural

connection to (current customers, vendors) Invite customers via an email to your customer base Add social links to the footer of future emails Add social links to your email signature

Connect with people who are aware of your company (Prospects, news organizations, industry experts) Search for them on social networks and interact with

them Do not just talk at them

Connect with people who may be unaware of your company, but are interested in your company or industry Search people’s interests and interact with them

Identify Network Influencers

Network Influencers are very active users or groups within a social network who drive users to information, lead discussions and/or are looked upon as experts within your industry

Characteristics Many connections/friends Consistently push large amounts of quality

content to the network Very active within discussions Typically users have a favorable opinion of this

person

Social Media Release

The social media release is a form of a press release that is intended for distribution on social networks and blogs

A social media release differs from a regular press release in that it is rich with media (video, audio, links)

There is a concise summary in the first paragraph that is rich in keyword phrases

Use your social networking to connect with bloggers so you can send them your SMR

Create Efficiency for Expansion

Expansion is not necessarily devoting more time to social networking; it is creating efficiencies within your strategy to free up time for new initiatives

Automate Allocate resources more effectively

Select a New Network

Questions?For a copy of the presentation leave your email

with me, or email adicembre@buffalome.com

For any questions you may have feel free to contact me at

(716) 830-2676 or at the email address above.