Top 5 tips for PR Pros on using Twitter

Twitter is one of the best resources to stay on top of real time news & trends. Twitter is an open, free and seemingly endless source of information that covers just about everything. It's a great place for PR Pros to meet, greet and tweet with like-minded people, companies and influencer around the world.

Don't neglect your personal brand in order to build relationships with reporters because eventually reporter comes to trust your name as they will know  someone who can help with timely comments on a story on behalf of a brand.

Here are a quick 5 tips for PR Pros on Twitter:

#Publicizing - Make sure to announce news on twitter at same time as other company news channel. Keeps your company's online newsroom twitter friendly and upto date with fresh content. Keep in mind that journalist rely heavy on twitter while researching story ideas. Hence, when you share your story on twitter you are meeting them where they are instead of waiting them in their inbox.

#Create Twitter list - To help organize media list as per industry and category so you can see tweets coming from people with specific interest and expertise.

#Identify, Connect & Engage Advocates - Identify potential evangeliser, community leaders and influencer in your niche by keeping tabs on who regularly, and appropriately  participates in conversation around specific keywords / keyword phrases. Connect with influencer and nurture relationships by reaching out to them on Twitter directly through dashboard or mention feed. Instead of immediately pitching to them, first try a non promotional interaction. For instance, first re-tweet a few their posts. Then answer questions or share interesting links.

#Optimize news worthy tweet with trending hash tags and an image to standout in a news feed. Tweet with one or two hash tags & image receives higher engagement.

# Monitor the Twitter feed - Twitter is an excellent resource for journalist looking for sources or quick comments on a story. Start monitoring the needs of your target journalist and bloggers via tweetdeck or hootsuite.

Twitter for PR

Conclusion
If you've been relying on traditional public relations tactics, its time to breathe new life in your efforts. By focusing on a social approach, you'll be able to communicate your messages directly with your stakeholders. Twitter can be an extremely effective tool to meet your PR goals - engage with journalist, promote your client, connect with prospects, stay informed about current news & get quick access to the writings & insights of leaders in the profession.   

Goodbye Silos, PR meets Content Marketing

Rise of Content PR

Disruptive advertising have grown passe and consumers are more attracted to organic message. Just as organic food is good for your health, organic traffic is best for your brand. The question now arises how do you attract organic traffic? The answer lies in distributing high-quality content across the channels your targeted audience uses. This is where PR comes handy. PR pros collaborate with influencer  including journalist and bloggers, who can amplify the reach of content as well as increases quality and authenticity of content.

In the past, marketers drew a deep line between the two functions marketing and PR. But as i discussed in my first post today's PR doesn't allow for silos. The fact is PR and Content marketing each play important roles and support brand recognition in different ways. PR & content marketing marriage is not only in the cards but its inevitable. 

PR & Content Marketing together is a powerful combination

PR and content marketing are complimentary roles working towards the same goal. They are most effective when together. The big question is if we all are great content creators then what's the point of having PR. With so much content being created online, its even harder to stand out - that's why content marketing needs PR behind it to thrive.

Credibility is key

PR helps content marketing when it comes to credibility. Because unless your content is being seen by potential customers its invisible carrying no meaning. To be visible, your content must be either published on a major blog or linked to by influencers. Engaging content when coupled with targeted PR efforts, promises 

engagement from a broader audience.

The new digital face of PR

Content marketing can fuel PR efforts when it comes to perception. Content marketing as a PR tool helps to build & maintain a reputation & encourages positive interactions. The ability to bring quality content to media sources ensures building up a strong natural backlink profile via authentic news providers sources.

 Choosing your own channels

As a PR pro, one way to incorporate content marketing into your mix is to re-purpose content you already have. Story telling is the heart of content marketing and social media has played a larger role in the demand for great content satisfying different needs and each has its own style. A healthy mixture is ideal & the best way to drive long term thought leadership.

Content PR is the future of marketing. One piece of content can flow out to multiple sources but that needs to be contextual, connected and interactive as per your audience. Share, re-purpose, share again & repeat the same process a few more times!

PR: Then and now

PR 'can no longer work in silos'

Traditionally PR and Digital Marketing teams have worked in isolation. However, looking at today's digital world this can no longer work as the way consumer obtain information has changed drastically. The traditional PR methods must be revised in order to accommodate more of digital PR approach. In fact, PR and digital marketing methods should actually work together to focus on demonstrating value i.e. the impact on web traffic, leads and sales - through the delivery of great content and this cannot be done by either of disciple in isolation. 

As the newsroom culture is transforming, digital newsroom are becoming vital for success of PR campaigns. The introduction of internet was the turning point for PR - it made every aspect in PR work so much faster than before. it brought emails, blogs & social media to the PR platform. This new PR lets us create actual relationships rather than just putting out our information out there & hoping to succeed. With the internet we can efficiently research & target exactly who we want our information to go out to. Once we have our targets, we work quickly to make connections & build the relationships that are needed for our success through social media networks.

PR 1.0 Vs PR 2.0

PM Narender Modi has beautifully described technology as a means to "discover, learn, evolve and implement." Understanding this in PR perspective, PR pros need to discover the new digital technologies, embrace the Digital age and reinvigorate our PR and Marketing strategies for the new year!