Using Social Media Effectively for PR!


We recently, as a class, studied 5 specific social media platforms that organizations could use to better their businesses in ways that are interactive and easy to use. Some of these platforms have a normal side, which all users can interact with while others have specific regulations in which they must meet to be able to use them. Others are variations of platforms that have specific tools installed to help businesses in a new and effective way.

Google for non-profits 

Like mentioned before, some of these social media platforms have requirements, and for Google for non-profit, you must be a non-profit organization to use the platform and all that it has to offer. There are various aspects within Google for non-profit that help these organizations incorporate new features into their businesses daily. A few important aspects to highlight are Google Workspace, Google Ad grants, the YouTube non-profit program and Google Earth and Maps. All these features allow for organizations to be more productive within their online activity, reach more donors, engage with the correct target audience, and show their impact online. Qualifications and eligibility must be met for non-profits to use this platform as well. 



 

Hootsuite

 

Hootsuite is the perfect platform to encompass all the current business’ social media platforms into one, so the posts are all cohesive, formatted similarly and posted at their designated time of the day. Having a social media management tool within a larger scale business is essential, as these messages must reach their correct target audience and at the press of a button, all platforms could be updated with their respective post. Hootsuite emphasizes how their platform is meant to build and manage your brand, deliver excellent customer service, and to be there when your customer needs you. Social media is all about speed, and the faster something gets, the more efficient the customer sees it as. 

 

PressPage

 

PressPage allows for businesses to manage online newsrooms, news and media databases all in one simple platform that is engaging and shows analytics within the platform. This platform is made for simplicity within the PR realm, as things can tend to get hectic with so many sources of information all at once. Like Hootsuite, PressPage allows for customization and scheduling of social media posts across various platforms, to ensure for cohesive content. Another benefit of PressPage is the insights and performance information, which allows you to see what Is doing well, how it is being viewed and what needs help. This evaluation is critical to ensure posts are doing well and the message is being received in the correct way in which we intended. 


 

TikTok for Business

 

This social media platform allows for businesses to pay for services which will guarantee success in their videos and advertisements, but it is not always needed. Paid advertisements come in two forms – brand takeovers which appear when opening the app, and do not disappear for 5 seconds, and native ads which are seen between TikToks on the For You page. 

 

Businesses can always interact and engage with users by using trending hashtags, sounds and lenses that show up on the for you page dependin
g on the algorithm. These can go viral, with likes, comments, and duets. TikTok has become such a prominent social media app nowadays, it often seems odd to me when I don’t see a well-known business using it to promote their products and services to such a wide audience. 




WhatsApp Business 

 

WhatsApp Business app was created for small business owners, to be able to connect with their customers in a way that may be troubling to do starting out as a small business. It also allows them to showcase their products and services and communicate with the customer if any questions were to arise. There is also an option for automated messages to ensure the customer services a quick reply, if it were a simple question needed to be answered. There is also an opportunity to be showcased as a business profile, to provide customers with information right in the app! 



All of these various social media platforms help all types of businesses – from small business to large corporation, everyone needs to find a way to streamline their processes and eliminate the hiccups if possible. Using social media effectively for PR is tricky, but once you get the hang of it it’s a smooth ride from there! 

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