“Get the most bang for your buck!”
“Get every penny’s worth!”
These clichés aren’t just for the latest “BOGO” deal at your favorite store. They also can apply to your social media budget.
In public relations agencies, clients can dedicate a portion of their budget to a social media campaign. Many clients ask, “How can we maximize our engagement with social media audiences within our budget?” Three simple strategies come to mind:
1. @Tag relevant parties
Have you ever posted a quote from an individual related to your social media campaign? Have you tagged the individual in the post?
If not, I suggest you do. For MSU PRSSA’s Regional Conference, we shared a series of posts to thank our sponsors for their support. In the posts, we made sure to tag the organizations to tap into their social media following and garner their attention. Tagging relevant parties is a great strategy to grow your social media following. Remember: You’re just a tag away!
2. #Hashtag
#WhatIsThePurposeOfAHashtag?
Hashtags are used to streamline conversations about a topic. For example, last spring, I coordinated a PRSSA Regional Conference, The Tale of our City: PR’s Role in Detroit’s Revitalization. The planning committee wanted to host a Twitter chat to communicate with prospective attendees the benefit of attending our conference. Our hashtag, #TODchat, helped make the Twitter chat successful. TOD was an acronym for “Tale of Detroit.” We wanted to incorporate all aspects of our title into the hashtag. Attendees could follow the conference’s Twitter chat by searching for #TODchat. The search would generate all posts that used the hashtag. An effective hashtag can help you reach a wider audience without adding to your budget.
3. Link to your blog site
Does your organization have a blog? Do you link your blog posts on your social media posts?
Linking blog and social media posts are a great way to boost engagement. Studies show that posts receive the most engagement when they include multimedia elements – external links, photos and/or videos. MSU PRSSA created a blog series as another promotional tool. When we announced the release of a new blog post on social media, we increased our blog reads and website traffic. Talk about killing two birds with one stone!
Connectivity
One of the biggest benefits of the technology we have at our hands today is its connectivity. Unlike ever before, you can connect your phone, laptop, tablet or watch with your social media accounts, mobile shopping applications and calendars. Connectivity can apply to your social media strategy to “get the most bang for your buck” in your social media budget. Tag, hashtag and link your way to increased engagement levels!
Danielle Homic is a student practitioner at Martin Waymire and a senior at Michigan State University majoring in advertising with a minor in public relations. Over the summer, she worked as a digital marketing intern for Ford Motor Company in Chicago. Her other internship positions include a programming intern for the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy and support intern for Title Source, Inc.
In addition to her internship experience, Danielle serves as president of MSU’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter. Last year, she coordinated MSU PRSSA’s Regional Conference, The Tale of our City: PR’s Role in Detroit’s Revitalization, with Wayne State University. Outside of work, Danielle is an avid sports fan. She cheers for the Spartans and Detroit’s professional teams.
