We’ve seen it time and time again - traditional media drives social media activity. More people get their news from social media than ever before, and headlines often kick off trending topics on social. The two are very intertwined, so If you know there is going to be major media activity (positive or negative) around your brand, you should make sure your social presence is also prepared. Here are a few tactics to consider:
Make it easy to find you. Your handle on social is as important or more important than your company name when it comes to finding you. If you haven’t claimed similar handles across networks, now is the time (assuming someone else hasn’t already grabbed it). It’s easiest for media to share your social presence when one handle name used across multiple networks (@companyx). Be sure to also put your social links on your website. It’s possible someone may read about you or see your company on TV and head directly to your website to check you out. Once on your site, people will often seek out links to social and follow. And while they will most likely visit your site once, social makes it easy to stay in touch.
Make sure your presence is active and represents your brand well. We liken it to cleaning your house before guests come over; you want to put your best foot forward. if you haven’t been active on social but know a big story is coming, make sure your pages present a good image. Check the website links, reread the bio to see if it still communicates the most pertinent info and post a recent photo or two in the newsfeed. Create a few teaser posts telling people to tune in if it is a positive story.
Be ready to listen and respond. When the news breaks and conversation starts, you’re going to want to have extra support (internal or agency), so you can proactively search for comments and interact. If it’s negative news, make sure you have a plan in place with pre-determined responses and a strategy for when and what you want to respond to.
Consider a social tie-in to the news coverage. If you know a product or service is going to be featured in the news, find ways to extend that on social for people who want more info. A client of ours was featured on a national talk show and decided to give away the same product on social that was featured on the show. To enter to win people had to follow her and tag a friend. A great way to capitalize on the sudden burst of interest.
Have another tip? Share in the comments below and let us know if you need help getting your social “media-ready.”