PR Pros “Tweet” On Clients’ Behalf, How Sweet. 2009 Qtr 3
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PR Pros “Tweet” On Clients’ Behalf, How Sweet. |
Venturing into the world of social media opens up a number of listening, following and tweeting opportunities.
Tweet. Tweet. Tweet. For some of the general population, those three words evoke an image of our two-winged, hollow-boned, flying friends. For today’s public relations professionals, those three words conjure up the idea of a social media forum, which facilitates the building of relationships with editors and increasing client coverage, all in 140 characters or less.
Editors Tweet Too.
Not only are PR pros jumping on Twitter to tweet about their clients’ latest product or news, but now in some cases PR pros tweet instead of email.
A number of editors from trade and consumer publications have jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. It is fairly common to see editors requesting images, information or experts on a specific topic through a short, succinct set of words. Although not every editor is a fellow Twitterer, nor have they abandoned email altogether, some have opted to post industry news, tradeshow highlights and editorial opportunities on Twitter.
Double the Coverage, Double the Fun.
In addition to building relationships with Web 2.0-friendly editors, Twitter also can be used to increase an organization’s visibility. In addition to sending news directly to editors, the same targeted media can be reached and informed via Twitter with a few keystrokes and a hyperlink.
But what if for every release, you could get two or three client mentions into the always-expanding Twitter world? It’s really quite simple—re-tweet. After a release has been uploaded to the client’s Web site, creating a hyperlink and crafting a tweet takes minimal time. Then, via another tweet, (preferably from another Twitterer) re-tweet—RT in the Twitter world—the same hyperlink with a new 140 characters all your own creation, the catchier the better. Now, the link associated with the client, as well as the news, has increased in the Twitter world, passing the information down an even longer line of followers.
There is no doubt the world of social media, including Twitter, has changed the public relations industry. Listening and learning about the ways social media affects the daily workings of PR pros helps all involved with increasing an organization’s visibility.
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