Why You Need To Use Social Media To Leverage Your PR Success In The Digital Age

When MySpace reached its one millionth unique monthly user in June 2004, many argued that marked the beginning of social media as we see it today. It was a rise so sudden that some of today’s biggest social media stars like Charli D’Amelio or Emma Chamberlain were still in diapers when the platforms they now boast millions of followers on were just coming to fruition.

Social media’s relevance in virtually every aspect of society as we know it has taught businesses an important lesson: it’s no longer a competitive advantage, but a basic necessity to maintain a social media presence. The advantage comes when you use your platforms in a way that distinguishes your brand from the 3.78 billion other people on social media today. Using social media as a tool to leverage your brand’s public relations success is essential to building your brand and remaining relevant in today’s digital age.

Scaling Your Success

When you or your brand receive press attention, such as getting interviewed on a TV show or podcast, receiving an honor or award, or being mentioned in an article, you need to relay this press success to a larger audience by posting on social media. By doing so, you position your brand as a credible expert in your industry, opening the door to an array of invaluable earned media opportunities and the potential to scale your audience and bring your brand to the next level. Frequent publication of PR success on LinkedIn can be a place to point to when pitching your client or brand as an expert to the media, and an active Twitter account shows that you’re staying current to industry trends and news. It isn’t enough to just to receive press attention, you have to leverage your success.

It is critical for business leaders, industry professionals and brands to utilize social media as a tool, especially in the times we currently reside. Using LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and other platforms to showcase your PR success is one of the easiest, yet most important ways to drive engagement on your pages and maximize your potential audience.

User-Generated Content

Aside from traditional PR success like interviews, awards or other media hits mentioned above, another form of PR success comes from other social media users. User-generated content is essential to building upon your PR success on social media. When your clients, customers or followers post content that mentions your brand or shows off your product, ask for permission and re-post their content with credit to the original user.

Utilizing user-generated content as a way to share your media success is an easy way to provide social proof. This means that when third-party sources post content that mentions or supports you and your brand, their audience is more likely to trust you and engage with you, because someone they trust also does. Social proof provides an added layer of trust and credibility to your brand and re-posting user-generated content that addresses you in a positive way is an easy strategy to bolster your public image.

Additionally, re-posting user-generated content increases engagement because the original user, as well as their own audience, is more likely to interact with and share your post. This is how you use your PR success to create more.

As we become increasingly reliant upon virtual means to connect with one another, social media has quickly taken over the landscape of marketing and public relations. There are brands who have quite literally built an empire off of Instagram alone. Therefore, it is imperative to use it as a tool to leverage your brand’s PR success. Posting consistent, creative and relevant content that showcases your industry expertise is essential to taking your brand to the next level, and to ensure you do not get left behind in the digital age.

Emily Briselli is a public relations and content development intern at Flackable, an award-winning public relations agency representing financial and professional services brands nationwide. To learn more about Flackable, please visit flackable.com.