Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Syncing into the World of Social Media

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last few years, you know that social media is taking over the business world. It is a huge tactic for publicity, advertising, and communication for businesses. The use of social media can make or break a business and their reputation, but when used properly, your company can be very successful. This article, along with the idea given in “Adventures in Public Relations” can give helpful insight to companies how to use social media to better their business.

            The first idea is to utilize social media properly. Adventures in public relations discuss the idea of cyber relations on page 320. This is the use of public relations strategies and tactics to deal with publics via the internet and with issues related to the internet. Companies are now making cyber relations a category of its own in the business world because of its importance.  It is extremely important for companies to respond quickly and appropriately to their consumers and followers on social media.  A negative example of this would be our discussion in class about Amy’s Bakery and how they retaliated and were inappropriate on their Facebook page when speaking to consumers.  A positive example of this would be from the critical analysis presentation given on Netflix. The company responded quickly to the consumers’ needs as well as in a fun and appropriate way. Businesses can also keep their name out in the public by utilizing different parts of the social media site as well. Using hash tags, pools, pins, and tags, are just a few ways social media can be a legitimate factor in getting word of your business out to the public.

            This article also discusses the importance of paying attention to what your followers are saying. With social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter having newsfeed constantly updating, it is easy to follow what consumers are saying. This in turn is making it easier for the business to check its feed and see what its consumers want or need, as well as concerns or complaints. Because of this it is even more important for businesses to respond as soon as possible to consumer’s complaints and posts. In our textbook, Guth and Marsh explain on page 170, the importance of responses to consumer contacts. They explain that the responses may and can be the most important marketing public relations tactic out there.  Social media can create many opportunities for businesses. When utilizing the services that are brought to the table, it will give your business an advantage in the business world and keep your customers coming

In understanding the marketing small businesses must employ, we have to consider the accessibility consumers have to digital marketing today. Consumers have unlimited ability to find a small-business' marketing, so it needs to be consistent and on-point, never wavering from the core messaging.

Let's see if we can implement them efficiently!