Social media platforms provide the opportunity to connect with people every day, even in small conversations, to garner praise and criticism. With a culture of constructive and continuous feedback, companies can better tailor their products and services to the needs of their target groups. However, several places show that these channels are not always the best. Social media is neither an advertising tower nor a press release distribution portal.
In terms of reach, media reach is far ahead of social media.
Because it is much easier to post status updates in the industry or business press than to tell stories on a variety of industry topics, many companies give little or no pay attention to the press. There are also instances where social media and mass media are confused.
However, advertising decisions should be based on strategic considerations such as:
- Where are the target groups for the promotion?
- What are the functions of the different channels (press: information and opinion formation; social networks: conversation and emotion)?
- Which channel best fits your current and long-term goals?
Anyone thinking about public relations should consider the following factors, which are critical to managing a company’s reputation:
1. Reach
Social media plays an important role in modern PR, but its effectiveness in terms of reach is often overstated, even among PR professionals. Contrary to popular belief, a single report in print or online reaches many more people organically than multiple posts on Facebook and Twitter.
Specifically, social media posts may only get a few hundred likes if popular, while reports in industry or professional media reach at least thousands to hundreds of thousands of readers. depending on the broadcast, subject and direction. With traditional media, circulation, impressions and visitors are usually fixed, so the reach is already defined transparently before the first article is published. On the other hand, the organic reach of social media posts, where once you post and leave the rest up to chance, is very volatile and difficult to predict.
2. Persistence of messages
Social media posts tend to get pushed back on the timeline. In particular, if the account holder or the sender is active, they will be pushed back and quickly disappear. In contrast, press coverage, as it can usually be found via a web link, resonates much longer and is thus an important part of long-term reputation management.
3. Focus and orientation of the target group
Unlike social media, companies that focus on media outreach always target a clearly defined group, whether geographically or in terms of content. You can tell exactly who it is by looking at media data. Social media posts, on the other hand, are received by a wide range of people, the target group is difficult to define, and posts can reach just about anyone, regardless of transparent influencers, such as degree interaction within their own community.
4. Channels as a means fit for purpose
Media coverage is ideal for providing the public with detailed information about a company and for building long-term relationships with media and opinion leaders. On the other hand, social media is great for talking to your target audience and building a community. Both are absolutely essential and should be integrated into your company’s communication strategy. Experience has also shown that social media is useful for stimulating additional content, such as expert articles, and attracting journalists’ attention to key topics.
5. Decision support
According to Gu, coverage in industry or professional journals can be an important decision support tool during the customer journey. Business decision makers, as well as customers, often rely on the judgments of independent media to “neutralize” their product or service choices and, emotionally, to rationally justify the decisions they have already made. This can also be confirmed in the GFK online survey commissioned by Greven Medien. According to the survey, news articles in trade or local press are among the top five factors influencing consumer buying decisions. In the survey, 1 in 7 people (13.7%) said they had been inspired by media reports. Why is the media coverage so compelling? Reporting on a company by an independent third party, such as the German die Presse, which was perceived as rigid, is much more credible than the dissemination of information on social networks or the documentation of the company itself.
Argue against the effectiveness of media coverage: While companies should follow the frequency of posting dictated by the media, in social media the sender of the message dictates the timing and format of posting. There are also no eligibility requirements for posting topics or texts. Editorial sovereignty belongs to the medium itself, and the selection of topics is guided by the needs of the target group and its own direction.
Requirements for effective communication with the media
Media outreach does not happen overnight, so if you don’t have qualified in-house resources, you should leave it to the professionals. If you want media exposure, you must meet several requirements. A well-written message is not everything. Companies must define clear concepts for:
- the company’s position in the market
- The target group you want to reach (who is your company aimed at?)
- The goal you want to achieve through your journalism work
- Messages and topics to prepare for this objective
- Which channel to use (depending on the target group)
- How to manage content for journalistic work
Basically, there are many ways to increase exposure levels. Success in combining different disciplines in a meaningful way attracts particularly high interest. Therefore, businesses must use media and social media advertising correctly. This will cover the risks and ensure the future of the business.
editor@itworld.co.kr
