My Ins and Outs for Public Relations

A new social trend has taken over Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube by storm, and that’s sharing your ins and outs. The concept is simple, people share items or tools that they’re currently enjoying, and tools that they are no longer using (or are using less of). A lot of these lists tend to be self-care focused, but I thought this trend was a fun way to outline public relations practices that I’m currently enjoying, and tasks that I’m doing less of (you’ll see what I mean).

My Ins

• Newsletter subscriptions. PR practitioners must stay on top of local, national, and global news in case current events affect our clients, or if there is a trend we can link our clients to. Instead of going through news websites manually every morning, I subscribe to my favorite publications’ newsletters. That way, when I have my breakfast and coffee in the morning, I have all the major stories sitting in my inbox, waiting for me to read.
• Social media campaigns over one-off posts. Social media campaigns (generally) tend to perform well in terms of engagement when they are properly executed. If your company has several upcoming announcements, or maybe you just hired several new employees, consider creating a campaign around it. Create a graphic template, campaign-specific hashtags and encourage employees to engage with the content. You might even attract some new followers!
• Hyperlocal publications. I’m the first to admit that I love that magic feeling of when a top local or trade publication covers your client’s news. But working with hyperlocal outlets also holds a very special place in my PR heart. These outlets are comprised of smaller teams, with loyal and dedicated community readers. It depends on the type of content being produced, but sometimes, a hyperlocal placement has a bigger payout than a national.
• Employees as influencers. Who knows your brand better than your employees? Influencers are expensive, and the content creation and approval process takes time. If you’re looking to save marketing money, try encouraging your team members to become brand ambassadors. If they believe in the brand (and can work on content during work hours), it will flow organically!

My Outs

• Vanity metrics. Judging an account by follower numbers is not how a profile’s success should be measured. When social platforms like Instagram started to take off, many users began buying followers, which hurts your account more than it helps. Instead of counting followers, focus on your retention and engagement rate, which will give you a better idea of how your brand is doing.
• Hours of research. Remember those days of completing hours of background research to understand your competitors, target audience, or industry history? Well, say goodbye thanks to AI. With platforms like ChatGPT and Elicit, we can simply type in what we want to know and then sort through the applicable findings.
• Long pitches. It can be tempting to write long pitches because we want a reporter to understand just how amazing our clients are. Reality is, reporters don’t have time to read long pitches, and we don’t need to spend the time crafting them. Stick to 3-5 sentences with captivating subject line. Reporters are more likely to look at shorter pitches, and we get to save time.

Trends come and go, but finding how to turn best practices into sustainable habits is key. What are your ins and outs for 2024?

Posted In Digital Strategy & Social Media