Instant Reactions and Statements

Imagine something newsworthy just happened to your company, organization, etc... Good or bad, it doesn't matter for this exercise. As the public relations official you feel a statement needs to be made, so you draw up a press release to send out to the news desks or make phone calls trying to book your CEO or president on a TV or radio station. Your problem? It takes time to issue a press release or book a radio/TV spot (then get on the air). And in all that time, there's still not statement from your office.

Social media has an answer to the problem we've all had at one point or another.

Just as social media platforms created a continuous news cycle for journalists, it also created a platform and news cycle that allows for instant reactions and statements from companies and organizations via the public relations staff. 

If at any time good or bad news breaks, a savvy public relations professional would not need to reach out to the news media to react with a comment, statement or their side of the story. Instead, social media platforms allow for public relations professionals to release their message directly and on their timeline and terms. This development is different from issuing a press release because only the media would receive the message whereas social media platforms are open to the public and media and consumers can receive the message instantaneously and simultaneously.

The same can be said about running promotions: instant, short-term and long-term. To get a promotional message delivered, public relations professionals no longer need to rely on the media to convey it or hope the intended audience visits their website in a timely fashion. Social media platforms allow for instant connections to an audience that is directly interested in the promotion message with results that can be measured just as quickly.

Want Better Measurability?

Any PR pro has been asked this question by a superior or co-worker when presenting or pitching an idea: "How many people are we going to reach?"

You can quote circulation or ratings, but the bottom line is that the ability to measure reach is limited with "traditional" media.

Social media changes that. Social media platforms and measurability are almost synonymous with each other because every platform has some type of count for friends, followers, connections, replies, link forwards, etc.

Now for the first time, public relations professionals have the ability to see in real time how many people are being reached with a specific placement. These “followers” on any social media platform usually have some level of interest in the subject they are following, so not only is placement on a social media platform as good as a specialty publication, the transparency exists of who actually is absorbing the placement.

In a numbers orientated business world, public relations professionals who reach out through social media platforms now have the ability to quickly and accurately measure the audience that is absorbing the information.

This is a new lifeline that PR pros would be foolish to ignore.