Recently, I attended Social Media Club Milwaukee’s (@socialmediaclub) PR + Social Media Summit (#PRSMS) at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater (@UWWhitewater). The all-day summit featured keynote speakers from Southwest Airlines and Harley Davidson, and a plethora of other experienced PR professionals from Wisconsin and Illinois. With such a wide array of knowledgeable speakers, I was able to take away valuable bits of information to bolster our social media efforts, and to share with others to help them build and grow their own social media campaigns. Here are a few key points from some of the presentations:
Paula Berg (@paulaberg), Southwest Airlines, “Nuts About Southwest”
• Establish social media channels (like Twitter and Facebook) to join the conversation and accentuate the positive to avoid/respond to crisis situations that involve your company.
• Update your social media content frequently with fresh, valuable information to keep your readers interested.
Sarah Soczak (@sarahsoczka), Boelter + Lincoln
• Personal tweets, blogs, and other social content can reflect on the professional reputations of you and your company – always think before you post.
• If you have a personal blog, include a disclaimer stating that your opinions are not those of your employer.
Cassandra Sura (@cassandrasura), Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare
• Traditional internal communication is getting stale – use social media to make a fresh, new change.
• When pitching the idea of social media to management, have a presentation of its benefits ready, and be sure to address the questions of time management and work productivity.
Al Krueger (@AlKrueger) and Sara Meaney (@SaraMeaney), Comet Branding
• Don’t forget about your writing style when you’re limited to 140 characters online.
• People will respond to well-written news that tells a rich story.
Randy Sprenger (@randysprenger), Harley Davidson Motor Company
• Utilize social media outlets like Facebook to directly engage your customers, hear their voice and build a community for them to share their passion about your product.
• If you’re new to social media, start small with a plan to grow, and be prepared for anything.
A few added points I gathered from the presentations:
• Creating and implementing a social media campaign is a team effort.
• New ideas, suggestions and policies should be shared among the members of your organization’s social media team.
If you’re a savvy social media user, you may already be following these helpful guidelines. If not, consider these tips when building or adding to your organization’s social media plan.