Engagement is everything in the media world. Whether it’s social media or meeting the needs of news outlets, you will be amazed at how much further your content goes with an engaged audience.
These are some of our top tips to get your followers and the media excited and involved in your business.
Engaging with your followers
From likes and comments to shares and retweets, these interactions with our social media followers is what keeps things ticking.
- There is so much more to social media than posting a photo and quick caption. Did a follower give you some love in a comment? Reply back! At the very least, like their comment. Taking a few extra seconds to respond to a follower can make the world of difference to boosting your brand’s trust – and reach. Social media algorithms are based around engagement, so the more you engage across these platforms, the better your results will be.
- Go on a liking spree. Visit a range of different accounts and give them some love on their posts. The more you comment, share and like, the more you will be noticed. It can brighten someone’s day to know their content is being appreciated and they will be more likely to return the favour and engage back with your account.
- Did your landscape shot get 100 likes and your office photo only scored 3? Take notice of what works and what doesn’t and post more of what your followers want to see. Continual posting of content that doesn’t interest your audience will only result in them switching off and clicking the unfollow button.
- Keep your business at the top of people’s newsfeeds by posting regularly on your social media channels. The more you are seen, the more people will begin to notice your brand and give you the ‘thumbs up’.
Engaging with media
As a PR agency, we know that the best results are achieved by engaging with media at a personal level.
- Know your news outlets. Not every newspaper is looking for the same kind of stories. Knowing what they want, their deadlines, what kind of images they like to publish and more importantly, what they won’t touch is the key to getting your content out there.
- Don’t bombard the sports reporter with your human interest stories, even if he is your only contact. Giving a media outlet a quick call to ask for the lifestyle or education journalist’s details is much easier and much more beneficial than sending irrelevant stories to the wrong person.
- Send a personalised email. We know firsthand that there is no knock off time for news, and getting that press release out there as soon as humanly possible is often priority (and easier!). However, addressing an email to the journalist can work wonders and is the key to fostering a good relationship.
- Do you have a vision for an image or story? Don’t be afraid to pitch them an idea. A simple email along the lines of ‘we thought this may be of interest to you’ or ‘we could arrange to have a photo taken of this person doing this’ not only shows initiative, but that you’re willing to do the hard work for them.
Are you looking for more ways to increase your audience engagement? Get in touch with us at General Media for advice on how to take your businesses engagement to the next level.
