This week, we heard from Jeremy Woolf, Senior Vice President and Global Digital/Social Media Lead at Text100 who came in at #16 on our list of the top PR firms on social media this year. Jeremy gave us some insight into how Text100 works with their clients, and how they use social media as part of the journey they take audiences on.
For your clients, which social networks have been the most effective for PR?
We’ve seen great success working with LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. We’ve also done great work creating and driving our clients’ blogs. While blogs aren’t typically as social as the other networks, they’ve proven to be an important platform for thought leadership, with the posts amplified through social networks and used as catalysts for discussion.
How do you go about handling a social media PR campaign? Do you guide your client or take control and run their accounts?
It’s a mix. Our team gets involved in client campaigns at several levels – from research, concept development, strategy and planning, to content production and development, community management, analytics and measurement. We’ll happily manage the entire process on behalf of our clients, and/or also act as advisors as they manage their own social properties and campaigns.
What advice would you give when it comes to using social media for a public relations campaign?
Don’t treat social as a campaign. Social media is a commitment to participating in, joining, building and sustaining an active community. You also need to consider social media in the proper context. It isn’t a strategy. There’s no one size fits all approach. Each platform is evolving regularly and so should your strategy. It’s not about being on every platform, it’s about being on the right platforms for your brand and managing those well.
How would you recommend that a client handles a big screw up on social media
Respond quickly through the channel that the issue broke in. Be honest and true to your brand’s values. Create an owned content channel that supports your side of the story with evidence. And finally, don’t feed the trolls.
What do you think sets your company apart from your competitors?
Text100 understands the entire audience journey, from awareness through to advocacy. We put the audience at the center of all of our campaigns. And we recognize that decisions are shaped by many different types of content through diverse media channels – paid, owned, earned and social. These channels need to work together to help our audience reach specific points of action.
You can also follow Text100 on Facebook, Twitter, or through their blog.
If you know a PR firm who would like to offer their social media advice to other professionals, leave a comment or contact info@uwire.com to let us hear about it.