Key takeaways from PRNews’s “Measuring Earned Media Pitching In Today’s Hybrid Environment”
The industry is still learning how to navigate our post-pandemic world. From hybrid events to media relations, we are all adjusting to new best practices. This month’s webinar from PRNews provided some valuable guidance.
“Measuring Earned Media Pitching In Today’s Hybrid Environment” featured a panel of speakers that included Zach Cutler, CEO and co-founder of Propel; Alex Ebanks, consumer and multicultural PR lead of Xbox Global Communications at Microsoft; and Tankia Pradhan, SAE at Rokk Solutions. The panelists discussed how public relations professionals can adapt their practices to better align with a post-pandemic society.
The pandemic forced companies everywhere to pivot to virtual events and webinars as safer alternatives to in-person events. As the world returns to normalcy, however, the panelists say they’ve seen a growing interest in returning to in-person events. Here are ways your PR team can prepare for this shift.
- Use social media to promote your events. Creating a Facebook event or using hashtags can help spread the word and build anticipation. Leveraging social media resources is a cost-effective way to reach a broad audience of potential attendees.
- Consider live streaming. While you may be ready for in-person events, you should include attendees who prefer a virtual option. Live streaming events using Instagram, Tik Tok or other platforms can help virtual attendees feel included and boost your attendee response.
Social media isn’t just a tool for customers to learn about brands, though. It’s also a great way for brands to learn about their audience.
Social listening is tracking social media platforms for mentions and conversations related to your brand, then analyzing those conversations for opportunities to act. The fact that one in three consumers use social media to learn about new products, services or brands provides PR professionals the opportunity to leverage social listening in public relations strategies.
According to the panelists, these are some social listening strategies you can leverage to be timelier and more relevant in current markets.
- Invest in platforms like Brandwatch or Meltwater to gain insight into what your target audience is talking about. These platforms alert you when specific phrases or brand names are mentioned. PR teams can create alerts for popular terms or phrases, then leverage these conversations for newsjacking.
- Follow and utilize buzz words. Keeping track of what key terms your audience uses when talking about your industry can be extremely helpful to stay up to date on trends. Using these social media buzzwords in pitches lets reporters know that your pitch is opportune.
PRNews’s webinar provided key insights and advice for creating successful PR strategies in our new hybrid environment. Preparing for the return of in-person events and leveraging social listening can better equip PR teams to navigate the post-pandemic PR world.