Succeeding in social media has definitely been a topic of conversation among public relations professionals, scholars, and students. People want to see if there is a magic formula that would guarantee success virtually and with social media. Well, I have to say based on what I have seen in the real world in public relations and in my own personal experience, there are certain characteristics that can help you succeed in social media in your business. I would say that you have to have the four Ps of social media to be successful: Persistence, Passion, Productivity, and Pay it Forward.
Persistence: I am going to say a favorite saying from my younger sister Karla, who says “work is good for you!” Same thing goes with social media – it takes a little bit of hard work and persistence to really be good in the field. Establishing a proactive, engaging, and positive online reputation in social media takes time and resources – but if you continue to work a little bit each day, it will all pay off. Study what others are doing in the field and in social media, continue to branch out your learning to see how it is applied in other professions as well as in other places around the world. Working hard will allow you to have a easier time in the future.
Passion: You have not be actively on social media, but you have to live, breath, and understand all that is involved in social media. You have to love what you are doing and want to learn and grow each day to become a more effective and strategic thinking and practitioner in PR and social media. You have to incorporate it into all aspects of your life – whether it is your personal life or professional life – they are all the same. It is easier to maintain a positive reputation that bridges across these two aspects of your life.
Productivity: To be effective in social media, you have to produce quality content in order to establish a reputation for yourself in the field. Whether it is a blog post or sharing links on Facebook or Twitter, you have to be active on social media consistently and engaging with those that are interested in hearing what you have to say about a particular issue or topic of conversation. By doing this, you will soon create some social media capital with your friends, colleagues, family, and others that are interested in learning more about who you are and what are your thoughts about various aspects in PR or social media.
Paying it Forward: Similar to Productivity, you have to also have the mentality that sharing information is key to be successful in social media. We will all be in a better place if we come together and share our research, insights, thoughts, and opinions about what is happening with public relations and social media. If we willingly share some articles or information that would make things a little bit easier for someone else, that gesture will be remembered and appreciated by the other person.
If we also help in creating networking opportunities with others that might want to work on a research project or possibly collaborate on a campaign and create a public partnership between two companies – this is all very good and proactive. Paying it forward creates a positive online atmosphere and makes you the go-to person for advice and networking opportunities. This will also help your reputation in the field and you never know where these individuals you have helped will end up in the future.
These are just a few things that I think would be important considerations to think about if you want to establish yourself within social media and public relations. Hope you all are having a wonderful day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
0 Comments