Not too long ago, I was approached by a potential client looking for a PR firm to increase its visibility among target audiences. The first question they asked was “So Can you Tweet for me? We need to be on Twitter?” They might need to be but in my view that was the wrong question. What needs to be asked first are two basic questions: Who are you trying to reach and why?
I love Twitter but just like hope alone is not a strategy neither is Twitter or any other social media platform by itself a communications strategy. Facebook, Twitter and others are tools to help you engage clients not ends. As you contemplate your use of social media, consider this:
Social Media Q&A
1) How do the people you want to reach get information and communicate?
2) Do you know how people would like to get information and communications from you?
3) Are you prepared to tailor your communications to your audience and to the platform you are using?
4) What is the appropriate mix of the various communications tools and strategies available: blogging, Twitter, FB, traditional media, advertising, direct outreach, etc.?
5) What is it you are trying to get across and why does it or should it matter to your audience(s)?
These are basic and fundamental questions. The way we communicate continues to change but the basic human reasons we choose to engage others really haven’t.
