PR Maven®, CEO and Founder, Marshall Communications, Creation and implementation of marketing/PR/personal branding strategies.
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I tend to spend a lot of time on social media. And deep down, I justify it by telling myself, “I need to do this for my business.”
Of course, I am not alone. Americans think he spends an average of more than two hours a day on his social media, many of which are small business owners who want to stay “up to date.” Entrepreneurs like me want to learn more about the latest trends and techniques, such as Instagram Reels (a clone of TikTok). But I also enjoy connecting with new and old friends and meeting friends of friends. I think it’s a great way to reminisce about the people you met along the way and reconnect with old friends from school. I’m a social person by nature, so I feel like social media was invented just for me.
This got me thinking: How can we use social media constructively for PR purposes? Recent news articles link the use of social media platforms to anxiety, depression and loneliness. But (which is certainly a concern), I believe social media can have an unprecedented positive impact on American society.
I recently interviewed Anne Stefanyk, who owns web marketing firm Kanopi Studios, on the PR Maven Podcast. Social She explained how media engagement helps search engine optimization (SEO). Because, in my experience, Google Search prefers to promote the engaged, social human behind the website over nameless, faceless entities. With algorithms like this and others, you should always be aware of what Google is doing or saying. It doesn’t matter if you’re in PR or not.
Bing has always admitted to using “social signals” as ranking factors for SEO. Although Google has been reluctant to admit it, recent research shows that social media engagement can be one of Google’s ranking factors. There is certainly a correlation between sharing content on social media and how that content appears in search results. In my experience, the higher the engagement, the more likely the first page will be viewed.
So what does this have to do with my specialty, PR? It’s all about PR.
After all, public relations is about getting you and your clients found. Generating earned media can help us achieve that goal, but it’s not the only tool at our disposal. With billions of Google searches logged every day, Google SEO is now an integral part of advertising. Anything a PR professional can do to drive Google SEO should be based on daily traffic metrics.
This means participating in social media. I don’t want Google’s algorithms to think I’m dormant. If you don’t think they’re engaged, they may hit you down in Google searches.
Before the Internet changed business forever, things were very different. If I could leave first-class results for my clients (in newspapers and magazines), I would literally copy the news story and email it to people who wanted to read it. , you can share these results in a Twitter feed or a LinkedIn post. People can read it on social media platforms. I usually include links to articles in my monthly e-newsletter as well.
Social engagement has never been easier. Especially during a pandemic, we need to take advantage of it. If you’re interested in Google SEO, it’s a good idea to take a close look at your organization’s presence on social media.
Who would have thought there was a connection between PR, SEO and social media?
There is—and I am determined to prove it. But first, let me see what’s going on with my Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Don’t forget Pinterest!
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