Beyond the Tweet: How to Leverage Twitter as a PR Tool
For many, Twitter is just another social platform – a way to share your thoughts with the world and quickly mention something that happened in your day, at work, in the news, etc. When I first started my internship at Caster, I was not yet aware of the true importance of Twitter in the day-to-day role of PR pros. Twitter is an important tool for PR pros to keep an eye on emerging technologies and trends, take a pulse on the industries crucial to their clients, and connect with journalists to build relationships; Twitter is more than just a social media platform, it is a PR tool.
Twitter as a research tool
Twitter is more than just a place to share, it is also a place to learn. We use Twitter to catch up on world news, news specific to our clients and their industries, emerging trends and other as-they-happen events.
You can see which accounts we follow and use for research here. While users can follow news accounts directly on Twitter, you can also follow hashtags, trending topics, or create lists with users you are focused on to better optimize your time spent researching on Twitter.
Connect with press
Twitter is not only being used extensively by PR pros, but also by journalists. And with the vast number of journalists on Twitter, it offers another potential touchpoint for contact and communication we can have with them. Whether it is finding local media to write about an event in San Francisco, or something broader like finding “technology writers” across multiple publications, Twitter is an excellent way to get the scoop on where and what journalists are writing about. Many journalists list their occupation, location, email address, and even how they would like to be contacted right in their Twitter bios.
Connect with other professionals
Twitter is also a thriving outlet for connecting with other PR professionals, as well. Where LinkedIn is known as the site that allows for a professional voice of people in the workforce, Twitter is where people can share a little more personality and be less formal. You can reach out to new contacts that look interesting for new business or projects and connect with press to build a familiar relationship before you try to throw ideas and pitches at them.
Follow Trends
Twitter is an essential tool for PR pros to follow, find, and understand trends. Twitter is a budding community of users sharing with hashtags, GIFs, memes, and all sorts of new ways to communicate and share ideas. These tools can lend a hand in your company or client’s voice and engagement and how impressionable they are. Join conversations using hashtags, invite users to stop by your page with an interesting video, or just make your post stand out by adding a clever GIF.
You can follow me on Twitter @HayleyKeenPR or see how the Caster team tweets by following us @CasterComm.