Here's how our teams combine efforts for maximum impact
(This piece was jointly written by Senior Vice President of Digital Hastie Afkhami and Vice President of Media Joy Burks)
There are a lot of things that are better together. Black Panther and Shuri. Peanut butter and jelly. Butter and anything.
When it comes to getting your message out, we think broadcast and digital are a perfect pair. More traditional media, like TV and radio is still one of the best ways to reach your target audiences and spread your message. And when you garner broadcast coverage, digital can really boost your signal, pumping up enthusiasm among existing followers and getting your word out to new audiences.
How can organizations bridge the gap between broadcast and digital media? Here’s how we work with our clients to maximize the social impact of broadcast coverage:
- Maximize every interview’s reach. When we book interviews for a media tour, we make sure our clients can easily connect with each station and ensure it promotes not just the interview, but also the organization, on social media. We work with clients to develop and distribute to stations a “social media toolkit” that includes a few suggested posts, the organization’s campaign hashtag and, when possible, a social graphic or infographic. We also provide our clients with standard information about each station’s social presence, such as Facebook pages and Twitter handles, making it easier for them to interact with the stations. After the media tour, we identify and share with clients all interviews that have been posted online, so that clients can share them on their social channels and tag the stations and reporters. Sharing online interviews not only provides content for clients’ social channels, but also gives the stations attention and can lead to future opportunities for interviews. We also encourage running paid hyper-targeted campaigns in specific broadcast areas so those who missed the local news can see the interview on their social media channels.
- Create parallel digital opportunities. Stations and reporters are hungry for new and creative social content. When we secure in-studio or onsite interviews, we often ask if reporters also want to set up an interview that runs on social media, such as a Facebook Live chat. Even if the reporter says no, we’ve shown them that our client is open to new ideas and platforms. We’ve also worked with clients to take advantage of our full-service production studio to set up a Facebook Live event, in which two partners talk about the issue, following the conclusion of a media tour. Our savvy production crew moderates and ensures the Facebook Live chat looks and sounds great.
- Prep spokespeople to extend the conversation on social media. Every organization’s top social media influencer — someone who knows the place from top to bottom and has a social presence they are ready to leverage — is right in its back pocket. We mean the spokesperson who has already so ably represented the organization in broadcast interviews. As part of the overall strategy for a media tour, we help them share links to broadcast coverage on their social channels; craft Facebook post copy, tweets or even a short LinkedIn pulse article; and even conduct their own live broadcast from Facebook. (See point No. 2.) Bringing the spokesperson’s voice, passion and personality into the digital conversation augments our clients’ institutional presence in a way that can truly appeal to audiences.
In today’s rapid-moving digital environment, it’s important to stay ahead of the game and adapt as much of your traditional media as you can for the digital space. That way, you’ll make the most of every media outreach effort.
