Tag Archive for: social media management

What Makes An Idea Social Media Strategy?

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Navigating the ever-evolving landscape of social media can be a daunting task for businesses, and crafting an effective social media strategy is way more than just posting content; it’s about creating a dynamic plan that resonates with your audience and drives meaningful engagement.

If you’re a business seeking to strengthen your social media presence, navigating the vast landscape of platforms and trends (hello TikTok and Reels!) might seem like a daunting task. So, we’ve pulled together our top 10 tips that makes an ideal social media strategy. And to find out more about how we can support with your social, pop the team a message.

1. Understanding Your Audience

A successful social media strategy begins with a deep understanding of your target audience. Who are they? What do they care about?

Tailor your content to meet their needs, interests, and pain points. Knowing your audience allows you to tailor content that not only attracts attention but fosters a genuine connection.

How do you do this? Conduct surveys, analyse social media insights, and actively listen to the conversations happening in your industry. By aligning your strategy with your audience, you create a connection that goes beyond just marketing.

 

2. Have Clear Objectives

 You’ll want to define your social media objectives clearly, ensuring they align with your overall business goals. Are you aiming to increase brand awareness, drive website traffic, or gain a larger following?

Establishing specific and measurable objectives helps you track your progress and adjust your strategy as needed. Remember, the more precise your goals, the easier it is to determine the success of your social media efforts at the end!

 

3. Consistent Brand Voice

 Maintaining a consistent brand voice across all platforms is the bedrock of successful social media communication. Whether your tone is professional, witty, or informative – ensure it aligns seamlessly with your brand identity. Brands like Innocent and Ryanair are a great example of this. Consistency builds brand recognition and fosters trust among your audience. It’s not just about what you say, it’s about how you say it across every interaction you have.

 

4. Content Variety

 The ideal social media strategy won’t advise a copy and paste job every week. Diversify your content to keep your audience engaged and interested. Share a mix of static regular content, written content, and reels/videos. Instagram Reels have become a major player in the social media scene lately, catching our keen eye as a noteworthy trend. So, we highly recommend kicking off your social media journey right there!

Business content and behind-the-scenes glimpses add a human touch to a brand. The digital landscape is dynamic, and so should be your content. Embrace trends, experiment with formats, and always keep an eye on what resonates most with your audience. Have fun with it – and things may just perfectly fall into place.

 

5. Strategic Posting Schedule

 Timing is crucial in social media. Analyse when your audience is most active on each platform and schedule your posts accordingly. Consistency is key, so establish a posting schedule that aligns with your audience’s habits.

Use scheduling tools to plan your content in advance, allowing you to maintain a steady flow of posts without being tied to your screen.

At Source, we use software for our clients to guarantee the consistent delivery of their social media posts, precisely at the times when their audience is most engaged. It works really well and we’d absolutely suggest including this to craft the ideal social media strategy.

 

6. Engagement and Community Building

An effective social media strategy goes beyond broadcasting messages; it involves active engagement. Respond to comments, messages, and mentions promptly. Foster a sense of community by encouraging discussions and user-generated content. Acknowledge your audience’s input, showcase user testimonials, and make them feel like valued contributors to your brand. A thriving community not only enhances brand loyalty but also extends your organic reach.

 

7. Utilise Analytics

Regularly analyse social media analytics to track your performance. This can help you identify what’s working well and areas that need improvement. Analytics provide valuable insights into audience behaviour, content performance, and platform effectiveness. By using this data, you can refine your approach and maximize the impact of your social media efforts.

 

8. Embrace Adaptability

In the dynamic world of social media, trends and features pop up regularly, shaping the landscape swiftly.

Keep your finger on the pulse of trends, algorithm shifts, and emerging platforms. Ready yourself to adjust your strategy, embracing fresh opportunities and tackling challenges in the ever-evolving digital terrain. Flexibility is your secret weapon; so be willing to experiment with new formats, platforms, and engagement techniques.

 

9. Incorporating Visual Appeal

Visuals are powerful in capturing your audience’s attention. If you want to promote your business as high quality, investing in high-quality images and graphics will reflect your brand aesthetic.

Eye-catching visuals can significantly enhance the impact of your social media content, so experiment with different types of visuals, from infographics to behind-the-scenes snapshots. Consistency in visual style contributes to brand recognition, making your content instantly identifiable in a crowded feed.

At the same time though, while beautiful photography portrays your brand well, we’ve also found that some of our best performing Reels and TikToks are just filmed on an iPhone. Users like authenticity as much as they enjoy beautiful aesthetics.

 

10. Strategic Partnerships

Finally, consider collaborations and partnerships with influencers or other brands in your industry.

This can extend your reach and introduce your brand to new audiences. Authentic partnerships resonate well with audiences and can lead to mutual benefits. Choose partners whose values align with yours, ensuring a seamless integration that feels organic to both your brand and theirs.

This is another arm of what we do here at Source PR. We find that strategic partnerships can really enhance your overall following and engagement – so we offer these collaborations to many of our clients and have been able to build great relationships with local influencers too.

 

 

As a business, its pivotal to recognise that the ever-evolving landscape of social media demands a strategic and adaptive approach. Navigating through trends, engaging with dynamic content, and fostering connections with your audience are integral components of a successful digital presence.

 

Within our agency one of our most popular services is seamlessly handling your social media, tailoring strategies that align with you and your business goals. If you are interested in finding out more on how we can help with your social strategy, drop us a message.

When’s It Time To Hire Help For Your Social?

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It’s often said that managing social media is like making a cocktail, anyone can do it but not everyone can do it well. Doing social media effectively, effort and knowledge of the platforms so here we outline some tips for businesses who think they might be ready to get some additional help with their social.

If you or your senior team members are spending more time on social media then on the jobs they excel at, then, it may be time for you to hire help for your social.

If your business is growing but your social media pages don’t quite match up to that, it may be time for you to hire help for your social.

If you’re finding it hard to keep up to date with all the ongoing social media trends, it may be time for you to hire help for your social.

And… If you don’t have any social media at all but want to get your name out there in the digital, then we think it’s definitely time for you to hire help for your social.

What Should You Look For?

When looking to choose a social media agency, we would suggest that you consider the following checklist:

  1. Specialist experts – Do they have dedicated experts available to support and understand your businesses aims and objectives as well as having knowledge of the platforms you are looking to use? Social media platforms are constantly changing and updating to ensure users get the right experience.  Your team needs to be ahead of the curve so your brand is able to cut through and stand out.
  2. Do they know your industry? Do they understand the sector you work in or are they willing to learn? You may not want to hire a social media agency that is handling a competitor’s account but it is useful if they understand the sector and have some experience in it. If that’s not possible to find the right fit, it’s important to have a team that has the right attitude to learning and can support you with real and relevant advice.
  3. Do they have the right tools? It’s not just about creating engaging posts, it’s about working efficiently, monitoring the channels and tracking engagement.  Whether scheduling posts, creating graphics or improving video or images – make sure they have the right tools of the trade to make social media management as efficient and effective as possible.
  4. Are they on hand to react? Social media can change quickly, whether reacting to a negative issue or boosting viral content, the team needs to be on hand and responsive. Although posts may be scheduled a week in advance, the best teams are those who are also able to react to opportunities or trends that present themselves.
  5. Do they plan and are they proactive? The social media agency needs to take the time to understand your business so they can be creative and plan effective campaigns. Have a team that selects the trends, offers creative suggestions and advice, and delivers on a weekly basis. As always, we advise being on the front foot with communications.
  6. Check their track record. When looking for a social media agency, ask for some case studies that show the work that they do or even their own social media accounts.  A good social media agency should be more than willing to share their successes.

Why Getting Help is Important

But why is it so important to get your social media right?

Social media offers businesses an unparalleled opportunity to reach and engage with audiences wherever they may be. But first, you must understand who your audiences are and where they are found.

Taking a brief look at the demographics of each social media platform will help a business choose which platform is right for them.

Facebook is still one of the largest platforms amongst marketers and consumers, accounting for nearly 60% of Meta’s income compared to Instagram. However, the platforms continue to evolve and amongst younger users Snapchat and TikTok are now the predominant channels.

Instagram has reportedly more than 2bn users, with 30% being made up for the 18-24 age group with the average user spending more than half an hour on the platform each day.  Although the platform may be feeling pressure from TikTok, its decision to push Reels and short videos has reinvigorated and increased the platform’s engagement levels.

Instagram is increasingly being used as a gateway to support e-commerce and nearly 60% of businesses aim to use the platform for this purpose in the next 12 months (already more than $43bn was spent via the platform last year).

TikTok is growing and growing quickly, particularly amongst the slightly younger audience.  The site is also accessed by users daily with an average of 45 minutes spent on the site each day.  As the site ‘matures’ we’re likely to see it become more business orientated and as the users age with the platform we may see further changes to the video format and content used.

There is much change happening at Twitter and this is likely to continue until the company’s leadership decides in which direction to take the business.  It is however still a powerful platform and remains the space to be if wanting to discuss breaking news or to share opinions and thoughts.  More than a third of Twitter users have been to university and the platform is increasingly attracting a high-earning and well-educated base.

Elon Musk deciding what to do with Twitter?

For B2B clients, LinkedIn remains the premier platform with more than 930m users worldwide.  It remains predominantly male (57%) and has a slightly older demographic, with a third aged between 30 and 39.  It is however a highly engaged platform with two-thirds (63%) accessing the platform each week and nearly a quarter (22%) accessing daily.

There are numerous other platforms to consider whether Snapchat, Pinterest or others but when working with a social media agency they should also help spend time understanding your audiences and how best to engage with them.  This can include an audit of existing platforms and an action plan to take the business forward to capitalise on the opportunities.

If you’re looking to choose a social media agency, get in touch and let us walk you through the world of social media and how together we can build engagement, awareness and opportunity for your business.

Fake News & Clickbait… Who’s Views Are You Getting On Social Media?

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One of my favourite adverts back in the 1990s was from The Independent newspaper (now the i-newspaper of course). The ad drew the reader’s attention to the fact that the majority of large mainstream newspapers back in the day were owned and operated by ‘media moguls’.

The advert cleverly printed ‘Conrad Black’ into the same font and layout of the famous Daily Telegraph and the name ‘Rupert Murdock’ into The Times mast head.  The objective being that they were trying to convey that the newspapers were anything but independent and instead simply portraying the views of their owners and paymaster generals.

Historically, Britain has proudly had one of the freest and boldest press corps in the world that rightfully and skilfully has ‘held power to account without fear of favour’.  The highlighting of the newspaper ownership therefore resonated with me as we were often advised (when studying history at university) to look at the author of the work before determining any bias to the information presented.

As technologies and 24 hour news cycles developed, the pressures on newspapers to keep up has been intense.  Not only have they seen significant drops in readership that have led to a corresponding drop in revenue, but we are also seeing strategies that undermine the quality of the news presented in an effort to attract readers to more sensational stories – otherwise known as clickbait.

The sad reality however is that newspapers are not winning.  Recent research now shows the impact social media is having on not only everyday life but also on what we view, believe and how we consume information.

On average, UK consumers already spend an hour and 52 minutes every day on social media, with over half of them using the platforms to post or send private messages (56%) and to stay in touch with family and friends (53%).

Interestingly, nearly 8 out of 10 (79%) of 16 to 24 year olds say that social media is their main source of news.  Due to the open platform nature of social media, the quality and content of this news is very hard to regulate and there have been numerous cases of alleged ‘fake news’ whether relating to the US elections, Covid management or celebrity stories.

Although UK law allows users to report illicit content to the police, there is currently no legislation covering social media regulation nor the publication of ‘fake news’. The process of putting in place a form of regulation has been in progress for quite some time, however it has received heavy criticism for long delays in its implementation.

The Online Harms Bill, first proposed by Theresa May’s government in April 2019, sets out strict guidelines governing the removal of illegal content such as terrorist material or media that promotes suicide. Social networking sites must obey these rules or face being blocked in the UK.  This may be all well and good but there is disagreement as to where to draw the line between ‘harmful’ and free speech and who will be responsible for policing the content which is likely to be a much more complex affair.

The recent Covid pandemic highlighted just how complex the issue is.  Faced with a serious threat to public health, the government looked to ‘control the narrative’ both in mainstream media and also online. Many of the legacy media outlets towed the line with regard to messaging, in part due to government media spend, and also through their ‘public duty’ however social media platforms came under scrutiny over the content of posts that were shared.

In some cases the platforms were accused of sharing ‘conspiracy theories’ that challenged the narrative, while those sharing the alternative views felt that they had their accounts arbitrarily cancelled or ‘shadow banned’ where the content of their posts did not reach their usual audiences.  By May 2021, Facebook’s fact checking team had removed 16 million pieces of content and added warnings to around 167 million posts. YouTube removed more than 850 000 videos related to “dangerous or misleading Covid-19 medical information.”

This raises the question as to who are the fact checkers and what medical or specialist knowledge do they have to undertake their roles?  Professor Sander van der Linden, a professor of social psychology in society at Cambridge University comments: “I think it’s quite dangerous for scientific content to be labelled as misinformation, just because of the way people might perceive that.”

This naturally leads to the question on who is determining what is right or wrong on social platforms as this in turn leads to what can and can’t be shared.

We have already seen the democratically elected President of the United States banned on Twitter.  If a company’s executive team are calling the shots on essentially who has a voice or not, this has serious implications.  The new owner, Mr Musk, has also introduced a subscription cost to Twitter, suggestion those who don’t cough up will have their accounts effectively silenced.  It begs the question as to what other topics or views could be silenced if they don’t marry with his agenda?

 

Fake news & Click bait - Trump banned from Twitter

Fake news & Click bait – Trump banned from Twitter

Twitter is not alone, TikTok is facing a total US ban because of its Chinese ownership (with the US government afraid of data being shared with a malign body and the potential influence it could have on a population).  If this happens I would expect other countries to follow.

The algorithms of the platforms already favour certain content over others and decide who has their views shared over others.  This is most apparent in how businesses now essentially need to pay to be heard on any platform. As the saying goes, “If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.”

With more than 12.5bn hours collectively spent by the UK population on social media in 2021 (or an equivalent of 1.4million years for one person!) and five out of the top 20 websites being social platforms, social content undoubtedly has the biggest influence on today’s population.

As social media and their platform’s owners become more powerful, just as it was back in the 1990s with newspapers, we all need to consider who really owns these platforms, as this massively influences what we watch, listen to read and absorb.

Creating A Successful Organic B2B LinkedIn Strategy

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An organic LinkedIn strategy is all about building your business’ presence on the platform without relying on targeted ads or sponsored content.

But how do you go about creating a successful organic B2B LinkedIn strategy for your client?

 

Why LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a valuable platform for businesses of all sizes, providing the opportunity to connect with professionals, showcase expertise, and generate leads and sales.

An organic strategy on LinkedIn involves creating and sharing content that resonates with your target audience, engaging with them through comments, and building relationships with industry peers and potential customers.

It’s a place where you can really establish your brand’s values and CSR initiatives, as well as highlighting the expertise and experience of key individuals within the business.

Whether you’re looking to build a LinkedIn presence for a business or an individual’s page, this guide will help to outline how you can create a successful organic B2B strategy on this platform.

 

Promote CSR initiatives

In today’s economy, we know it’s vital for our clients to be able to showcase to potential customers that their business is committed to corporate social responsibility.

In other words, highlighting key initiatives, such as work in the local community or how they’ve reduced your environmental output, will resonate with their target audience and serve to enhance their reputation as a business.

If your client has received an environmental accreditation or donated money to a local cause, talk about it on LinkedIn. These posts drive engagement, and with more engagement, comes more exposure.

 

Share your clients’ expertise and experience

It’s important to remember that your client will have unique insights into their industry that are valuable to the target audience, so share them!

At Source, we encourage our clients to offer insight into the key issues facing their particular sector, as doing so frequently will help to showcase them as being industry experts that they are!

Whether it’s providing a perspective on the recent Spring Budget, or a thought leadership on industry trends and predictions, their insights can indicate to potential customers, that they’re a significant voice within their sector.

Not only this but these kinds of posts are often very well received and tend to garner a great deal of impressions and engagements, which will result in the post being re-circulated across a wide range of news feeds and in turn, could see them accrue some new followers off the back of it.

 

Analytics is your friend

As with trialling any new marketing tactic, it can be trial and error. That’s why it’s important that you track the performance metrics, such as engagement rates and follower growth, to see what’s working and what’s not on your client’s LinkedIn page.

Using software like Sprout Social, can provide you with key data insights into how your client’s page has performed month on month.

These metrics can help you optimize your content by providing insights into which types of posts, formats, and topics are resonating with your audience.

By analysing your top-performing posts, you can identify patterns and use those insights to create more engaging and effective content or post most more of what’s working according to the data.

 

People buy from people

It’s a fundamental aspect of business but it’s something that’s often overlooked in when it comes to B2B LinkedIn strategies: people buy from people.

Your client’s audience will be interested in seeing the people behind the business, as people are naturally drawn to other people and by showcasing faces and personalities of the team, you can help humanise the brand.

Whether it’s a stand-alone image or part of a profile on a specific individual, posts that are accompanied by shots of a business’s people in action will always appeal to an audience.

 

Post the link in the comments!

You may have seen brands doing this a lot of late and that’s because putting your call-to-action link in the comment section of your posts can really help to boost the exposure your post.

The current LinkedIn algorithm rewards posts with comments and as such, adding the link to the comments can really help a post to circulate more widely and thus, be seen by a larger audience.

Graph showing clicks across B2B accounts

It also should be noted that just because the link isn’t in the main body of the text, it doesn’t stop people from clicking on it.

In fact, since we began posting links in the comments, we’ve seen an average of 88% more post link clicks across our social media accounts.

More clicks, means more traffic to key websites and, of course in turn, there’s a greater potential for sales to be made.

 

Incorporate carousels

Carousels on LinkedIn are not dissimilar to a slideshow as this type of post lets you display images or infographics in a single post, which your audience can swipe through.

They can be used to share information in a more digestible way, for example, you could create a carousel to showcase different features of your clients’ product offering, highlight CSR initiatives, or promote a thought leadership piece.

Carousels are so effective in telling your clients’ story as they tend to yield higher engagement rates than single-image posts on LinkedIn. This is largely because they provide more content for users to interact with and can be more visually engaging.

 

Use relevant hashtags

The use of relevant and focused hashtags within the main body of the post is intrinsic to any successful organic LinkedIn strategy.

Hashtags on LinkedIn allow users to easily find content related to specific topics, such as key events like International Women’s Day or a large conference in the sector they are in, which will help to drive engagement.

International Women’s Day hashtags

Deploying them can also help to augment your client’s position in their sector as through consistent use of industry-related hashtags, you can establish the business as a thought leader and build a strong brand identity.

By using pertinent hashtags in your posts, you can increase the visibility of your content, which can help your business page to reach a larger audience and attract new followers.

 

Consistency is key

Finally, it’s important to remember that posting consistently is an essential part of a successful B2B LinkedIn strategy.

Consistently posting on LinkedIn can increase the visibility of the business page in the newsfeed and search results, which can help your page attract more followers and potential customers.

Regular posts also help to establish your business as an authority in your industry and improve your credibility. By consistently sharing valuable insights and CSR, you can build trust with your client’s audience and position them as a go-to resource and establish a strong presence for them on LinkedIn.

If you think the team at Source could help you with your PR or media relations, get in touch!

Why Social Media Management Is Necessary For Your Brand

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Social media management has dramatically changed the way we interact with each other, with business developing and changing marketing strategies to incorporate social media trends with many now using it as a key element of their marketing strategy.

Social media management has become one of the most important tools in the marketing world and is now one of the most important pieces of armoury in any business’ arsenal. But, with so many types of social media channels available to you and your brand, it can be difficult to know where to begin!

For example, did you know in the Social Media Advertising segment alone, the number of users is expected to rise to 65.23m by 2027?  These numbers can be daunting if you’re trying to compete for visibility across multiple platforms.

But, this also clearly shows how important social media has become for businesses today, whether they’re consumer-focused or B2B.

We can appreciate how many in-house employees often must manage social platforms whilst also carrying out their other duties. Although commendable, the ever-growing and changing nature of the platforms means that to grow your presence and engage with audiences time is also needed to understand the platforms not just post posts.

This is where a social media agency can step in! Let’s take a look at 5 ways a social media agency can help your company.

1. Ever Changing Social Landscape

A social media agency can keep track of any algorithm changes and new trends within the platform, but also adapt your business strategy and content based on the latest updates.

In addition, a social media management team will be evaluating new platforms and consider what strategies should be put in place for clients to successfully adopt new platforms.

Take TikTok for example. A booming new social media platform that has taken the world by storm. As of January 2023, TikTok has a total of 1.53 billion users, yes billion! The site is used all over the world, not just by the general public, but by a large number of brands and businesses. So, it may be worth considering advice whether it’s right for you and your business.

A social media company should be agile with the ever-changing platforms, so they can evolve campaigns to meet the opportunities presented and provide the content needed to meet the specific goals.  For consumer brands TikTok marketing should certainly be considered as part of a strategy these days.

2. Keeping Your Customers Engaged

Believe it or not, social media posts aren’t just put out at random. If done correctly, weekly, content is scheduled on set days and times to best engage with your customers / following.

Social media companies also look at a range of different ways to engage your customers by creating relevant, authentic, engaging content that will resonate with your audience, provide value to them, and keep them coming back.

Using a social media agency can help you to organise, plan, and schedule content regularly, so your platform always has positive engagement.

Regularly scheduled content will keep your business / brand featured on people’s feeds, not giving them time to forget that you exist! With the number of ads and competitor posts, your business must be promoting itself regularly, so you stay at the forefront of people’s minds.

3. Creating Reports & Tracking Stats

Social media is a numbers game. As social media managers, we can see every click, comment, share, and link back to brand websites. From this knowledge, we can see exactly what works for your brand, and well what doesn’t.

From these stats, we can create campaigns best suited to your brand to hit a higher engagement and following. At the end of every campaign, or month, it’s simple for social media agencies to extract this data and present it to a client in an understandable way. This way, both manager and client can come together and discuss tactics on what they liked and what can be improved.  With tracking social stats, we can always guarantee improvement with every campaign we run!

4. Protecting Your Reputation & Engaging With Customers

Social media is usually the first-place people go to ask a question or even make a complaint. Managing feedback on social media platforms is critically important – whether positive or negative – and having a team on stand-by to monitor and respond can be all important.

Engaging with customer comments and messages promotes a strong brand image and making sure the customer is seen and heard will always resonate positively with the public.

Keeping on top of this is extremely important, as you don’t want floods of comments with no replies, making your business look uninterested, this is where a social media manager from an agency can help cement a positive relationship with all your followers.

5. Social Growth

Social media is all about growth, the more followers you have, typically the more people are interested in your business. Over time, we expect to see growth across social pages, but this doesn’t come without the work.

As previously mentioned, regularly scheduled posts are key when it comes to showcasing your business. The trick is that the more people see your brand the more chance they will follow and engage. Social media managers can keep a concise message across your page, as well as keeping up to date on keywords, resources, and trends to ensure they develop the content best suited to your industry and your brand.

The more authentic and genuine your business is, the better it resonates with the general public. Organic long-term growth is what we love to see best for our clients!

I hope this blog has given you a better insight as to why managing social media is so important and giving this role to an expert can benefit you and your business in the long run.

Thinking of hiring a social media manager? Introducing Source PR – where our team of skilled professionals can take your social platform to the next level. If you’d like to find out more about how Source PR can support you, drop our friendly team a line. We’re always happy to chat.

How To Best Use Influencer Marketing

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Influencer marketing is increasingly being used by businesses and brands to extend their range and reach into new and lucrative markets.  Although the marketing tactic has been used for several years, influencer marketing is set for exponential growth in 2023.

PR agencies have always been the preferred partner for businesses looking to engage in influencer marketing.  From the more traditional media briefings in which companies sought to inspire editors and the media agenda, through to brand collaborations when the reputation of an established brand is used to leverage exposure for a new or emerging brand – the right PR agency can help reach and influence new audiences like no other marketing medium.

Today however influencer marketing primarily refers to collaborations between brands and ‘influencers’ on digital platforms whether social media, blogs or other digital channels. The question often asked by clients is ‘what is an influencer?’ and how to gauge whether they have a genuine ‘influence’ amongst target audiences.

Influencer Marketing – Breaking It Down

One common mistake is to not differentiate between a celebrity and an online influencer. Admittedly many celebrities can extend into the role of influencer but in many cases, they are quite separate entities.

Most influencers have built a loyal and enthusiastic audience by posting relevant and engaging content that resonates with their followers.  People organically elect to follow these influencers based on their content, which in turn can vary from quite generic topics such as food & drink, parenting and travel right down to very specific subjects such as photography, wellness or types of gin (and everything in-between!).

Influencer marketing is not limited to consumer brands as an influencer can be a well-read business expert or blogger who tweets relevant content, or a respected marketing executive on LinkedIn with insightful views and opinions. Within any industry, there are influential people—you just need to find them – and that’s where working with a PR agency can help.

Some influencers have hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of followers but there are also plenty who seem more like ordinary people. They may have less than 10,000 followers but they have developed a reputation for being the experts in their field. They are the go-to people who are trusted to provide the answers to people’s questions. Depending on their sphere of expertise, they can often be the people who make the most engaging social posts on their specialist topics. They share the best pictures, make the most entertaining videos, and run the most informative online discussions.

It’s important to realise that the influencer’s audiences don’t really care about brands specifically, more the opinions of the influencer towards the brand.  It’s therefore important to work with the influencer rather than push your rules, ‘brand guidelines’ or business practices into their actions as they can simply walk away, taking their followers with them or worse still become antagonistic.

The growth of influencer marketing

The statistics speak for themselves.  In 2016, influencer marketing was a $1.7bn industry worldwide, while last year (2022) it had grown to more than $16.4bn.  According to an influencer marketing hub report,  90% of survey respondents believe influencer marketing is an effective form of marketing and currently more than two thirds (67%) of brands use Instagram for influencer marketing.

The growth is set to continue as 75% of the survey respondents suggested that they would be dedicating a budget to influencer marketing in 2023. This rate is up substantially from the 37% who claimed they would allocate a budget to it just 6 years ago in 2017.

Tips for influencer marketing

So, for brands or businesses looking to engage with influencer marketing, we’d suggest that to be most effective, start with a plan that includes objectives, target markets and a budget and then begin careful research into who would be a good fit and provide you with a platform for targeted exposure.

When researching influencers, don’t be overtly swayed by their follower numbers but instead look at their levels of engagement.  How many people like their posts, comment or share as these are the key metrics to consider.  Often big name influencers may not be right for a brand or too commercial to develop genuine and lasting relationships.

Decide also how you are going to find and approach the influencer.  This can be time consuming so working with a PR agency that works with influencers can be a big help as often they may have existing relationship or the resource to target them organically.

When you have found the perfect partner, work with them and develop a schedule of activities.  Consider how their posts can integrate with your existing social media or content marketing schedule, what agreements are in place to ensure the right number of posts, reels or blogs are included in exchange for a product or service.  Is money changing hands and, if so, are the right contracts in place? Also remember the influencer must declare if a financial agreement or if a product has been gifted.

It’s also worth considering what doesn’t work.  Buying influence does not work as many influencers have spent time building their following and so wont risk tarnishing their reputation by selling out and promoting products they don’t like, relate to, or would not recommend to their followers.

It’s also not necessarily about quick results and fast sales.  Although this can be the case (most famously when Delia Smith recommends a kitchen product, they sell out fast!) the main objectives of influencer marketing is building the exposure of your product, its reputation and taking it to new potential audiences through the strength of third party endorsement.

Remember also to be specific as one size does not fit all.  Spend time to find the right fit with an influencer and when that’s achieved it’s proven to pay dividends.

For more information on influencer marketing, contact a member of the Source PR team and let us help build you reputation, product awareness and take your brand or business into new and exciting areas.

Skills You Need To Be A Successful PR In 2023

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It’s no secret that working in public relations and managing successful PR campaigns can be a stressful yet rewarding at times. One day you could be pitching in a hot new client story to the media, the next you could find yourself in Milan conducting a video shoot (okay, that doesn’t happen all that often, but it did for me recently, so I had to mention it!). Working in PR, means you get to add many strings to your bow and here, we explore the essential skills that’ll help you to enjoy a thriving career in PR.

 

Strong copywriting skills

Possibly the cornerstone of any role in PR and comms is solid copywriting skills. A huge part of the role, you’ll need to turn your hand to writing blogs, white papers, reports, press releases, case studies…the list goes on. If you’re in an agency role with several clients, it’s important to nail the tone of voice for each client and have the ability to digest sometimes complex information before drafting it up in an easily readable and understood manner.

 

An eye for news

A must-have skill in PR is knowing which story is going to hit the sweet spot with the media. In meetings or interviews, being able to pick out those golden key pieces of information that will leave journalists wanting to know more isn’t a knack that should be taken for granted.

 

Passion

Passion is what gets us through on the hardest days. Maybe you’re struggling to get in touch with a journalist, your social post isn’t performing how you wanted it to, or your event sign up numbers aren’t as high as anticipated – these things can really put you on a downer after weeks or even months of planning and hard work. A dash of passion and desire to do your best work is what is needed to get us through those tricky days!

 

A thick skin

Unfortunately, like many industries, delivering successful PR isn’t for the faint hearted. You may come across a cranky  (we all have bad days), challenging crisis comms work, or get some unexpected feedback on an article you poured your heart and soul into and it can be dis-heartening. Feeling this way isn’t a bad thing, it just shows we care!

Adaptability

“But that’s how we’ve always done it” isn’t a welcome phrase in our industry. As professionals, it’s important to be able to adapt, change and embrace new trends, techniques and technology. Gone are the days of cutting out individual press clippings and compiling them into a book to then send in the post to clients – and aren’t we glad of that!? If PRs had ignored this new method of communication called social media 10 years ago, then I wonder where we’d be now. Arguably, SEO only became a thing in the late 90s, and look how much that has evolved over the years. For me, there will always be a place for genuine content and print media, but there’s also plenty of room for the newer stuff too!

 

The team at Source PR have all of these skills in abundance, to find out how we could help you and your business, get in touch.

How Much Do PR Agencies Charge?

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As we head into what is likely to be another economic slowdown, there is often an uplift in businesses wanting to raise their profile in an increasingly competitive market.  With budgets tight and ambitions high, prospective clients often ask us ‘How much do PR agencies charge?’.

The short answer is how long is a piece of string, as there are a number or variables that can influence the amount PR agencies charge, whether it’s the amount of time spent supporting the account, the specialist nature of the work or the seniority and experience of the team required to deliver the results.

But it’s equally an important question as the predetermined budget is one of the key factors when selecting the right PR agency to support your marketing goals.

Here we’ve tried to outline some of the key elements that go into determining a PR budget, to help prospective clients pick the resource and team they need to support their business ambitions.  Knowing the information will hopefully help internal stakeholders understand why the costs are what they are and the agency is the right one for the business

Before appointing a PR agency, the first question must be whether the company has existing skills and resource available to deliver the plans.  If not, there is always the option to recruit a ‘PR manager’ to help, with typical costs of £35 – £50kpa depending on location, experience and skill set.  If selecting this route, ask whether they have all the required skills and industry resources to deliver the campaign as well as what plans are in place to cover holidays or other absences?

Another option could be to use a freelancer.  Freelancers often cost more than an in-house resource and can bring specialisms and experience, but often deliver tactically the strategy that’s been determined in house. Freelancers have specialities and niches, so if considering this you may need to hire one freelancer to handle your social media while another for media relations.  Costs can range from £150- £250 a day again depending on skills and experience and can quickly rack up if not managed carefully.

Selecting the right PR agency

When it comes to selecting a PR or social media agency, these typically fall into three categories, large, small and specialist PR firms.  Hiring an agency gives you access to a team of experts across the full spectrum of communications services from media relations, social media management, crisis communications, public affairs, SEO and more. Unlike a freelancer, agencies usually offer a team to deliver the strategic planning, measurement and evaluation along with tactical delivery and execution.

Smaller or ‘boutique’ agencies, typically have a staff of less than 20. Their monthly fees usually range from £1,500 – £5,000 (potentially more for a London based or highly specialist firm). The value is in the easier access to senior PR counsel as well as the agility and close working relations built with the team. Boutique firms can also specialise in specific sectors and services within the PR and marketing spectrum but offer a more personalised service to client businesses.

Large agencies usually have staff of more than 20 and have offices across the UK or world, offering support to clients that require that reach. Some of the brand names like Edelman, Weber Shandwick and Hill and Knowlton fall under this category. These agencies cost the highest with typical retainers more than £5,000 per month. These agencies are best suited for big corporations and governments, especially those needing PR support for multi-national launches and campaigns.

When it comes down to working out how much do PR agencies charge, most PR and social media agencies operate either on a project or retained basis.  Project rates tend to be for shorter term contracts between one and three months and can be used to support an event or crisis.  Project-based contracts tend to be priced higher than annual retainers because agencies spend a lot of time in winning the business, researching the company and getting to understand the various products or services. The short-term aspect can also put a lot of pressure on the agency’s resources to deliver within the time frame and the time spent on learning the account cannot be recuperated six months down the line once the project has ended.

Retained contracts run longer and are usually around 12 months duration, however at Source PR we are proud to say that we have supported several clients for more than 10 years on a rolling retained basis (as they value the work and results we deliver!). Retained contracts often cost lower than project-based contracts because the time spent and the research done in the initial few months by the agency are paid off in the long-term.

PR Agency Services

Services like media relations are offered on retainer contracts because the best results are achieved in the long term.  A one-off press mention in top-tier media can lead to a short spike in brand awareness or traffic to a website, but only consistent press coverage over the long-term will genuinely build and enhance a company’s brand and reputation.

Retained contracts typically allow clients to pay a fixed rate every month based on a specified scope of work or a fixed number of hours. Some months the work may be slower but it is usually balanced by months when the workload is higher.

One of the key influences into PR agency prices is based around the team allocated to support the business.  PR prices are proportional to the agency day rate card (i.e. how much time a member of the team would be required to support the business and the seniority / experience of the person or team). Naturally the hourly rate of an account executive is lower than that of an account manager, which is lower than that of an account director etc.

When looking to choose a PR agency, it tends to be best to work with a firm whose typical client is of the same size and budget as yours. Some clients with moderate budgets make the mistake of selecting a ‘big name’ agency only to have junior or less experienced PR staff working on the account as the client (or fees!) are not deemed as important to the senior team.  Smaller or boutique agencies typically give better access to the senior team at a more affordable rate.

Finally, one of the other key influences in determining ‘How much do PR agencies charge’ comes down to the services required by the client.  Some services like strategic planning, branding and public affairs understandably cost higher as they require more senior expertise. Crisis communications cost much higher as it requires the PR professional to be available 24X7 to respond to the crisis as it evolves and can take them away from other scheduled work

Similarly, services like media relations or working with influencers – where a PR professional brings their relationships built over the years also cost higher.  Services like social media management or blog writing can cost lower because they can be successfully undertaken without needing years of experience or decades spent building relationships.

The last question to ask is how much would it cost you not to recruit a PR agency?  What is the value of your time, do you have the skills and time to deliver a campaign yourself.  Equally what are the sales and opportunities you’re missing by not building your profile?  All are valid questions when asking ‘how much do PR agencies charge’.

Speak to us

If you’d like to speak to someone about PR pricing and what agencies can deliver against specific budgets, feel free to contact a member of our team.  Source PR is one of the North West’s leading boutique agencies and offers a full range of services to client business across the region and UK.

The team would be delighted to discuss your PR, social media and digital communication requirements and to meet to discuss your ambitions and how best we can deliver against your PR budgets and priorities.

Developing PR Plans For 2022 – 5 Things To Consider

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As we look ahead into 2022, the team at Source PR shares below how they feel the pandemic has changed the way brands interact with customers and what PR and communication trends we’re likely to see as we head into 2022.

The pandemic has accelerated the changes in PR that have been coming over the past decade.  The move from more traditional ‘siloed’ communications towards a more holistic and integrated approach is complete.  For example, pure media relations can’t exist without reflective web content or supportive social media management – each communications silo needs to integrate and relate.

This has naturally led to a blurring of lines between PR, marketing and advertising, digital and offline – essentially requiring PR and marketing teams to develop plans that reflect an integrated approach to communications.

  1. Complete the shift to digital-first

The pandemic has ushered in a more digital world meaning companies should be looking at new ways of getting in front of their audiences and ‘meeting’ them in new ways.

In 2022, traditional PR strategies won’t work as well and companies need to adopt a digital-first strategy.  Marketers should however remember that although the platform is online that they’re targeting real people. We thrive on being liked, making conversation, and having meaningful interactions that we can relate to.

As we’re all individuals, this means that when it comes to engaging with customers, brands need to understand that a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. Customers care more now than ever about their experience with the companies they are buying from and don’t want to be bombarded with generic emails or social communications that just aren’t relevant to them.

Always remember that consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that they trust, have a relationship and can relate to.

  1. Engage with, or become an influencer

It’s hard not to be aware of the growing influence of the influencer.  But what is an ‘influencer’?  In short, it’s someone with a strong following who ‘creates unique content that reaches and engages people within a specific target audience’.  When chosen correctly, they can add credibility, authenticity, and personality to campaigns, providing they are harnessed in the right way.

PR agencies are well placed to work with companies and brands to shape and foster a community of advocates and influencers.  Influencers can also help humanise the brand in addition to boosting appeal and trust, promoting products and services to new cohorts, providing invaluable user-generated content (UGC), word-of-mouth recommendations and social media chatter.

When considering an influencer be sure to undertake the due diligence and to create genuine partnerships that have strategic alignment with brand values. As ever, key performance indicators (KPIs) will play a crucial role in demonstrating whether the return on investment (ROI) is beneficial.

If you’re a business leader with proven experience in a sector, what’s to stop you from developing your own profile as a thought leader in the sector?  2022 could be the year for this and we are looking forward to working with our clients to achieve this ambition for them.

Finally, although we live in the digital age, brands need to be backed up by real people, otherwise, they risk becoming faceless.  Analysis of the social media platforms we manage clearly show that consumers want to experience the human touch and to understand the people behind the brands.

  1. Develop a social conscience

There is also greater pressure coming from consumer organisations and the public to ensure the products we are consuming have been delivered in a sustainable way, haven’t unnecessarily damaged the environment or caused distress to people or the planet.

If companies are doing good work, it’s important to share the news or at least give a vision for the future that stakeholders can buy into or be part of.  In short, communicating with a conscience has never been more crucial.

We are however still at the stage where companies are positively viewed for their good works, however, in 2022 it’s likely that there will be a shift towards the greater expectation that a company is doing the right thing.  Not acting or doing the ‘wrong thing’ therefore poses a risk to an organisation’s reputation, which can quickly spiral out of control in a digital world.

Be careful not to virtue signal or publish ‘green guff’ as the public are getting increasingly savvy and there is a risk it could backfire.  If you keep your actions aligned to your vision, values and core principles you can’t go far wrong and always keep the communities you are looking to influence in the forefront of your mind when selecting a campaign to support.

2022 will be all about developing a PR narrative that allows clients to demonstrate their credentials in a meaningful way.  When done well, community-led storytelling is more acceptable and authentic than direct brand-led communication, but this community advocacy needs to be consciously harnessed and not left to chance.

  1. Create the right content

As we continue to embrace the digital era, social and web channels are only going to gain more momentum and be an increasingly critical communication tool. In the coming year, ensure that the content provided is authentic and relevant to your audience’s interests.

There has already been a monumental rise of short-form video this year, but more companies will use the format for sales and information, not just entertainment. Of course, the sales messages conveyed via video will have to be entertaining and engaging to capture and hold the viewer’s attention.

The power of speech as a search tool will continue in 2022. Already nearly a third (29%) of people in Britain now own a smart speaker and Forrester predicts the number of households with smart speakers in the EU will reach 57.5 million by 2024. When creating content consider speech search terms as well as those typically typed into Google as increasingly consumers will rely on voice to search for their favourite product or to request information.

  1. Manage your messages

As we develop a multi-channel PR and communications strategy, communications professionals should not be lazy but adapt their messages to suit the platform.  Whether LinkedIn, Twitter or TikTok adapt the message and content to suit.  As new platforms develop, they also become more mainstream so don’t write off Snapchat and TikTok as only being relevant to younger generations.  More and more Millennials and other older generations are becoming active there.

The final point to make is to ensure your messages are adapted for various audiences.  Although much of the above relates to acquiring new customers, don’t forget that “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” and that retaining customers that are already engaged should be an equal focus for companies and brands in their PR and communications.

 

We’d love to know your thoughts on what you feel are the topics and trends for 2022?  Whether you agree or disagree with the above, I’m sure we can all agree that the only real risk is to those who choose to do nothing.  We’d happily meet to discuss or support your plans in 2022 and always love to hear or share ideas – you can contact us here.

Whatever you choose to do – we wish you the best of luck and hope you have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2022.

Photo by Djordje Vezilic from Pexels

Influencer Marketing Lessons From Marcus Rashford

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It’s fantastic to hear that the AQA exam board is looking to use Marcus Rashford as a case study on how best to use social media to instigate social change in society.  The 23 year old “black man from Wythenshawe” is not only a role model for many but a brilliant example of what an influencer can really do.

Marcus’ campaign to raise awareness of the issues associated with child poverty is rightfully textbook stuff, illustrating how best to use influence to raise awareness and deliver tangible changes to behaviour.

Within two weeks of launching, more than a million people had signed the petition calling for the government to extend free school meals through the summer holidays of the Covid-19 pandemic.  This was only the 5th time that a petition to parliament raised more than 1m signatures.

His success as an influencer is down to several reasons.  The first is that he has ‘lived experience’ and can relate to the issues he supports.  As a child, it’s well reported that Marcus Rashford had experienced significant poverty and could personally share the role that free school meals had played in his own life.  This meant he was not ‘preachy’ but honest and relatable based on his genuine experiences.

The footballer also has a significant profile on social media with more than 11.8 million followers on Instagram and a further 5 million on Twitter.  His personality shines through his posts and he remains consistently on message, relating to issues and topics that are important to him.  Marcus’ audience also relate to him on several levels whether football, as a young black man or as a role model in delivering social change.

He used his support well and his work was quickly amplified by cafés, takeaways, shops, and other outlets across the country who supported the campaign by pledging free meals to children during the holidays (in defiance of the government’s decision not to).  The campaign quickly built momentum at all levels of society and helped deliver the changes needed.

Marcus Rashford’s influence has been tangible.  He’s not only the youngest person to top the Sunday Times Giving List after raising more than £20 million in donations from supermarkets for groups tackling child poverty, but he’s also actively changed Government policy.

Last summer, Rashford managed to get the government to make a policy U-turn and agree to give free school meals to vulnerable youngsters during the Covid-19 impacted summer.  Later in October he secured a further £170m winter grant to support low-income families struggling with the continued impact of the pandemic.

Although he claims not to have ‘the education of a politician’ it’s clear his messages are simple and, like all good influencing campaigns or PR strategies, designed to engage with his audiences, encourage people to support the cause or even to take matters into their own hands.

This recognition, along with an MBE in the delayed 2020 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, are just some of the accolades he has achieved in his young life.  Let’s hope that Marcus Rashford’s great work continues to shine on the football field and in the fields of positively influencing equality, diversity and inclusion in today’s society.

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