How to Include Digital in Your Rapid Response Toolkit
Digital media can seem like the wild west. There are as many platforms, websites and communities as stars in the sky. Anyone can say anything online (within reason–a good social media management team has a solution for that). You’re looking at wide open spaces full of interesting characters and character counts!
But there’s good news: You don’t need (or want) to be everywhere. Your resources are better when used strategically, choosing the platforms your audience already lives on. When you work with a team, like the one at ROKK Solutions, who understands data, organic content and paid media, the digital ecosystem gets a lot easier to wrangle.
Build Your Social Media Presence
Mark Zuckerberg recently declared “social media” is over, but that may be a good thing for companies and their public affairs efforts. People are spending less time catching up with friends and family on social media. Rather, these social platforms have evolved into news sources, entertainment sites and major digital ad outlets.
Companies, organizations and associations need to evolve their own social media strategies to address changes in user behavior. Strategically build up your presence on a select number of platforms that matter to your audience. You may be surprised by how few posts it takes to display authenticity and engage with your audiences. Whether that’s by regularly interacting with followers with an approachable tone or displaying expertise and maintaining distance, use social media to show your prospective audience what you’re all about.
As digital platforms continue to change, there is more opportunity for companies and advocacy groups to provide value to their followers. Tell stories, share news and give industry insights. Think of your posts as an opportunity to build trust and create a strong first impression for anyone finding your company or issue area for the first time.
Need to Reach an Audience NOW?
More good news for you: Even very engaged companies, with social media teams posting several times a day, are only averaging around 14 engagements per post. When you’re facing a crisis or a time crunch, you need more eyeballs on your content by orders of magnitude. That’s where paid media comes in.
Follow the Data
Just like you shouldn’t be on every social platform, you shouldn’t think of paid media as indiscriminately throwing money at a problem.
At ROKK, our paid media team starts with data. Where is your audience spending their time online? What news outlets do they trust? Who are they anyway? With this information, you can strategically spend your ad dollars toward visibility with the people you really need.
There’s a reason everyone thinks their phone is telling advertisers what they want: It is. Same with internet-connected TVs, game systems, tablets and online interactions. When you follow the data and leverage paid media tools, you can find exactly who you want to talk to and reach them with your message.
Remember, Every News and Entertainment Outlet is an Ad Platform
When you don’t have a built-in presence with your audience, campaigns drive a combination of awareness and persuasion. When planning, try to be open-minded. Major news outlets are important targets for digital advertisements, but restricting placements too much can lead to missed opportunities for meaningful engagement. Depending on your audience, they may be constantly viewing online video (most of us are), reading newsletters or scrolling social media. Nearly every time they touch a phone, computer, tablet or TV, you have an opportunity to reach and engage with them.
Consider Paid Search
Generating awareness among your target audience means they’ll know about your company or issue area now. Do you know what they will find when they Google you? If it’s not what you want them to see, or if your site is currently buried too deep for even an SEO whiz to turn it around, include paid search as part of your communications and marketing strategy.
Getting Started
Although campaigns can show immediate results, building those campaigns requires strategic thinking and time. ROKK Solutions has a full-service team skilled at identifying audiences, building strategies, executing on the plan and optimizing campaigns. Get in touch with our team to learn how we can help you maximize digital tools and tactics to tell your story to the audiences that matter most.
