Social Media: What I’ve Learned

Although I’ve finished my placement at Professional Public Relations, I’ve recently started another internship- a social media strategy project at the Office of the Information Commissioner.

Originally, I had only planned to undertake one internship this semester, as I knew this semester was going to be manically busy. However, at the start of the semester, I was offered two internship positions- my current one, and the PPR one. I ummed and ahh-ed over which one to pick, trying to weigh up which would be the most valuable, but under the advice of Katharina Wolf I said yes to both! I think this was both a good thing, and an error at the same time (ha ha).

So, I thought I would write a blog post on a topic that’s been only briefly touched on so far, and one that I have encountered across both internships this semester. Drum roll please…. Social Media!

As a 22 year old, it’s very easy to start thinking you’re an expert at all things social media. When you never log out of Facebook and check Instagram roughly 10,000 a day, it’s easy to feel like you Know. It. All. Sadly, this is not true. There is so much to understanding how social media works for different organisations, and as a relatively new public relations tool, it’s not something we’ve learnt about comprehensively, despite the massive role it plays.

So what are the key things I’ve learned through interning?

Know your audience

Although it might seem obvious, understanding who your audience is, and how you want your brand to be perceived is vital when producing social media content. At PPR, I produced social media content for the Submarine Institute of Australia. As such, the tone needed to walk the line between professional and authoritative, as well as ensuring it still had an open, convivial feeling. After all, the point of social media is to form a conversation- it is two-way communication at its best. Similarly, the Office of the Information Commissioner is a serious government organisation, and this has been at the very fore of my mind when putting together their social media strategy.

Engagement is more than likes per page

Where social media is concerned, ‘engagement’ is the #1 buzzword. But what is engagement and what does it mean? Well, to quote a thousand social media executives, it’s more than simply ‘likes’ per page. Better to have fewer likes and higher engagement than thousands of likes with little engagement.  I’m no expert, but there is a million articles discussing engagement, this one from the Guardian is pretty good! 

Risk Management 

                                  

Social media is great, but it comes with a plethora of risks. To mitigate risk, ensure you have considered all the possible risks and planned how you will deal with then should they occur. At my current internship, considering all the risks is vital to constructing an effective social media plan- and it’s been a real learning curve.

You could spend days learning about social media and I’m looking forward to broadening my knowledge!

Has anyone else worked on social media content?

I hope everyone has the best of luck with whatever they’re planning on doing next year!

Daisy

Image: http://garethcase.com/a-guide-to-getting-started-with-social-media