text: Before social media was a critical aspect of marketing strategy, PR teams often ruled the direction of new campaigns and product launches and how they held influence over consumer masses. Now when it comes to integrated marketing plans, there are a variety of ways that PR and social media can work together to get messaging across a wide audience.
  In this week’s #SproutChat, we were joined by Sprout All Star Elite, Marek Cornett to talk about best practices for integrating your PR and social strategies. We covered different ways that traditional PR and social media are different and how they can sync up to deliver the most influence.
  The main point of difference between PR and social media comes down to the way messaging is delivered. With PR, you’re often reaching out on a 1:1 basis. With social media, brands and organizations have a cast a much wider net and can tweak messaging accordingly.
  A1: PR is more heavily focused on person-to-person relationship building, be it with the customer, media or blogger/influencer. #SproutChat https://t.co/78qg3iXtZ6
  A1.5: In social, we have more the ability to get more specific messaging in front of a more specific audience. #SproutChat https://t.co/78qg3iXtZ6
  A1. Traditional public relations send press release while social media allows you to build trust with your audience #sproutchat
  A1: I see PR as the content and social media as the way to broadcast it. #SproutChat https://t.co/TOguMhJUvZ
  A1) Traditional #PR is focused more on broader channels, while social media is more customer-specific #sproutchat
  A1 social media is faster and shorter than traditional PR, but traditional PR allows you to get a full thought out at once #sproutchat pic.twitter.com/eBDSN94cqT
  Q1. PR is geared towards media outlets and Social Media is geared for a more "on the go" audience. #SproutChat
  A1 With PR you have to get past the gate keepers. Social media has a much lower barrier to entry. #SproutChat #pr #socialmedia pic.twitter.com/hLW2LmR4oj
  PR processes have sped up dramatically with the evolution of social media. From outreach to pitching stories and response times, social has allowed for news and messaging to spread more quickly and effectively.
  A2: Digital PR has allowed us to reach audiences more quickly with information, rather than waiting on tomorrow’s paper. #SproutChat https://t.co/h0FAJmBZ0N
  A2.5: The rise of social media also means that we’re always thinking about things like photography & video for ANY news outlet. #SproutChat https://t.co/h0FAJmBZ0N
  A2: The evolution of SM has decreased the role of the gatekeepers and given more credence to the message than the messenger. #SproutChat
  A2 social media has definitely helped companies respond to consumers in a quicker pace and respond to negative news. #SproutChat pic.twitter.com/4guxT41IZt
  A2. From my own experience, social has blown the doors open on #influencer relations programs for modern #PR pros.  #sproutchat
  A2) In a sense it's connecting directly to your audience without the media in the middle. You're also reaching media this way. #sproutchat https://t.co/86Qg6pIu6U
  A2: it's easier to find media that may be interested in your content & easier to find out their individual approach/interests #sproutchat
  Social media now allows for brands to make connections with news outlets on a more regular basis. Once an announcement has crossed the wire, you can sync up and spread the word on your social platforms. Similarly, if a social campaign launch is newsworthy PR can come into play to make a media announcement.
  A3: Once a traditional PR story has been executed, social media should be sharing that story to all of the digital PR readers. #SproutChat https://t.co/OlEx1f75dc
  A3.5: Adversely, you can use PR when the social campaign crosses over from promotion to newsworthy. #SproutChat https://t.co/OlEx1f75dc
  A3 when you've got something truly unique to share, and want to broaden the launch or telling of a story #SproutChat https://t.co/AwfM92WHiu
  A3) Use social media to expand the range of contacts/outlets for your campaign. And measure those outcomes! #sproutchat
  A3: With a campaign that's seen success or a FAQ from your community. #SproutChat https://t.co/YmrV3KVx4K
  A3: for us, it's fully integrated. If PR places an earned media story, we might share our own blog post on the patient/family via social to provide additional photos and more of their story. Often the stories we tell thru earned media were uncovered via our social #sproutchat
  PR and Social Media Managers should work in tandem when it comes to a news announcement to make sure that messaging is consistent across all channels. Creating an integrated plan ensures that there are no missed opportunities for further engagement with your audience.
  A5.5: Creating a consistent message and tone across both avenues further builds your brand's recognition. #SproutChat https://t.co/WPMHxljyIN
  A5. PR strategy is led by content & messaging strategy. At @ideagrove, our content & social strategy teams work hand-in-hand. #SproutChat
  A5: Since I use #socialmedia as my main tool in the toolbox I use #PublicRelations as outsource. I don't think I can do it all #SproutChat
  A5. Any #PR agency worth their salt will take an integrated approach to comms, which means yes, working with social on the reg. #sproutchat
  Utilize social media’s listening and monitoring capabilities to identify influencers and start engaging with them. After establishing relationships with these influencers you’ve discovered via social, start crafting a PR campaign. Social influence can help with the heavy lifting and amplify the campaign later on as well.
  A6.5: PR can help getting the influencer where he/she needs to be, and social can engage, engage, engage! #SproutChat https://t.co/yx8oFLmVls
  A6. If they build their audience through consistent content on social, they can use public relations to promote themselves #sproutchat
  A6) It's about building relationships – social media can help connect to media outlets, customers, & influencers #sproutchat
  Be sure to join #SproutChat next week to chat with Sprout All Star, Dave Macdonald, Founder of SocialXpresso, to learn about gaining actionable insights from social analytics. Until then, be sure to join our Facebook community to connect with others in the social media and digital marketing industry.