Leveling Up Your Social Media Practice
Posted on Mar. 20, 2022 / Professional Development / Subscribe 0
Carrie Strehlau serves as the senior social media specialist at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. She speaks nationally on best practices in social media, is a member of the PRSA Health Academy Board and has been in public relations for more than 20 years. On March 24, 2022, she will provide a Social Media Masterclass hosted by PRSA Memphis.
What's your favorite social media platform?
Carrie Strehlau: My favorite social media platform is Instagram, mainly because it's very visual and creative. That speaks to me. Also, the introduction of reels, integrating TikTok with Instagram and Instagram stories—it's where I spend most of my time lately.
What's been the biggest challenge for you when it comes to social media?
I love working in social media. It is fast-paced, and it changes every day. You are sometimes the first person to know something has happened, not only in the company you work for but in the world.
The first few seconds after it was announced that Prince died, it was on Twitter. I saw the TMZ tweet 30 seconds after it was announced. You have to be quick-footed and nimble. I think the challenging part of social media is to make sure you are continually authentic and relevant, and that you are speaking to your audience in the right way at the right time.
What is your go-to advice that you give people about social media and creating their own personal brand?
What I tell people most often is to spend 10 minutes a day on social media. For myself personally, every morning when I get up, I drink my coffee, and I scroll through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram. I think that's super important for everyone to do.
You don't have to be on everything. But I think whatever you are on, spend time even if it's just a little bit every day cultivating those audiences, cultivating those relationships, networking, especially if you're on LinkedIn, and then at night if you have time. I say take 10 minutes for a reason because you can go down a rabbit hole in social quickly, so give yourself a 10-minute timeframe.
If someone is already doing social media for their organization, what can you offer them as the next step to level up their social media?
Look at the data and your analytics, and begin to develop actions based on that data. On a regular basis, conduct audits of your channels and see what's changing with your audience, your voice and tone. What are your peers doing? Learn what's trending, even outside your industry, and keep up to date on news and what platforms are introducing new features. Experiment. Also, be collaborative and be strategic when it comes to social media Look for unique ways to convey your messaging, explore partnerships and collaborations inside and outside your organization. One of the strategies we've concentrated on over the past few years is cultivating an informal ambassador program for our employees.
What is the difference between social media and strategic social media?
It's important, from my perspective, to have a public relations background or be plugged into what's going on in your public relations department. All of the messaging coming from a company should be consistent across the board, including internal, media statements, what you're putting on Twitter, which all need to be reflective of each other. It's important to be collaborative with the departments and teams with which you work.
Also, keep in mind that not everything should be on social media. If you don't have a strategic reason for posting specific content, hold it. You need a call to action, you need an integrated strategy, you need data, analytics and goals. If social media doesn't have a seat at the table for your communications strategy, advocate to become more integrated, collaborate with teams and, in some cases, other departments within your company. Find the influencers, both inside and outside your organization.
How can we learn more?
Register for the Social Media Masterclass hosted by PRSA Memphis on March 24. I'll be sharing lessons I've learned, resources and how to level up your social media strategy practice. You can register at prsamemphis.org.
0 Comments