A guide to social media PR

As we enter 2025, it’s a good time to review your charity’s social media strategy and look at how you currently use different platforms. Charities can use social media to create positive public relations (PR) for their organisation and cause. This article looks at why it’s important to do this and how to use social media as part of your PR efforts.

 

Social media PR means using different platforms to build a positive public image. This includes creating and sharing content, interacting with followers, and managing reputational risks.

 

Different social media platforms can be used in different ways to create a positive image of your charity. You need to match your objectives for social media with the strengths of different platforms, so you know which channels to use.

 

For example, LinkedIn is a great place to share expert insights, including new research. This can help to demonstrate your charity’s expertise and encourage people to take an interest in your work.

 

Meanwhile, Facebook is good for increasing brand recognition and growing community engagement. And influencer marketing and visual storytelling are great engagement tools for Instagram and TikTok.

 

Treat X, formerly Twitter, with a degree of caution. Many charities have now closed their X accounts.

 

 

The benefits of effective PR

 

Creating positive PR for your charity has a number of benefits. The main advantage is that it increases your reach on social media and helps you to connect with your target audience. These people will potentially share your content, which will help to increase the reach even further.

 

Other benefits of social media PR include being able to protect the reputation of your charity. This is because you have full control over the content you share through your social media platforms.

 

Also, you can monitor the conversations people are having about your charity and carry out sentiment analysis to find out what your audience thinks of your organisation. This insight can be used to identify a potential crisis and make sure you respond quickly to comments.

 

Below are the steps to take when using social media as part of your PR efforts.

 

 

Be clear on objectives

 

The first thing to do is set clear objectives for using social media PR. This will help you to create an effective strategy and set metrics so you can assess whether you are meeting the objectives.

 

 

Choose the right platform for your audience

 

Think about who your target audience is. Once you know this, you can have them front of mind when writing content for social media. This will help to make your PR efforts effective. Once you have identified your target audience, you can choose the right social media platform to use, which will help ensure you’re reaching the right people.

 

 

Make sure you are consistent

 

It’s important to be consistent with social media. This means regularly posting content on your different platforms and engaging with your audience. You also need to be consistent with your tone of voice and visuals, so people recognise your brand.

 

As part of your tone of voice, think about the language you use. For all audiences, use clear and simple copy that is easy to understand.

 

Avoid jargon and technical terms and abbreviations that people may not be familiar with. If you are targeting an older audience, be mindful of using slang that you may use with a younger audience.

 

 

Show knowledge

 

Sharing content that shows your charity’s knowledge and insight can boost credibility and trust with your target audience. It can also help to put your charity’s brand in front of journalists and influencers.

 

Work with trusted brands and individuals

 

If you choose to work with another organisation or an individual (an influencer who can help to boost your PR work on social media), it’s important to carry out due diligence. This means making sure the organisation or individual supports the charity’s work and they fit with your brand.

 

Carry out research to see what content the organisation or influencer has spoken about previously. Also, when finding an influencer, have a look at people’s social media channels to see how engaged their audiences are.

 

 

Be proactive

 

Keep an eye on your social media channels so you can respond to any new opportunities that will show your charity in a positive light. Replying to comments will encourage people to interact with you and share your content.

 

 

Make sure you mitigate risks

 

You should address any issues that come up on social media quickly. This will help you to manage any incidents that could risk your charity’s reputation.

 

 

Be compliant and ethical

 

Make sure any data you collect through social media is handled sensitively and confidently. You need to put encryption, consent and control mechanisms in place when handling personal data.

 

 

Use data to measure success

 

Use the analytics tools on your social media channels to collect data on how well your posts are doing. This will help you to see what’s working, what could be improved and make changes.