Used in a post, the hashtag becomes a live link to content about that subject. For example, clicking #travel will return a list of posts including that keyword. Likewise, when someone searches for that topic your post becomes part of the results.

Using this new feature is a pretty straightforward practice, and will make content more “sticky” and findable.

#GoodLuck!

Twitter
We all know the 140-character rule for Twitter, forcing you to make your point in short bursts of text. Most regular users make sure any links shared are accompanied by an accurate and alluring headline. (Do you?) So, what else?

TIP: Always include any top trending hashtags that are related to your post. It immediately opens you up to those that don’t follow you.

Pinterest
Pinterest is all about beautiful imagery, as that’s the main focus when using this platform.

TIP:  Don’t forget about the text! Including a detailed description of the photo along with relative hashtags will increase searchability. Also, be sure to consider SEO when titling your post.

Facebook
Facebook’s Like, Share, and Comment functions make it easy to monitor audience engagement. Many people use Facebook on short work breaks, so they don’t necessarily want to watch videos, click links out to other sites, or read big blocks of text. However…

TIP: Adding an easy-to-process visual element can drive your message home and further engage your audience. Try eye-catching images, “top 10” type lists, and even memes (images with text overlayed). Quick surveys (or even simple questions) are also a good way to interact with your fan base.

YouTube
If a picture is worth a thousand words, is a video worth a thousand pictures? Perhaps. While video has grown as a valuable tool in your content marketing arsenal, the best practice here is to make sure you have an exciting, funny, or otherwise interesting story to tell.

TIP: If you have great content that appeals to a particular audience you seek to reach, it can be argued that longer length doesn’t really matter. (Note: this does not hold true for long advertising content!)

Blogging
Your company blog is the most flexible content platform at your disposal.

TIP: Break up blocks of texts with images and video. Try posting galleries of multiple photos on a regular basis as well–just don’t go over the top with the number of pics you include.

While these tips may seem obvious, many are not executed regularly. A quick consideration and implementation of any of these will likely net more engagement and interest by your audience, both in the moment and into the future.

Do you have any quick-and-easy tips to share? Have you noticed that some people miss the opportunity to engage their audience? What else can  help others improve upon the basics? Do tell.

GetGoing ‘Pick Two, Get One™’ Sizzle Reel from GetGoing on Vimeo.

GetGoing is making it easier and more affordable for flexible travelers to discover and book their next trip. With an average of one out of every five airline seats going unsold GetGoing enables flexible travelers to easily find and book those seats at a significant discount, while helping airlines profitably fill them.

We recently helped launch the company and announced it’s innovative Pick Two, Get One™ system, which was met with wide acclaim by the travel industry. You might even say they’re set to take off. Check them out at GetGoing.

We all want to know how a program moves the needle with our target audiences, be it increased brand awareness, revenue, customer satisfaction, and so on. But the inherent challenges of social media channels won’t always provide these insights, let alone surface an in-depth understanding of who we’re socializing with. As a result, instead of trying to always hit the bull’s eye, sometimes it’s about getting close.

Do You Really Know Who Your Social Audience Is?
We often think so, but how much do we really know? Twitter, for example, can identify originating IP addresses to see where, geographically, a follower is. But unless a user has a profile full of personal background, there’s no way of knowing things such as gender, marital status, education, occupation, etc. for a deeper sense of who we’re engaging with. We’re left making assumptions, and audience becomes a little fuzzy.

Facebook, on the other hand, can provide more insight into user demographics thanks to more comprehensive profiles– if made public. With increased privacy controls users are more encouraged to participate online, but it’s also more difficult to see “who” specifically is engaging. Because personal information isn’t always visible, an accurate and comprehensive view of audience and their actions can be elusive.

Beyond the Like: Gauging Content’s Broader Impact
Fortunately we at least have ways to monitor how an audience interacts with content, shedding light on the effectiveness of efforts. Tracking the number of Likes, ReTweets, Pins and comments on owned social properties will provide a pretty good idea of what content is hitting the mark. However, that’s not the whole story.

For example, take an industry article in Forbes touting a product or service as “best in class.” Posted on owned social media properties, it’s easy to gauge audience interaction. But readers can also “like” that article directly on Forbes.com, which needs to be accounted for to gauge it’s full impact. And how about forums, where the article might be mentioned within a post on a related topic?

In other words, there’s no single report or source of measurement; you have to gather information from multiple sources to get a complete picture.The time consuming and often manual process still won’t provide a precise accounting, but can develop a general sense of effectiveness.

Reaching Out
In addition to knowing audience and the effectiveness of content in creating interaction, social media measurement is incomplete without an understanding of reach. If a particular piece of content doesn’t drive high levels of engagement but reaches a lot of people, it still serves a purpose.

Revisiting the Forbes article, the greater the reach—regardless of engagement or interaction—the more people are exposed to the positive endorsement. It’s an important factor to take into account and may help drive content strategy. Are you seeking greater engagement? Greater reach? Both? Is a piece of content with above-average engagement and reach of 500 more effective than content with average interaction but a reach of 10,000? The answer depends on goals, but regardless it’s something to be thinking about.

In Closing…
Truth be told, this won’t make social media measurement much easier or more straightforward, but recalibrating how we think of measuring effectiveness can provide a better understanding of social media impact.

Pay More than Lip Service
The goal of social media is, well, to be social. Having a Facebook page or Twitter account does no good if you’re not engaging with and driving two-way dialogue with your target audience. Many brands treat social media as an advertising platform, simply pushing out messages and hoping for a “like” or “follow.” That’s great if you just want to get your company name, news, and brand out there, and wanting to say you use social media.

But truth is, social media offers a much greater and more valuable opportunity to reach and interact with your various audiences, including customers, prospects, partners, employee candidates, etc. With any social media strategy, the goal is to acquire fans and followers, engage your audiences, and amplify your messages to increase brand awareness and sales—and ultimately your marketing return on investment.

Here are some tips to help you move beyond an occasional post and truly be social:

• Be more active in creating dialogue with unique, thought-provoking messages
• Ask what your audience likes, and use the answers to develop relevant content them.
• Add useful information, such as tips, tricks, and “what’s new,” to your posts.
• Seek out other sites, blogs, forums, etc. where relevant conversations take place, and join in.
• Repost and retweet timely stories, breaking news, and other information related to your brand.

Put the “ME” in Social Media
Another critical success factor for social media is to define and express a voice and personality that best resonates with your audience. Social media is about conversation and memorable impressions. Imagine being in a room with thousands of other people. How will you distinguish yourself among the crowd? The same applies with social media. Those highly intelligent, humorous, or refreshingly honest—in short, people with dynamic personalities—are the ones that stand out and are remembered.

As a company or brand, what can you do to share your personality to gain the attention of a consumer with a thousand suitors? For starters:

• Don’t be afraid to have an opinion, as most consumers appreciate honesty and logical insight into industry trends or current events. But as your mother told you, if you don’t have something nice to say, it’s usually best to say nothing at all.
• Have a “face.” No one can represent your brand better than your employees, so leverage social media to show off your charismatic, hard-working staff .
• Again, take time to talk with your audience and respond to users’ comments and feedback, even if it’s negative. Followers appreciate open two-way dialogue with brands they are dealing with.
• Use humor with caution. If you’re truly funny, most consumers will like it, but remember you’re a brand steward—not a comedian—and you must walk that proverbial line carefully.
• Ensure your message is consistent and avoid changing your “personality” across audiences. Have a clear brand image, know how to communicate that, and stick with it.

Leverage New Currencies for Storytelling
Social media has accelerated the editorial evolution by enabling more multimedia-rich formats versus traditional text-based stories. Driven by today’s digital technology, and the fact that more people are consuming information online, PR and marketing professionals are increasingly integrating audio, video, graphics, and animation into their social media content.

These new communication “currencies” enable brands to create stronger, more emotional connections with their readers, while supporting a whole new generation of smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. This is particularly true for consumer lifestyle brands, where the traditional “hard news” pitch is being complimented, and in some cases replaced, by a more dynamic story.

In fact, using multimedia for storytelling is perhaps one of the most impactful tactics to share messages and content that engages your audiences. And that’s being social, right?

Working day-to-day is not the recipe for getting and staying ahead. Rather, we believe it’s wise to think and plan beyond next week, and even next month. Better yet, consider the next quarter.

In our experience, the clients that benefit most from a PR agency are those that consistently keep in mind their company strategy and marketing vision even if their roadmap has lots of twists and turns. So when the map changes, which is inevitable, we can combine their longer-term vision with some general strategic, short-term planning to help them be most successful in the end.

Some questions to consider in a shorter-term planning process include:

• What is the current state of the industry, and how is my company (or client) positioned within that space? Anything to be addressed here?
• What new products or services, company news, or other milestones are on the horizon, and what can we do now to prepare?
• Seasonally, what should we be acting on now? Here at Lyman PR, we’re already working on 2013 “trend” articles.
• Are our various communication vehicles in sync? Is our desired product marketing messaging, being accurately reflected across PR and social media channels? (If not, assess how you can fine-tune your messages and media mix to ensure greater reach the next time around.)

PR planning does not have to be a complex, cumbersome, or lengthy process. Sometimes it’s as simple as making sure you’re on course. Is the plan you set for the future still intact, even if the timing has shifted? If not, adjust course now, not a month before the event.

Simply put, effective PR planning comes down to thinking ahead. You won’t always get it right, but planning in advance affords you the opportunity to shift course sooner than later when changes occur, rather than reacting at the last moment.

A smiling little girl—in pink, no less—on a bicycle. Who doesn’t love that? Nice touch by Hincapie Sportswear (cycling apparel) in emotionally connecting with their audience.

And how about this post by Rhapsody? A simple quote speaks right to the heart of its service (streaming music) and, again, taps into consumers’ emotion.

Successful social media doesn’t always have to be complicated. As these examples show, a simple message that resonates with the audience can be quite impactful and engaging.

Try something similar with your next post. Really, it’s simple!