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Tuesday, 22 March 2016

The text is mightier than the sword - sometimes - if you have enough data

The text is mightier than the sword - sometimes - if you have enough data.


Remember when there was news on every news channel, newspaper and social media network about the #FeesMustFall campaign? I’m sure everyone who doesn’t live under a rock would agree they had, to a certain extent, an opinion about the movement. The outcry caused a whirlwind of social media opinions, discussions and debates. As a result #FeesMustFall came in at number on the list of the top five news-related hashtags of 2015 in South Africa.
As a public relations practitioner it is important to consider how such a big campaign affects corporate social media. Similarly, public relations practitioners have the challenge of establishing a bridge between the brand and the people. So, here are a few things to consider and maybe implement in your efforts.

Have a plan

You cannot approach a girl without a plan, ask any guy who has ever tried. You will receive a blank stare aimed straight at your defenseless soul. The principle is the same with social media, particularly when dealing with a nationwide campaign. You need to ensure that there is a plan set in place to deal with any setbacks. You don’t want to be caught with your pants down, also that junk is embarrassing. Questions to ask would be:
How do you plan to go about your interaction on social media?
Who do you plan to attract (your audience)?
Which social media platforms will you make use of?
What are your primary market segments?

Don’t overplay the hashtag game

Resist the urge to use more than three hashtags, seriously it’s not okay. You don’t want to be that guy who populates their post with a myriad of hashtags. DON’T DO IT! Why is it not okay? Probably because you would be bombarding us with random information. People don’t like excess on social media because it means valuable time wasted.

Make it significant to your brand
Lastly, make the hashtag relevant to your brand. Using a hashtag in your favour would suggest you would have to make it your own. Attempt to work around the hype of the hashtag to find common ground. People can get caught up with the buildup of the hashtag that they forget what the initial motivation was centered around.
Mama Winnie Madikizela-Mandela was also in on the hype

10 comments:

  1. It's so annoying how people use hash-tags everywhere. e.g.#Fees#Must#Fall, #Blades#Face lol!!! that's just wrong. Your blog post is entertaining and imagination provoking. This is a true representation of the way you think.:-D ;-).

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    1. Thank you😊I think a blog should reflect your personality. Thank you for your comment. Look out for more posts from me.

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  2. Well said. I agree with everything you wrote.

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    1. Thank you very much. I appreciate your comment. Be sure to look out for my other posts.

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    2. Thank you very much. I appreciate your comment. Be sure to look out for my other posts.

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  3. #RELEVANCE!!! This can never be emphasized enough. People have this tendency to use trending hastags to promote their own agendas and what they don't understand is that they are disrupting a movement, one that our education depends on. You'll find something like "TGIF #feesMustFall" like where's the relevance?

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    1. That is very true. If there is no relevance there is no point. Social media teams should discuss such things when planning their social media strategy. Thank you for opinion.

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    2. That is very true. If there is no relevance there is no point. Social media teams should discuss such things when planning their social media strategy. Thank you for opinion.

      Delete
  4. I agree, too much of a bad thing can also be a bad thing. So too many people just hash tag just for the sake of hash tagging. But while we on that matter, I think this is relavant though so that by one can fast track a certain burning issue in regards to current events..

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