Blogs & Articles
Strategic Social Media: A Foundation for PR Success (Q&A)
By Alan Helimsky
Companies look to social media professionals to develop and implement strategies that share the right messages, at the right time, on the right platforms.
Spearheading these efforts at Stern is our “Jack of all Trades” Social Media Marketing Specialist Alan Helimsky, who executes social media strategies, oversees creative design and builds communities for brands in both B2B and B2C industries, ensuring a solid foundation for brands to stand upon.
In the following Q&A, Alan dives into his background and shares insights on how to successfully utilize social media:
Can you discuss your background and how you came to lead Stern’s social media capability?
I majored in Digital Media: Film TV and Radio at Rider University—and explored a bit of everything with stints at Rider’s award-winning student-run radio station as a Rider Ice Hockey radio commentator and a video editor and on-camera “host” for the school’s television station. I took a wide variety of classes ranging from digital marketing to sports journalism to traditional public relations. This skillset landed me my first job out of college as a Marketing Assistant for a sports and fitness complex, where I was able to manage social media profiles, create daily video and graphic content, and devise social media strategies to help boost registrations for their various sports and fitness amenities. In my years there, I honed my craft and was later given the opportunity to join the Stern Strategy team. These diverse experiences came in handy, as social media requires an eclectic skill set.
Why is social media an essential component of a successful PR and marketing campaign? How do you foresee the role of social media evolving in the future?
Social media is essential for PR and marketing campaigns because it provides access to a vast, accessible audience and enables real-time communication and connection. This extensive reach helps build brand awareness and fosters direct engagement with target audiences and markets. The role of social media is always evolving and will evolve more quickly as time goes on, driven by technological advancements, changing user behaviors and emerging trends. We’re seeing it today with AI (artificial intelligence) integrations like “Grok” on X and “My AI” on Snapchat. AR (augmented reality) integrations on Snapchat, TikTok, and Reels, as you can see with their multitude of filters, are enhancing customer experiences by allowing you to create personalized, immersive brand interactions.
How do you integrate social media with other marketing and PR efforts to create a cohesive strategy?
Like many of my colleagues, I believe that social media, PR, and digital marketing should be an integrated package deal. In today’s digital age, taken on its own, PR can only generate a limited duration of attention and it’s the job of social media marketers and managers to come up with creative ways to hold people’s attention and get them to act in ways that help you achieve your goals.
When a media opportunity turns into a media placement, a checklist forms in my head. To get as much attention as possible, we need to make sure social posts are covered. We need to post it on the website as a blog post that links directly to the placement. We need to send an email newsletter that holds the placement. We time these deliverables so that people find the information at the right moment and extend the life of the placement with social posts presenting the content in different engaging formats, tied to the ongoing news cycle and trending topics.
Can you share an example of a successful social media campaign and what made it successful?
There are so many great ones out there, but a recent personal favorite is what Sesame Street did when they essentially turned their world-famous characters like Elmo and Oscar the Grouch into “creators.”
One evening I was scrolling through my X feed, and I saw a tweet from Elmo. It simply said “Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?” Later on, I realized that I wasn’t the only one surprised to see my old childhood Muppet pal. Over 218 million people viewed the tweet and many of them wittily responded to Elmo with brutally honest reactions about how they were doing.
Of course, I had to join the fun!
A big reason for this campaign’s success is the fact that these characters actually engaged back. Elmo didn’t offer me a Dunkin Donuts gift card for my response like I was hoping, but he did create a lot of memorable interactions with fans by responding. The Muppets also engaged with each other, creating some funny moments.
Overall, this can be attributed to the fact that people nowadays want to hear from the people, or in this case main characters, behind a company rather than the company itself.
Can you tell us about Stern’s specialization in expanding the social media presence of organizations to the channels of individual executives? How does this factor into a brand’s success?
Individual executives play a huge role in the success of their organizations’ marketing channels, including on social media. As Elmo taught us above, people are more likely to have meaningful online connections and conversations with other people… or Muppets.
CEOs and business executives are great candidates to become company representatives and thought leaders on social media. Their content will feel more authentic, and their audience is more likely to engage because of personal connections and relevancy. And ultimately, social platforms tend to give preferential treatment to content coming from individuals rather than brands. According to LinkedIn, 80% of employees say they would rather work for a CEO who engages with people on social media.
Stern specializes in distinguishing companies in their industries by level of engagement and personalization in the eyes of potential customers. We audit industry peers to see what they are posting about and what performs well, identify the right people to be the company voices, and then work to balance their executive distinctiveness with consistent messaging and posting.
What key performance indicators (KPIs) do you use to measure the success of social media campaigns? How do you measure the return on investment (ROI) to communicate with stakeholders?
Engagement rate is a great way to see the percentage of your audience that interacts with your content. We often look at it on a per-post level because that gives us a better look at what content types and formats people engage with the most. We also look at impressions and reach to see how often content is being displayed, follower growth over time, and clicks on links within the content we share.
We then consolidate this data into analytics reports that communicate what’s working, what isn’t, and what we can do to continuously optimize companies’ and executives’ social presence. Our data-driven approach means every tactic is measured and clearly communicated to stakeholders.
Why should organizations and executives choose Stern for social media support?
Organizations and executives should choose Stern for social media support because we have a deep understanding of how to leverage social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok to support broader communications efforts and achieve real business impact for our clients. An integrated social media strategy is critical for any effective PR and communications plan today.
We are pros at combining creative messaging and content with data-driven insight to identify optimal platforms, hashtags, influencers, and content formats to amplify your brand, promote events, support thought leadership, and get your message in front of the audiences that matter most.
Energizing Executive Visibility Through Short-Form Video Content
By Alan Helimsky
In today’s fast-paced world, short-form video content reigns supreme over all other forms of social media content. Why? Believe it or not, the human attention span is estimated to be just around 8 seconds – only one second below that of a goldfish. Short-form video has become the most popular medium for businesses, and their executives, to showcase their expertise personalities and business offerings.
Creating short-form video content can be a powerful tool for executive visibility because it enables leaders to showcase their thought leadership in a concise and engaging manner – all while lifting the veil on the mysterious and lesser-known nature of the executive. Here are some key steps executives need to begin creating their own short-form video content!
Define Your Goals
Before creating any content, it’s important to define your goals. What do you want to achieve with your video content? Are you looking to increase brand awareness? Are you trying to grow your business? Could you be looking to create authenticity through your videos that speak to your company’s values? By clearly defining your goals, you will be in better shape to create content that aligns with your objectives and resonates with your audience…
Know Your Audience
… but what is your audience? Knowing the answer has a direct correlation to the success of your videos. What are their interests, pain points and preferences? Is there something you can tell them that the brand can’t? Executives may not have these answers, but they can leverage their marketing and PR departments and external partners to paint a clear picture of their audience and create differentiation strategies to maximize brand efforts.
Choose the Right Platform
When TikTok exploded onto the scene in 2018, other social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube understood quickly that short-form video content was the future. They all mirrored TikTok’s swipe-up-for-next-video, double-tap-to-like style on their own platforms. Instagram launched Reels and YouTube introduced Shorts – both of which continue to receive high view numbers each day. But which ones work best for your executive?
Knowing your audience involves figuring out what their preferences are. This includes their preferred short-form video content app. Are your followers on TikTok more than Reels or Shorts? Do they spend time on all three? Knowing this will help inform your posting strategy.
If you are looking to post on all three platforms – TikTok, Reels and Shorts – you can maximize your reach. Be sure to watch out for watermarks if you are repurposing content across platforms, as each platform’s algorithms will sink your reach if you leave them in your videos. You can visit the helpful site SnapTik to remove any watermarks before you post.
Keep It Simple and Engaging
Short-form video content should be simple, engaging and easy to consume. Your audience’s attention span is short, so it’s important to grab their attention within the first couple of seconds. Start your videos with thought-provoking questions that frame the rest of your video. And, crucially, stay on track. Straying from the point of your video can easily mean a swipe away.
Showcase Your Expertise
As an executive, you have unique insights and expertise in your industry. Use short-form video content to share your knowledge and provide value to your audience. You can share tips, insights, trends, best practices and emerging technologies for your industry.
Be Authentic
Authenticity is key to building trust and credibility with your audience. Don’t be afraid to showcase your personality and be yourself in your videos. Your audience will appreciate your authenticity and be more likely to engage with your content.
Measure and Optimize
Measuring the success of your video content is crucial to optimizing your strategy. Track engagement, views and shares to understand what resonates with your audience. You can then use this data to optimize your content and see if the platform you are posting on is the right one for you.
Short-form video content can empower executives to showcase their expertise in the most optimal and transparent way possible. By following the steps above, executives can rest easy knowing that their video content resonates with their audience and achieves the objectives they set out to accomplish.
Seven Predictions for Social Media Marketing in 2023
By Alan Helimsky
As we approach the end of 2022, we are already thinking about what the future of social media marketing might look like and how we can best prepare our clients for success. And while the industry is quite unpredictable, we mapped out seven predictions for what we anticipate to see in the world of social media in 2023:
Increased focus on user-generated content:
In the coming year, we expect to see more brands leveraging the power of user-generated content in their marketing efforts. This could be in the form of user-generated photos and videos, or even user-generated reviews and testimonials. By tapping into the collective creativity of their audience, brands can create authentic, engaging content that resonates with their target audience.
More personalized experiences:
As social media platforms continue to improve their targeting capabilities, we expect to see a greater emphasis on personalized experiences within them. This could mean delivering more relevant and tailored content to audiences, based on factors like location, demographics and interests.
Greater use of augmented reality:
Augmented reality (AR) has already made its way into social media marketing, but we expect to see an even greater focus on this technology in 2023. Brands can use AR to create immersive, interactive experiences for their audiences, giving them a deeper level of engagement with their brand, products and services.
More emphasis on visual content:
In the coming year, we expect to see an even greater emphasis on visual content in social media marketing. This could include a rise in the use of video, with short-form content like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. The increase in visual content could also extend to the use of visual storytelling techniques, like infographics and animations.
Continued growth of social media platforms:
As more people around the world become connected through social media, we expect to see the continued growth of existing platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. We may also see the emergence of new platforms that cater to the specific niches or interests of users.
Greater emphasis on data and analytics:
We expect to see an increased emphasis on data and analytics in 2023. It’s key that social media marketers use this data to gain a deeper understanding of their audience, track the success of their campaigns, and continually improve their social media strategy.
Increased importance of influencer marketing:
Influencer marketing has been on the rise for a few years now, and we expect to see this trend continue in 2023. Brands will continue to partner with influential individuals on social media to reach their target audience in a more authentic and engaging way.
Overall, the world of social media marketing is constantly evolving, and 2023 is sure to bring new challenges and opportunities. By staying on top of these trends and adapting where needed, content creators can continue to effectively reach and engage their audience on social media.
Sports Articles
Five Observations From The Vikings First Preseason Game vs. Denver
While resting nearly all of their starters, the Minnesota Vikings lost their first preseason game against the Denver Broncos
The Minnesota Vikings’ backups struggled to gain traction in a 33-6 loss against the Denver Broncos, with just about all of their starting players sitting out the first preseason game. Today was an all-out fight for spots on the 53-man roster. Some players made their case to stick around for the regular season and others played to the detriment of their case. Here are five observations from Saturday’s matchup.
Dakota Dozier is not a starting caliber player
Dakota Dozier was the bane of many fans’ existence in 2020 when he was thrust in as the Vikings starting RG. His constant inability to guard defensive tackles gave Kirk Cousins fits throughout the 2020 season. This is not news to Vikings fans, but his terrible play was obvious once again on Saturday.
Dozier gave up a pressure on the first Vikings offensive series that led to a three-and-out. On the Vikings second offensive possession, Dozier was the recipient of a holding penalty when he held former Viking Shamar Stephenin the end zone, resulting in a safety.
The fact that Dakota Dozier is competing for the RG position in 2021 is honestly baffling. He was rated one of the worst starting guards in the NFL in 2020 by Pro Football Focus. His shoddy outing vs. the Broncos further solidifies the belief that Oli Udoh will be the starting RG in 2021.
Kris Boyd played well against the Broncos starting WRs
Cornerback Kris Boyd had a strong outing on Saturday while spending most of the first half covering WR Jerry Jeudy. He forced a turnover-on-downs when he batted down a Drew Lock slant to Jeudy on 4th and 2. Later in the 1st quarter, he had lockdown coverage on a deep throw to Jeudy.
With presumed starting CBs Patrick Peterson and Bashaud Breeland sitting out, Kris Boyd outshined Cameron Dantzler on the day. The Vikings’ cornerback group is much deeper this year than last, meaning Kris Boyd has to shine in the preseason to make the team in 2021. His solid play on Saturday should keep him on the roster after the first set of cuts.
Jake Browning is not the answer at backup QB
Quarterback Jake Browning started the game for the Vikings and played for just over one quarter. He finished 5-for-10, for 31 yards and an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Broncos rookie cornerback Patrick Surtain.
Browning looked calm in the pocket, but seemed to be staring down his receivers and not going through all of his reads very well. However, he did have all backups (including Dakota Dozier) on the offensive line in front of him, so he lacked a lot time to throw.
Vikings rookie 3rd-round selection Kellen Mond came in after the pick-6. He had a shaky start, which was expected due to all of Training Camp practices he missed due to his COVID-19 diagnosis. In the first half, he posted 2-for-7, with 31 yards and one rush for 8 yards. Mond finished the day 6-of-16, with 53 passing yards and 5 rushes for 25 yards.
If Jake Browning continues to struggle in the preseason, the Vikings should look to add a veteran quarterback to back up Kirk Cousins. The Vikings are only one injury or COVID-19 close contact to Cousins away from a major downgrade at QB.
Vikings wide receiver depth is questionable
With Adam Thielen and Justin Jefferson sitting out, backup wide receivers K.J. Osborn, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, and Dan Chisena had a chance to showcase their skills. Due to the struggles of the quarterbacks, none of them were able to show out very much in the first preseason game.
Smith-Marsette, a rookie 5th-round pick out of Iowa, dropped a Jake Browning pass that hit him right in the hands in the first half. Osborn, the front-runner for the WR3 spot, caught two passes for 15 yards. No pass catchers eclipsed 20 yards receiving in this game.
Rookie WR Whop Philyor nearly caught a touchdown from Kellen Mond in the third quarter but it was knocked out of his clutches. It is only the first preseason game, but the receivers left a lot to be desired out on the field. They are a group that has a lot of room to improve before the next preseason game.
So far so good for Kicker Greg Joseph
Vikings fans are well aware of the team’s long-standing kicker struggles. They will likely enter the 2021 season with Greg Joseph as their kicker, who hasn’t made a regular season field goal since 2018. He spent last season on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practice squad.
Joseph finished the day 2-for-2 on field goals, giving the Vikings their only points of the day. Plenty of kicking opportunities in the preseason will only do him good. A major concern for the Vikings may end up being squashed if Joseph continues to make all of his kicks in the preseason.
The Vikings’ next preseason game is one week from today, when they will play the Indianapolis Colts at US Bank Stadium.