Tweets To Trust: Integrating Social Media Into PR Narratives

Social media has transformed the landscape of Public Relations (PR) and Corporate Communications, becoming a crucial tool for brands to communicate, connect, and engage with their audiences. This integration not only accelerates communication but also fosters two-way dialogue, turning audiences into active participants in the brand narrative.

Talking about authenticity across different platforms with varying communication styles, Sonal Singh, Head of Corporate Communications, Jindal Stainless Group stated, “If you are in a B2B sector, getting people’s interest on social media is very hard. LinkedIn and Facebook engagement rates were always very high for us, we were suffering in Instagram. When we started sharing BTS videos of the entire process of making stainless steel, those videos started getting an amazing amount of traction.”

Singh noted that Gen Z is after information as much as they are after entertainment.

Underlining the challenge with this approach she explained, “If I was to prove the efficacy of this game plan to my management, that remains a challenge because it’s a B2B sector and this traction will not convert into sales. 99 per cent of our buyers are not on social media, even if they were, B2B buyers in India are moved only by margins. There is no such thing as customer loyalty, customers are actively disloyal in a place like India.”

PR and Corporate Communications have their own set of challenges that have emerged from digitisation. Negative news travels quickly and the reputation management process has had to adapt to this change.

On challenges encountered while integrating social media into traditional PR strategies, Nikhil Bharadwaj, Vice President and Head of Corporate Communication, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance emphasised, “I think Twitter is nothing but a complaint box. If you want things done, write on Twitter and brands will respond. It’s a double-edged sword, people write negative stuff, whether factual or not, the worst part is that people who haven’t had their claim paid will join the party. If some celebrity happens to not get their claim on time, then God save you.”

Bharadwaj highlighted that Organisation Reputation Management (ORM) is very crucial. He underlined the importance of ensuring quick response and issue-solving.

He stressed, “In the spirit of entertainment, you don’t want to hurt somebody’s sentiments. We very seldom think about how Hindi campaigns will be received in South India. If we have English campaigns and we are trying to reach semi-urban and rural India, that plays out as a challenge, because you’re addressing a mass audience without the segmentation that you might get in publications.”

Bharadwaj also noted that the members of the management have become influencers in their own right. People write about the organisation tagging them and their reputation is linked to the organisation’s reputation. Handling their social media well has now become an integral part of the PR department of the organisation.

Speaking about leveraging data analytics tools to make informed decisions about the success and impact of PR campaigns on social media, Amit Arora, Head of Corporate Communications, Housing.com stressed, “You need to engage with your consumer at the right platform and the right language. On our website, we have 12 languages. Basis the queries that come to us on our social media platforms, those are being responded to in their respective languages. India is a unique market, hence we need to understand that we have to communicate in the customer’s respective languages. We ensure that even something as simple as a press release is released in languages specific to the regions we are targeting.”

Arora mentioned that in today’s ‘MeToo’ age, the product remains the same. Brands must ensure that the consumer experience is top-notch. The experience customers get on a brand’s platform is what will keep them coming back to said platform.

The session, ‘Tweet, Post, Engage: The Dynamic Duo of Social Media and PR Strategies’ was held at the BW Marketing World’s Excel Summit and Awards in New Delhi on 19 January 2024. The panel was moderated by Reema Bhaduri, Editorial Lead, BW Marketing World.