Sure you could just send out a press release about your latest round of funding or your geographic expansion and be done with it, but where’s the fun (and audience engagement) in that? Get your employees amped up and your community excited by harnessing the power of your social channels.
1. Make it Personal
A press release inherently lacks personality — it’s a general mass communication after all. Put a personal spin on your announcement by creating a quick video (using your iPhone is OK) with your executive team sharing the big news. Then upload it to your YouTube channel, and embed it in that blog post you’re writing. But don’t stop there— if you’re announcing a new round of funding that’s earmarked for expansion into a new area, tap employees to share their excitement about those new ventures via a short video as well.
Check out this great example from Social Bakers for some inspiration:
SocialBakers took the personal touch one step further in the video by inviting customers and fans to a speical Google+ hangout to get more details on how they intended to use the funding, and invited feedback from customers as well.
2. Create a Variety of Easy to Digest Content Blocks
Use a design tool like Canva to illustrate your announcement simply yet elegantly (like I did with this blog post), and include the image with all of your social posts. For extra social currency with a funding announcement, include the logos of your new investors in the image. Or take it another direction entirely, and share your excitement through animated GIFs like TrackMaven did recently. You can also upload a few short slides to SlideShare summarizing your funding round details, including what the cash inflow will enable the company to work on next. And what about live tweeting the announcement? Many folks who wouldn’t click through to read a press release just might share or respond to your good news via twitter.
3. Pay it Back via Social
If you’ve done a good job in getting the word out about your big news, you’re likely to enjoy some social buzz and media mentions. Why not do a roundup of the coverage via Storify, and embed it a blog post? And if it’s a funding announcement, be sure to thank your investors—previous and current— in your social coverage.
What are some of the other ways you’ve used social to make the most of great corporate news? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments.
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