The Dynamic Duo of PR and Social Media

By Sarah Heber

Whether it is running a small LinkedIn page or managing Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat Instagram and more, many PR practitioners have social media worked into their roles.
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What should you say online though? There are few textbooks on the best social media practices, especially since these practices are broken every day and sometimes in a good way. Here are a few of my favorite brands online that I feel have pushed the boundaries on social media and had it pay off.

Wendy’s
​Wendy’s Twitter is quite controversial, as it should be. They are known for being savage and ruthless at times but that has worked quite well for the younger (millennial) audience on Twitter. They often call out their competitors like McDonald’s and Burger King. They repeat key messages such as their beef is fresh never frozen, unlike McDonald’s. They often reply to many Tweets with sassy comments, but they have all been received well by other Twitter users. Not all brands can pull this off so just make sure you get to know your companies voice before you go and be a savage online.

Arby’s
Arby’s is a great brand to look at when it comes to media hijacking. They often use events of hashtags that are trending in their posts that way their content will be part of the already trending topics. This has to be done carefully though because not every hashtag is relevant or worth hijacking.  Below is an example of their Facebook post around Thanksgiving time. They could have made an easy post like “come to Arby’s for Thanksgiving” but a post like that is unoriginal and would get buried under more interesting content. Instead, they made a lighthearted joke and even crafted a turkey out of an item on their menu.

Fortnite
​If you are not familiar with the video game Fortnite, that is fine, just know you’re missing out. This game has become a viral sensation and the social media accounts has helped tremendously with the success of this game. Below, you see their account tweeting a challenge that asks people to submit their dances moves for a chance to have those moves used in the game. There have been numerous gaming celebrities who have joined in on this challenge with further helps them get their name out there and engage with their growing audience. Fortnite is a great example to look at for engaging audiences and even responding to crisis. Whenever their game crashes, they Tweet to let everyone know they are sorry, explain the issue and that they are working to resolve it.