Mikey Collard is senior vp at Technique Communications.
In a world filled with social media apps, there are a handful that PR professionals ought to be on, however a pair they want to be lively and engaged on. For me, that was Twitter and LinkedIn, however Threads is slowly however certainly changing Twitter (now “X” – I’m not calling it that). It’s about time.
Earlier than Twitter was acquired final yr, it was a tremendous software for PR professionals. You would comply with reporters and thought leaders within the house you labored in to see what was prime of thoughts for them and the tales/points they cared about. You would interact with reporters and get to know them on a private stage past transactional exchanges. Reporters would typically search for story sources instantly on the platform and request to speak via direct messages. For those who weren’t on Twitter, you couldn’t attain them on their most well-liked communication channel.
Via years of lively engagement, I fastidiously crafted and curated my Twitter feed and it gave me an edge in opposition to different PR professionals. By checking in all through the day, I used to be capable of preserve a pulse on what was occurring and what the individuals within the business I cared about had been saying, which helped me tailor pitches, media technique, thought-leadership content material, and so on. in actual time.
Whereas parts of this Twitter nonetheless exist, the app’s glory days are gone and aren’t coming again.
Since its acquisition, Twitter has been on a path of self destruction – each from a product perspective in addition to a founder-saying-horrific-things-and-associating-himself-with-questionable-people perspective. And seeing as Elon Musk continues to ratchet issues up along with his antisemitic remarks, telling advertisers to “f*** off,” boosting conspiracy theories and reinstating Alex Jones, I don’t see the downward spiral coming in for a gentle touchdown any time quickly. We’d like a brand new Twitter for PR – I’m hopeful Threads shall be it.
Whereas Twitter rivals have sprouted up just lately (Bluesky, Mastodon, and so on.), none have had what it takes to exchange Twitter as a spot the place notable, related conversations occur. One in all my favourite journalists, Casey Newton, just lately pulled tech information web site Platformer from Twitter, and I’ve needed to give up myself. I’ve considerably lowered my utilization in current months, but it surely’s been exhausting to give up fully as a result of there are nonetheless so many vital conversations occurring on the platform. However two current indicators gave me extra hope in Threads turning into a reliable competitor:
- Meta launched a brand new tagging function much like hashtags. “Tech Threads” has been one of many largest trending subjects on the platform to this point.
- Threads did an enormous sports activities push across the NBA In-Season Match. Why is {that a} massive deal? As a result of when speaking in regards to the Twitter “holdouts,” the sports activities consumer base is commonly prime of the record. As a giant Utah Jazz fan (RIP their season), that’s positively been an element driving me to remain on Twitter.
Now could be the time to affix Threads in the event you haven’t already. Some reporters have been gradual to affix, however particularly in mild of Musk’s most up-to-date antics, I’ve observed a giant uptick in new reporters on the platform. (Talking of the brand new tags, “Journalism Threads” has been trending currently – verify that one out too.)
For those who’re planning to affix, listed below are some suggestions for PR professionals:
- Put your work credentials in your bio.
- That’s vital context, particularly in the event you look to work together with reporters.
- Lean into new options as they’re launched.
- Tagging simply began, and as of penning this, there are solely a handful of posts that embrace the “PRThreads” or “Comms Threads” tags. Let’s change that.
- Domesticate the proper feed.
- Comply with the reporters and thought leaders within the house you’re employed in. Some shops have completed posts the place they hyperlink to their reporters (Fortune instance) – maintain a watch out for these.
- Organically work together with influencers, thought leaders and reporters in your house.
- Be actual. The clearly sycophantic replies from PR professionals to reporters are gross – don’t try this. Depart that toxicity on Twitter.
And whereas Threads has made some massive strides currently, there are nonetheless some parts I hope come alongside quickly:
- There’s nonetheless not a Threads equal of @PRJournoRequest and hashtags like #journorequests & #prrequest which might be generally used to assist reporters supply tales on Twitter, however I believe it’s only a matter of time.
- Among the smaller verticals or sections of bigger shops aren’t on Threads but. (e.g., Bloomberg’s Work Shift has a Twitter account, however no Threads account as of this writing.)
- Some form of direct messaging service is sure to come back to Threads in some unspecified time in the future. Proper? RIGHT?
Tl;dr: PR wants a brand new Twitter, and Threads goes to be it – have some persistence, and within the meantime assist make it occur.
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