If that’s as far as your company has gotten with its social media efforts, chances are you’re still wondering when all of the fans and followers will be showing up. Unfortunately, just because you built your social media profiles doesn’t mean they will come. Apparently, stuff like that only happens in movies like Field of Dreams.

In the social media world, getting fans and followers takes more effort—especially, since the focus should be weighted more on quality versus quantity. So, if your profiles are established, make sure you’re using the basic tactics below to help broaden your company’s social media reach.

1. Advertise your social media profiles on your Website. You’re Website is one of the first places customers and prospects will check. By advertising your social media presence there, you increase the likelihood they will follow you on social media platforms where you’re able to stay in front of them on a more regular basis. You can achieve this by simply adding social media buttons/links to your Website.

2. Add share buttons to your blog. If your company is publishing a blog, you want to make sure those who are reading it have the opportunity to share the content on the various social media sites referencing your company. That will encourage the fans/followers of those who share your content to start following your company.

3. Promote your social media profiles in other online media. By incorporating social media buttons/links into e-mail signatures, e-mail newsletters, etc., you’re able to spread the word about your social media presence during everyday interactions. You can also take the more direct approach of incorporating a boilerplate sentence in correspondence that invites the recipient to follow your company on the various social media platforms.

4. Cross-reference your social media profiles. That means leverage each social media platform to increase followers on the others. For instance, you can invite people to follow your company on Twitter by posting a message on your company’s LinkedIn page and vice versa.

5. Don’t forget about Print. Add social media information to business cards, postcards, newsletters or any form of direct mail material. Every mention reinforces the invitation to join.

When you have all of these bases covered, more fans and followers will come. Of course, the challenge then becomes how to keep them engaged. More on how to “go the distance” next time.

Far too often, social media management rests on the shoulders of an individual employee who isn’t able to dedicate his/her full attention to the task since it’s only a portion of their overall responsibilities. Instead of viewing social media management as a marathon and identifying a single employee to run it, companies would achieve much better results if they viewed it more like a relay marathon.

In a relay marathon, there’s a team to share the workload. The key to success is playing to the strengths of each team member. For example, you want team members who are better at sprinting to run the shorter legs, while team members who are good at climbing are better suited for uphill running. Each contributes an exceptional strength to make the overall race a success and no single person is overwhelmed.

With social media, a successful “relay” team should also consist of members who bring different strengths to the table. Passing the baton between marketing, public relations, sales, customer service, IT, and executive management can help companies make much greater strides toward their social media goals. And it allows companies to set and achieve loftier goals without overtaxing any individual.

While the relay approach to social media certainly makes it easier for a company to engage in social media in a more meaningful way, some companies may hesitate because they lack the necessary “relay” members – usually due to non-existent or overly lean departments. In those cases, companies should consider tapping external resources. A strategic marketing and public relations partner with social media expertise can fill in where ever needed. Whether serving as team coach or filling in on any leg of the “race”, the right external partner can help any company go the distance.

But working with the media isn’t a game. We see far too many executives making unnecessary and often damaging mistakes during media interviews, perhaps for lack of training. Unfortunately, once an ill-spoken quote is published, it can be very difficult to put it to rest. Remember the quote “All I want is my life back!”? Despite his many career accomplishments, former BP CEO Tony Hayward will long be remembered for this one inappropriate quote during the Gulf oil spill crisis.

Finding and participating in a good media training program is vital for any executive who may interact with the media on behalf of his or her company or organization. Here are 4 simple ways to get more from that training:

1. Prepare Before Training
Before attending media training, identify a reporter that you think you could eventually talk to. Check out his or her LinkedIn profile. Read some of the recent articles this reporter has written. See how much you can learn about the journalist’s beat or interests. Then as you are going through your training, think about this reporter and how you will apply the information you’re learning to that future interview opportunity.

2. Know What You Don’t Know
Executives who understand that working with reporters is outside their ‘wheelhouse’ make the best students. They listen carefully to the media training facilitator, they ask great questions, they participate in role playing and they keep their phones turned off. For these executives, media training works – primarily because they know what they don’t know, making them open to real learning.

3. Stay A Little Uncomfortable
Many executives walk into media training feeling a little uncomfortable. That’s a good thing. Ideally, participants remain at least a little uncomfortable throughout the training session because it motivates them to stay focused. Trainees get too confident too quickly by thinking they’ve gleaned everything of value half way through the training. Unfortunately, this early confidence works against their ability to master important strategies and techniques for professionally managing interviews.

4. Participate Enthusiastically
The best media training programs allow executives to practice interviewing skills through mock interview sessions. This is the time for everyone to park their egos at the door and jump in to learn everything they can about how interviews work, what can go awry, and how to recover and get back on track when they do. When mock interviews are offered, trainees should participate enthusiastically, using the opportunity to get real time feedback from their training coach so they can increase their awareness of the opportunities and pitfalls, and refine their approach.

Media training is important preparation for successful interactions with the media, and journalists appreciate the opportunity to interview credible, well-prepared executives who demonstrate an understanding of their profession. Even though journalists and executives often have different reasons for participating in an interview, good training helps pave the way for a positive outcome.

To one degree or another, we all depend on thought leaders, though it can be hard to hear their voices in a landscape full of people who offer plenty of commentary without much in the way of unique thought. As a result, when we encounter strong thought leaders, it’s like we’ve unearthed a bit of treasure. They never fail to hold our attention, to make us feel smarter for having heard or read their views, and to challenge our views and assumptions.

Thought leaders are also notoriously focused on the work they are passionate about. Many of them are senior executives with immense responsibilities they must attend to on behalf of their organizations. Even so, generous thought leaders understand the importance of their role in helping investors, employees, prospects and clients to distinguish their company from competitors. By authoring articles or blogging or speaking at conferences, they share their wealth of knowledge while also building credibility for their companies.

We work closely with many senior executives to help get their ideas and perspectives into the public arena because thought leadership matters – not just to companies, but to industries. B2B decision makers seek out expert content from thought leaders as they are evaluating firms they believe are best qualified to help them solve their business problems. They also reward forward-thinking companies with their business.

The decision to create and distribute a press release should be driven primarily by the expected contribution the resulting publicity will make to the accomplishment of the company’s business goals (Why). Whenever possible, press release distribution should also be timed to reach the intended audience at the most opportune time, such as during an important conference where key prospects will be available for follow up discussions (Why Now). Finally, companies should consider the possible downside of creating and distributing a release on a particular topic (Why Not). If the release topic isn’t truly newsworthy, raises controversy, or doesn’t have a strong tie to business results, a press release is probably not the way to go. Instead, consider direct communication with your most targeted audiences.

2. Determine in advance how you will leverage the Press Release with other communications

Each opportunity to release important news about your company or its products/solutions is also an opportunity to multiply the impact of that release through complementary communications initiatives. For example, you can send a creative HTML email containing additional information that is of interest to clients and prospects and distribute it on the same day the release goes out. If you have developed a webinar or new white paper that provides more in-depth coverage of the press release topic, post the information on the home page of your website the same day the release is distributed. Either post the release or announce the news on all company social media channels with a link back to your website. Have account executives call their top accounts or prospects to personally make them aware of the news.

3. Make sure the Press Release tells a compelling, concise story

Some companies fill their press releases with self-congratulatory statements and non-supported claims, none of which can be used by reputable reporters or bloggers. Instead, make sure the release shares not only specific, supportable information about your new product/solution or other news, but also makes it clear why and to whom it matters. For example, a release about new technology that makes it more efficient for hospitals to teach patients how to manage their illness is not just about efficiency. It is about the difficult transitions people must make from wellness to managing a health crisis, and how the technology helps make it easier for patients to learn complex treatment information. If possible, site specific examples to make the story resonate with potential readers while helping to provide the blogger or journalist with the set-up they need to write about the story.

4. Get the Press Release into the hands of appropriate journalists and bloggers

Especially for B2B companies that desire coverage from industry bloggers and trade publications, it’s a good idea to create a separate list of key niche/industry journalists and bloggers to distribute your release to so you can increase the possibility that they receive the release. You can still use a wire service if appropriate, but distribute your release directly to your industry journalists simultaneously.

5. Provide a link in the Press Release that leads to a landing page for more information

Create a branded landing page within your website for each press release where reporters can download a picture and bio of the executive(s) quoted in the release; quickly see the key points of the release in bullet point format; easily pick up the primary quote(s) from the release; download any charts or graphs or other supporting information that is available to support assertions in the release; and find information about who to contact to set up an interview. In other words, make it easy for an interested reporter to get at the content they need to write a story.

6. Make sure that any executive who may talk to reporters is well-prepared

Especially because of busy executive schedules, this is a step that is easy to skip, but shouldn’t be. Even though a company executive usually understands the background and facts surrounding the news the company is releasing, even experienced interviewees benefit from the preparation process. Articulate and hone the top 3 to 5 key points. Identify the supporting facts and figures that can be shared.

To download a free Pre-Interview Prep document, submit the completed form below:

However, I have seen many companies work exceedingly hard at creating good content without strongly tying their content strategy to specific outcomes. At least in some circles, there seems to be a mindset that “more is better”, but I’m not so sure. What is the purpose of the content itself? Brand awareness? Increased credibility for the author?

Creating an ideal prospect profile for each piece of content is a great starting point. What does the company hope to accomplish? If the real end game is to close more deals, then the content strategist should work with the sales organization to identify the roles of those who are part of the buying decision; determine at what point in the sales cycle each role is involved; and then determine what their information needs really are.

Then evaluate existing content to see if it can be mapped to one or more of the sales cycle stages to meet the information needs of prospects in that stage. Finally, figure out what’s missing – or what needs to be reworked – to be better aligned with the role of the person likely to be looking for information at each point in the sales cycles.

This approach can help provide companies with real direction in terms of content generation priorities and the nature of what is created. What content is included? How is it organized? What words are used in order to resonate with the role of the person you hope to connect with? By stopping to think about the intended reader, as well as the goal of moving a prospect through the sales cycle, companies can create great, non-promotional content that is also the right content for the right person at the right time to ultimately help increase sales.

The Oxford Dictionary defines reputation as ‘what is generally said or believed about a person’s or thing’s character or standing’, ‘the state of being well thought of; distinction; and respectability. Certainly, the good qualities – or values – executives mention to me as evidence of their company’s good reputation can play an important role in the way a company is perceived. But reputation is also an emotional connection that people have with companies. This ‘feeling’ people have about a company can’t be reduced to just one or even several things. In truth, reputation is earned – for better or worse – based upon the company’s conduct in all the areas that matter to its stakeholder groups.

Executives can’t really know what their corporate reputation is unless they ask. They must engage in systematic and regular two-way communication with their investors, customers, employees, community leaders, the media, regulators, and others who collectively represent the diverse range of interests and opinions about their company. They must also monitor social media and pay close attention to how they are perceived by those who express their opinions on the Internet.

Then using that feedback as a bellwether – or smoke detector of sorts – executives must continually reevaluate their organizations to determine where improvements are needed, ensure that the line of communication with stakeholders is always open, be certain that reputational risks are identified and addressed as early as possible, and track their reputational equity over time.

With as much as 63% of a company’s market value tied to its reputation, the failure of C-suite executives to make corporate reputation one of their most important priorities puts their company and those who depend on it in jeopardy. On almost any day of the week, a quick look at the headlines offers ample reminders of what can happen to companies that don’t.

The easiest explanation for this is that people who are intimately familiar with a company and its solutions forget that not everyone understands the issues or challenges their company helps to solve, or the significance of their solutions in the context of competitive offerings. This is particularly true for journalists, investors, regulators, community leaders and other stakeholders who are familiar with the industry a company works in, but are not actual participants in that industry. It may seem like a small distinction, but it is one that makes a tremendous difference in how well corporate communications resonate with these important audiences.

This also happens within companies as executives in leadership positions communicate to employees as a group, and as if they all understand the company and its solutions at the same level. Perhaps they do in smaller firms, but the larger the company, the more likely it is that employees will have varying levels of understanding about their company’s business environment, challenges and opportunities.

Of course, the first step in moving from complexity to coherence in corporate communications is recognizing the differences in the way messages are received and interpreted by each audience. Each stakeholder group must be considered and evaluated not only for the level of understanding members of the group are likely to have around a topic, but also for the type of information that actually matters to them. To the extent that companies work to customize their messages to the audiences they hope to reach – and stop assuming that all message recipients are on the same page – it will help them move from complexity to coherence and to deliver messages that result in real understanding.

I am certainly an optimist myself – but my optimism has been tempered by working for clients that suddenly found themselves in a whirlwind of controversy with a serious impact to both their reputation and market value. And like many other companies in this position, I’ve seen them communicate less instead of more, argue internally about what to do or not do, and on those occasions when they could all agree on a communication about the issue, it was either vague or defensive.

When you read about companies like BP, Netflix, Bank of America, Toyota and many others that have had big PR problems in recent years, we all have a tendency to roll our eyes at the stupid things companies sometimes do and say. But when you see a crisis unfold up close – when you know the company and the people involved – you can see how communications during a crisis becomes driven by emotions like fear and anger rather than by strategy. Without a strong crisis communication plan in place, even a group of very smart, experienced, and articulate senior executives are at such a disadvantage that they cannot effectively communicate when the crisis comes.

This is how Susan put it to me the other night: “A crisis communications plan is not just the fancy frosting on a cake! It helps address the very real vulnerabilities that companies have in today’s world of 24/7 media and allows them to effectively communicate with stakeholders that demand accountability.”

I laughed at her “fancy frosting” analogy and agreed. Every company needs a strong, well thought out and agreed to crisis communications plan. It’s the best hope for effective communications during a PR crisis and often the only way to preserve corporate reputation.

For example, companies often look at their various audiences as belonging to stakeholder groups – employees, investors, customers, government officials, the media, etc. But when companies focus their public relations efforts on communicating with a category – they often miss the fact that it is really about the quality and nature of their relationships with individuals in that category that ultimately impacts their ability to effectively communicate.

Sure, I understand that it makes sense to understand the general similarities between individuals in a specific category, and to try to develop public relations initiatives that will resonate with the largest audience. Employees generally care about employment stability and financial security. Investors generally care about a company’s leadership and upside potential. Customers generally care about price, product performance, and customer service. But especially in the B2B world, that’s not exactly rocket science – right?

What’s invaluable to companies is better understanding what makes stakeholders within a category different, rather than what makes them similar. Deepening this understanding can happen through focus groups and surveys. Even better, what if the CEO made a point of calling one person from a stakeholder group each day strictly for the purpose of trying to understand what makes that individual unique? And what if every manager in the company did the same thing and the information was shared across the organization?

This kind of knowledge is what allows companies to communicate in ways that build ‘public relationships’. Relationships that reduce employee turnover; increase customer loyalty; attract new investors; win community acceptance. Ultimately, relationships that form the foundation for a good corporate reputation and a successful business.