Going Big by Going Small: Hidden Gold for PR Pros

Going Big by Going Small: Hidden Gold for PR Pros - Episode 312

Transcribing live conversations can be challenging, so please forgive any typos or errors you may find. Love something here and want to share? Great, please read the notes at the end. Enjoy!

Michelle Kane (00:12):
Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like Michelle Kane of Voice Matters and my wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, Karen, how are you today?
Karen Swim, APR (00:27):
I'm doing great, Michelle. How are you?
Michelle Kane (00:29):
Same. Yeah, doing pretty well. Doing pretty well. We're now rolling into September. It's wild. We are wild to think about it. Right? And I don't know about you, but it's the time of year where, well, if you live in a climate where you get four seasons or something resembling them, I'm like, I don't know. I'm tired of the same things. And then you find something in your closet you forgot about, and you're like, oh, I love this now. And you say, what does this have to do with PR? Today, we're going to discuss three underutilized and niche social media platforms that we may be overlooking. We're always looking for a new way to reach our audiences and get our message across. And sometimes they're like going, I'm right here. Find me. So I mean, that's kind of exciting, just finding something in your closet you forgot about.
Karen Swim, APR (01:29):
Yeah, I think all of the big platforms get all of the attention and all of the, because there's a mass concentration of people there, but we've talked about this recently that all the social media platforms tend to be problematic. You start to scrape away and look at who's in charge and the decisions they're making and the causes that they're supporting. And it makes it so hard. But there feels like there's nowhere to go, but, but it does require a shift in how we think about social media and the audiences. And I love this notion that it's about going smaller and into more intimate spaces.
Michelle Kane (02:18):
Yeah, I, and isn't that what it's all about, trying to find out where our audiences are and making sure we're there. I mean, some examples are things we might not even think out about Discord or chat. Sometimes I forget, Substack actually has a feed, and my first reaction sometimes is another feed. But I'm like, you know what? This is actually a little more intentional because at least to me, Substack is more content-based, not just, here's a meme, here's a fire starter. It's more substantive. There you go. And it's a really easy way to find your targeted audiences.
Karen Swim, APR (03:11):
And I love, there was this article in Axios in at the end of 2024 that sums up how people are saying that they prefer brands that cater to a specific niche over the ones that appeal to everyone. So I love how they break this down, and they talk about creating how audience have splintered in the information bubbles. And that makes sense to me. We gather around a specific topic or a very specific interest. So some of the stats that they shared from a strategic comms firm that did a study is that 88% of Americans engage in niche communities, and 45% of Gen Z ,millennials, and Gen X feel more connected to those communities than to mainstream culture. So I think that it really does require us really beginning to niche down, not think about our brands and the clients that we represent and the big topics, but really digging deeper and finding, okay, are there discord communities around a particular topic? Because again, those interest groups are very passionate, they're very engaged, the thing that we want. And so it's more about focusing on the niche rather than the numbers. So it's that quality of interaction versus the quantity. The big platforms have all the people, but are all the people really engaged, or are all the people really influencing purchasing
Michelle Kane (04:53):
Decisions? Exactly. I love that niche over numbers. It's so true, because you want to talk to the people that are interested in you. I mean, it's like back in the old days when we used to try and calm clients down saying, I want 10,000 Facebook followers. Well, no, that really doesn't matter. You want to hit the several hundred or several thousand that are actually going to do business with you. So I could care less if we hit 10,000 followers.
Karen Swim, APR (05:18):
And I do think that this hits PR, right? Where we love to live in that area of thought leadership too, because
Michelle Kane (05:25):
Oh, yeah,
Karen Swim, APR (05:26):
Either creating a niche community or participating gives you an opportunity to answer the questions and offer information and insights that that audience really wants.
(05:40):
I think about Rooted, it's a plant company it, and they're based in New York where they have a whole Discord community where people answer plant questions. So it's like, oh, my plan is doing this. So they not only sell plants, but they've established thought leadership on a platform that a lot of people don't talk about that some people attribute to gaming, where it's a passionate community of other plant owners that have questions or want to share information and share insights about taking care of your plants. So very smart to look for that community and then be there, be present, and continue to stay in people's feeds that way.
Michelle Kane (06:26):
Oh, totally, totally. Well, and that brings us to another way, which is turn your employees into brand ambassadors or internal influencers. Turn them into, it's not to say you want create this culty atmosphere in your company, but just find ways for employees who are engaged and who would be good at it to represent you out there in the world and talk about, or even be those thought leaders. Because if you have really great team members who really get what you're trying to achieve and really understand the value that you're seeking to communicate,
Karen Swim, APR (07:13):
Yeah,
Michelle Kane (07:14):
There's no better way, especially in a world where many people are disillusioned employees, right? It's like, well wait. You actually where you work and you believe in the product.
Karen Swim, APR (07:23):
And I think, unfortunately, too often internal communications are an attempt at getting people to drink the Kool-Aid.
(07:35):
So I think the reason that this requires comms, because we understand that that internal audience is an audience and they deserve the same respect, is our external audience audiences where you're giving them real information and true insights. And as a company, you need to empower your employees with things that they really can share that are credible, and they can share that in their communities that they're involved in. Elevate those employee and voices. What do they say? Hear them and really act upon their suggestions because your team will tell you where the gaps are. They'll tell you what's great, they'll tell you what's bad. Don't forget about internal communications among your employees. Things like I have a client that has a random Slack channel. And to see the tips and the insights and the information that's shared on that channel is great. And it says a lot about the company culture. Everyone from the CEO to junior employees just share on that, and they share random things. It could be about the company, it could be asking questions about, Hey, this change, how do I do this? People sharing productivity hacks like, Hey, I'm using this great tool. So you need to create that atmosphere where your employees are, because that is an audience are engaging with one another. So don't overlook that as a PR professional. That is a golden opportunity to touch an audience that often gets ignored other than employee surveys or pushing handbook content at them.
Michelle Kane (09:27):
Right? Right. Yeah. And that's the thing, right? It's like, because already I am troubleshooting in my head, oh, I don't want to pay you more to do that. I don't see the value. Well, the value is you might have less turnover. The value is you might have better morale. And so employee X who has a kind of stinky attitude might come around. Absolutely. It definitely has the value, but definitely trying to make that case and the potential for the culture has to be there. And I am sure in some instances it's not. But hey, if it's an opportunity, we say, go for it.
Karen Swim, APR (10:06):
100%. 100%. I love that. I mean, we all don't feel bad. We all fall into a routine or sometimes seriously, we just are doing things that the client wants. But I think that there's a reason for this, and I think it plays into the culture at large and this evolution that we've seen since COVID community has gone away. We don't socialize with the big groups as much. Many people are not doing things that involve a lot of people still just because the pandemic taught us to go smaller. And some of that has persisted even when we occasionally are doing the big things. A lot of people are doing smaller things. And so if we're all going small and more intimate, why wouldn't we do that in our PR efforts and create that intimacy and meet people where they are? Everybody doesn't want to turn to TikTok or X or Instagram for all of their information.
(11:13):
Sometimes people really want to be surrounded by a tribe. And building community is something that's really needed right now because we've lost that in the culture at large. So giving people a space where they can talk to other like-minded people is great. I mean, I am a member of this community group called Vegan Detroit, and it's a Facebook group, but it's one of the reasons that I've maintained my Facebook account because communities that I really enjoy and relate to, like Solo PR Pro and vegan Detroit are there. But within our community of a couple of thousand members, there are so many in that community that purposely go out to eat at different vegan restaurants or restaurants that offer vegan choices across the state. They post pictures, they share content, and then other people support those places because of these micro influencers. So don't sleep on the micro influencers in these niche communities. Definitely it's worth finding or creating a space around a topic that relates to your brand and nourishing and fostering that community and that engagement.
Michelle Kane (12:34):
Absolutely. Because even though they're micro or hyper targeted, well, why is that a bad thing? Again, you're going to reach your people. So all the more reason, and the micro influencers, clearly they stay in their area of expertise, so they're going to be even better for it than just getting someone, again with a jillion followers who might not have a clue. And you know what? There's nothing worse than someone inauthentic trying to portray an experience to people that know better. So all the more reason to work with someone who does have that authenticity and the depth of knowledge and the reach that you're looking for, so they're out there and we encourage you to find them if that's a fit for whatever program you're working on.
Karen Swim, APR (13:22):
Agree, agree.
Michelle Kane (13:24):
Well look at that. Three new things for us to make a promise to each other to work on. I'm excited.
Karen Swim, APR (13:34):
I'm excited too.
Michelle Kane (13:37):
Well, we hope you got value out of our time together today. If you did, please do share it around. And if you're already doing some of these things, we'd love to hear about it. It's a pr pro.com and please do subscribe. Hit us up with some reviews for the podcast. We promise we want that. And until next time, thanks for listening to “That Solo Life.”

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