Dubai-UAE: 11 May 2015 – Social media is rapidly becoming a key component to any successful marketing campaign. In recent years, an increasing number of marketing and PR agencies are weaving social media strategies into the fabric of traditional marketing and PR strategies.

Businesses, marketers and PR specialists should take every opportunity to become a social media expert primarily because this is going to be their future playing field.

Below are 4 social media tips that every marketer and PR professional must practice to ensure they have a consistent competitive advantage in this ever changing digital landscape.

Social Media Tip #1: Master Technology

Marketers and PR professionals need to know (and keep up-to-date with) social technologies. If these individuals don’t know how to use blog software efficiently, Twitter or Facebook, they must learn.

Traditional PR is based on earned media: professionals pitch stories to editors/reporters, which are then 100% at the mercy of editors, producers, etc.

Social Media, on the other hand is owned media: since businesses and their marketers and/or PR specialists own the media channel, they have control over what is published on their own pages. This is a incredible opportunity, but assumes that these professionals understand and can efficiently use the technology.

Social Media Tip #2: Listen to the Conversation

Marketing and PR specialists in Dubai should start with social listening, to see what people are saying and incorporate what they learn into their strategy and messaging. After all this is ready, ENGAGE! Traditionally speaking, PR is a monologue medium – this means that professionals write press releases or pitch a story to a reporter, a story is written, and we count it as a success. Social media however, changes this dynamic and enables PR to engage in dialogue marketing.

Social Media Tip #3: Join the Community

Professionals must take an active role in joining social conversations whilst becoming familiar with the social communities relevant to its industry and company.

Traditional PR focuses on media views and readers, which means the reach is somewhat limited. Social PR utilizes social media tools and channels to join and communicate with a specific community. Instead of hitting a random pool of people who happen to tune in to TV or pick up a magazine, marketing and PR professionals have the opportunity to identify conversations across social media platforms and communicate with its author.

By building that relationship, marketing and PR specialists have the potential to influence that author’s social network – which potentially has an exponential reach.

Social Media Tip #4: Catalyze the Channel

Great Marketers and PR agencies and professionals in Dubai and across the world, take advantage of the social networks and its viral potential by utilizing social media to help facilitate the speed of PR distribution across various social channels.

Traditional PR, on the other hand takes the power of distribution out of your hands. This means that once story makes it to print of on the air, the business is at the mercy of that channel’s direct distribution to their viewers.

Social media allows PR more control of distribution through a network of your their owned media, which allows agencies and specialists to target influencers who could possibly provide businesses, marketers and PR agencies in Dubai earned media to a community with similar interests.