fbpx
Blog post
June 24, 2019

3 ways PR pros can reach Australian women in the social space

Aim your marketing satellites towards Venus, but make sure you do it right.

The world of technology has traditionally been perceived as a male-dominated arena, one in which pale-skinned geeks lusted over the latest gadgets and gizmos in poorly lit basements, leaving women sidelined and outsiders to the whole affair.  

However, as  show, this tired trope is no longer true and women are just as tech-savvy – if not more so – than their male counterparts.

Who’s driving the tech market in Australia?

This trend is particularly pronounced here in Australia, where women are very much behind the steering wheel and in control of where the tech market is headed. Some nine million women (more than half the country’s population) were online in June 2015, according to figures collated by Nielsen, but it’s what they’re doing in the digital space that will be of most interest to PR managers.

Around 57 per cent of women are regularly browsing social media profiles, far outweighing male interaction rates of 46 per cent. In addition to connecting with friends, family and their favourite brands, women are also more likely to share content than men (23 per cent and 20 per cent respectively). These impressive statistics not only demonstrate females’ growing confidence in the digital space, but also reveal the need for PR professionals to keep their online campaigns equally targeted between genders, or even slightly skewed towards women. 

How effectively are campaigns currently reaching women?

In short, not at all. Despite the obvious importance of the female consumer, She-conomy found that an unbelievable 91 per cent of women feel misunderstood by marketers. This enormous disparity will naturally be of concern for anyone seeking to maximise their brand engagement, but the question remains: How can organisations better connect with Australian women through online platforms?

1. Time your content delivery

As you might have noticed from looking at your personal feeds, social media use fluctuates quite substantially throughout the day. For example, social media analytics might reveal that posting content to Facebook at 3 a.m. yields less exposure than a well-crafted article shared in the evening. 

Research from Sensis showed that Australian women are most active on social media platforms after work, before bed and first thing in the morning. Time your posts to coincide with these parts of the day to maximise engagement with your female demographic. 

2. Create content that resonates with your demographic

Female-targeted campaigns of yesteryear might have revolved around gaudy splashes of pink and allusions to cooking, cleaning or motherhood, but as you might have guessed these strategies are not going to be very effective in the modern world.

Instead, focus on creating content that people of any gender would want to share with others. As Entrepreneur magazine recommends, this means producing content that is entertaining, interesting, beautiful, of practical value or in line with your target audience’s beliefs. The important thing is that the content is tailored towards your market.

3. Choose your battlegrounds carefully

Nielsen found that while women are the dominant force in the general social space, men are more active on some specific platforms. Males have a higher presence on LinkedIn, while females boast the lion’s share on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. The gender split is roughly even on Twitter.

For maximum engagement with a female demographic, therefore, PR pros would perhaps be wise to focus their energies on social arenas outside of LinkedIn. Monitoring your social media influencers might also provide greater insights into which platforms you should be pursuing.

In both the print and digital space, females have long felt misunderstood by marketers. As women in Australia continue to emerge as a dominant force in the tech realm, PR managers will need to rectify this trend in order to find greater brand engagement on social media.

Share

Similar articles

object(WP_Post)#6909 (24) { ["ID"]=> int(4690) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "6" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2020-01-15 02:09:50" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2020-01-15 02:09:50" ["post_content"]=> string(16079) "

With a new year brings new organisational goals and strategies. To help you achieve success in 2020, we have chosen the top 7 events for PR and Communications professionals to attend across Australia and New Zealand.

1. Mumbrella CommsCon

Event details: 2 April 2020. Sydney, Australia

Learn about: Brand building, behavioural science, cultural trends.

For: 

  • Specialists
  • Advisors
  • Managers
  • Directors
  • Heads of Communications or PR
  • Brand Communications
  • Social Media
  • Owners and Directors

  • Media or Community Relations
  • Corporate or Public Affairs
  • Employee Communications
    Publicists
  • Accounts and Business Development
  • Managing Director
  • CEO

A must attend event for public relations, social media and communications professionals. Mumbrella’s CommsCon explores the major issues affecting the PR and communications business and helps industry professionals navigate the ever-changing landscape. The event features the industry’s most senior leaders discussing the biggest topics in PR and communications to better understand meaningful brand building, behavioural science, cultural trends, pitching and more.

Attending the Mumbrella CommsCon event will enable you to distinguish a clear plan for how you’re going to drive business value and gain trust and confidence with your audience.

Emergency Media & Public Affairs (EMPA) Conferences

2. Australia: Communicating and Engaging Communities in Emergencies

Event details: 3 - 5 June 2020. Sydney, Australia

3. New Zealand: Emergency Communications Conference

Event details: 12 - 14 August 2020. Wellington, New Zealand

Learn about: Disaster communications, public affairs responses, crisis communication best practice.

For:

  • Communications professionals
  • Emergency services professionals
  • Response and recovery agencies
  • Public information managers
  • Public relations practitioners
  • Researchers
  • Social media specialists
  • Community engagement

With recent catastrophic events occurring across Australia and New Zealand, the importance of strong crisis communications is more prevalent than ever. The Emergency Media & Public Affairs (EMPA) is the only representative organisation of emergency service and disaster communications practitioners in the world. Their conferences held in Australia and New Zealand assist with empowering communications professionals to deliver the right message to their audience during and after an emergency or crisis.

As a comms professional, communicating with employees, stakeholders, and lifeline organisations is critical to the resilience and safety of communities. During times of crisis, there is a highlighted need for communications that can influence individuals and organisations to make necessary decisions, quickly and comprehensively.

The rationale behind this event is to benchmark the best media liaison and public affairs responses to disaster across Australasia for comms professionals in emergency services, response and recovery agencies, public relations and similar.

4. 5th Corporate Comms for Leaders

Event details: 31 March - 2 April 2020. Melbourne Australia

Learn about: Stakeholder management, strengthening leadership skills, measuring value of external communications.

For:

Corporate Communications

Internal Communications

External Communications

Corporate Affairs

Media

Employee Communications

Public Relations

Marketing

Human resources

Investor relations

From Industries:

Manufacturing

Retail

Banking and Insurance

Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals

Telecommunications

Aviation

Engineering and Construction

Government

Leisure and hospitality

Law enforcement

As a comms professional, it's important to understand how to effectively build and execute corporate communications and social media strategies. It’s also essential to keep brand loyalty during disruptions in the market and throughout organisational change.

Establishing trust and transparency in brands through social media and corporate communications is equally important and this event will ensure you are equipped with all the tools required to execute effectively.

The most innovative strategies are explored to strengthen leadership skills in communication and address real-world challenges and opportunities.

Targeted to corporate leaders in today’s digitally connected world, the key drivers of this forum are:

  • Maximising stakeholder engagement through storytelling and humanising the narrative being told
  • Building agile communications teams
  • Measuring value and effectiveness of external communications.

5. Corporate Affairs summit

Event details: 20 - 21 May 2020. Sydney, Australia

Learn about: Storytelling the in Corporate communication, crisis communication, reputation and social media

For: 

  • Corporate Communications
  • Internal Communications
  • External Communications
  • Corporate affairs
  • Investor relations
  • Government relations
  • PR and public policy

This event focuses on insights to influence, and discusses the forces affecting the corporate affairs and communication landscape. From discussing ideologies and the divergence of civil discourse, to artificial intelligence solutions and the frameworks of communication.

The practice of corporate affairs holds the main responsibility for everything related to internal and external communications, government relations, PR and public policy. Corporate affairs now includes an added challenge of relaying those messages in various channels to accommodate business’ inevitable leap into digital.

Although corporate affairs continues to evolve and differs across various sectors, the goal is the same: to effectively communicate a message to the right audience.

Attendees are screened for seniority, so you can be assured you’re networking with similar minds shaping business today. Whether they’re users, consultants, channel partners or dealers, the Corporate Affairs Summit generates countless opportunities to learn, network, explore and to keep up to date with all that is taking place in the field.

6. Social media for Government NZ

Event details: 24-26 March 2020. Wellington, New Zealand

Learn about: Social media content, social storytelling, social media strategy

For: 

  • Social Media Manager
  • Social Media Specialist
  • Communications Advisor
  • Digital Communications Manager

Optimising social media is a critical tool for the New Zealand government sector. 

By attending this event, you will gain an understanding on how to find your target audience and learn what resonates with them using social media analytics - (to ensure your messaging cuts through the noise.)

Discussions will include the significant challenges being faced today across social media and how they’re being addressed. Appropriate strategies and technology options are uncovered to demonstrate where the impact and value of social media efforts can be improved. 

As building and maintaining a two-way dialogue on social media is imperative to improving service delivery and citizen satisfaction. This event will provide insight into the most innovative strategies to maximise social media success, how to create a personalised approach and connect experience whilst driving trust and confidence in government.

7. World Public Relations Forum

Event details: 12-15 October 2020. Auckland, New Zealand

Learn about: Building authentic relationships, communicating across cultures, Public Relations strategy.

For: 

  • Public Relations
  • Communications Manager
  • Internal Communications
  • External Communications
  • PR and public policy

The World Public Relations Forum will explore the theme ‘connecting with courage’ through the four lenses of conscience, culture, capability and courage. It will reflect on key topics and trends that matter to the global communications community while also drawing on New Zealand’s ingenuity, creativity, and diversity to generate inspiring conversations.

Media today

As a PR or media communications professional, you’re the first to know when something important happens. You get the critical head start needed to course correct, alert the right people to target their efforts more effectively.

With the transition to a digital news environment, challenges to contemporary journalism have emerged due to a 24/7 news cycle. The new model of assertion means news is disseminated as fast as possible instead of an overarching concern surrounding the value of accuracy.

Attending any of the above events would be beneficial for a PR or communications professional as various strategies and operational phenomena are uncovered. These strategies will assist with effective communication and help with the leadership of media enterprises.

If you would like to understand more about real time analytics and what it can do for your organisation, get in touch with us today.

" ["post_title"]=> string(55) "The top 7 events for media professionals in ANZ in 2020" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(216) "With a new year brings new organisational goals and strategies. To help you achieve success in 2020, we have chosen the top 7 events for PR and Communications professionals to attend across Australia and New Zealand." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(47) "the-top-7-events-for-media-professionals-in-anz" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2020-01-23 03:21:43" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2020-01-23 03:21:43" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(31) "https://www.isentia.com/?p=4690" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" }
Blog
The top 7 events for media professionals in ANZ in 2020

With a new year brings new organisational goals and strategies. To help you achieve success in 2020, we have chosen the top 7 events for PR and Communications professionals to attend across Australia and New Zealand.

object(WP_Post)#9741 (24) { ["ID"]=> int(1592) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "6" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2019-06-24 05:44:06" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2019-06-24 05:44:06" ["post_content"]=> string(4796) "

I crowd-sourced some opinions on ‘how PR has evolved’ via Facebook before this article was penned, and ‘chaotically’, ‘always-on’, ‘unpredictably’ and ‘intense’ were among some of the top keywords surfaced. Exactly how fast is the news-making cycle today? I’ve experienced it first-hand a couple of weeks ago.

9am, on my way to work, I posted on my Facebook page about a new flat fare option launched by local taxi company ComfortDelGro. 

By 11 am on the same day, three interview requests had arrived via Facebook Messenger from three different publications. By 2 pm, all interviews were completed on WhatsApp and my name appeared in the papers on the very next day. The whole event took place in less than 24 hours.

This is a glimpse of how news is made in this day and age. Journalists today are online and on social media; they are following key opinion leaders (KOLs) to get opinions. Gone are the days when they relied solely on press releases and spokesperson soundbites to write news and when public opinion was easier to gauge as people were only accessing a handful of mediums to receive information.

The convergence of digital, social and mobile has added layers of complexity in PR and clearly disrupted the practice, as news today becomes 24×7 and travels across the globe at the speed of the internet. The infamous United Airline incident for example, although happened in Chicago, created an uproar and boycott in China and trended in the top news on Weibo, all because of the power of social media.

The rise of digital and social certainly has benefited PR by creating the direct relationships with people, rather than requiring a media filter. To fully unleash its benefits, the best PR talents should strike the balance between creating content that people actually want to read, listen to or watch, and providing what traditional journalism would consider “news.”

With a good piece of content and story at the core, PR professionals are required to have the ability to navigate an increasingly complex media environment and to embrace the beauty of digital and social to enhance storytelling.

Instead of issuing a formal corporate announcement, why not consider tapping on Facebook Live for product launches and public activations? OCBC Bank recently launched its Stay True campaign via Facebook Live, where the bank’s Head of Consumer Financial Services was put through a lie detector test. The video garnered over 200,000 view to date.

Another example of leveraging digital to innovate traditional PR approach is a revamp of online corporate newsrooms. Dynamic Newsroom is a mash-up of PR, content and digital, which is designed to drive engagement, not simply overload information. It takes the best of everything we know about media relations and hosting content online, to more effectively connect brands with journalists.

Having talked about the benefits and opportunities, I also would like to caution that this trend of digital and social convergence also poses certain threats.

As social media increasingly becomes a main source of news and information and due to the fact that most social media content is user-generated, in order to boost visibility and garner likes and shares, brands and citizen journalists have been noticed to use unethical techniques to make their content exciting or ‘viral’. Such fake news and clickbait headlines are detrimental to brand reputation and consumer trust.

With great power comes great responsibility. The ability to earn credibility becomes even more important in an era of round-the-clock marketing messages. PR is becoming even more important and relevant than ever as the most reliable voice.

Originally published on Digital Marketing Asia 

" ["post_title"]=> string(70) "The relevance of PR in the age of digital, social & citizen journalism" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(331) "I crowd-sourced some opinions on ‘how PR has evolved’ via Facebook before this article was penned, and ‘chaotically’, ‘always-on’, ‘unpredictably’ and ‘intense’ were among some of the top keywords surfaced. Exactly how fast is the news-making cycle today? I’ve experienced it first-hand a couple of weeks ago." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(67) "the-relevance-of-pr-in-the-age-of-digital-social-citizen-journalism" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2019-06-26 04:20:45" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2019-06-26 04:20:45" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(36) "https://isentia.wpengine.com/?p=1592" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" }
Blog
The relevance of PR in the age of digital, social & citizen journalism

I crowd-sourced some opinions on ‘how PR has evolved’ via Facebook before this article was penned, and ‘chaotically’, ‘always-on’, ‘unpredictably’ and ‘intense’ were among some of the top keywords surfaced. Exactly how fast is the news-making cycle today? I’ve experienced it first-hand a couple of weeks ago.

object(WP_Post)#7003 (24) { ["ID"]=> int(948) ["post_author"]=> string(1) "6" ["post_date"]=> string(19) "2019-06-20 01:14:38" ["post_date_gmt"]=> string(19) "2019-06-20 01:14:38" ["post_content"]=> string(1219) "

Scoot, a low-cost carrier

Scoot, a low-cost carrier that provides flights predominantly within Asia, faced seven major flight delays in the last few months of 2018

Technical issues caused 356 passengers on the affected flight to be stranded in Taipei for almost two days. Replacement parts had to be flown in from overseas, causing serious delays.

This whitepaper uses Scoot’s TR899 flight delay as a case study to explore media conversations surrounding the incident.

We discuss service recovery, crisis management, PR approaches, and how the lack of communication leads to potential consequences.

Download the whitepaper here.

" ["post_title"]=> string(44) "How media comes into play in times of crisis" ["post_excerpt"]=> string(270) "Scoot, a low-cost carrier that provides flights predominantly within Asia, faced seven major flight delays in the last few months of 2018. Find out media conversations surrounding the incident, Scoot's approach to service recovery, and sentiments towards their approach." ["post_status"]=> string(7) "publish" ["comment_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["ping_status"]=> string(4) "open" ["post_password"]=> string(0) "" ["post_name"]=> string(44) "how-media-comes-into-play-in-times-of-crisis" ["to_ping"]=> string(0) "" ["pinged"]=> string(0) "" ["post_modified"]=> string(19) "2023-07-06 06:56:14" ["post_modified_gmt"]=> string(19) "2023-07-06 06:56:14" ["post_content_filtered"]=> string(0) "" ["post_parent"]=> int(0) ["guid"]=> string(35) "https://isentia.wpengine.com/?p=948" ["menu_order"]=> int(0) ["post_type"]=> string(4) "post" ["post_mime_type"]=> string(0) "" ["comment_count"]=> string(1) "0" ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" }
Whitepaper
How media comes into play in times of crisis

Scoot, a low-cost carrier that provides flights predominantly within Asia, faced seven major flight delays in the last few months of 2018. Find out media conversations surrounding the incident, Scoot’s approach to service recovery, and sentiments towards their approach.

Ready to get started?

Get in touch or request a demo.