Taylor O'Brien, Co-Host of ConnectThe2
Welcome to Taylor O’Brien, the newest co-host of ConnectThe2 Podcast! Taylor started out as the Manager of Media Relations and Social Media with Connect2 Communications and looks forward to bringing her expertise and experience to our podcast! She joins ConnectThe2 to introduce herself and talk about what got her interested in joining the podcast team. If you like what you’re reading, be sure to listen to the entire episode linked at the bottom of this page.
A social media expert…
Taylor began her social media career in 2016 working in local government. When working for the mayor in her home city, she recognized that he had a large social media presence and found ways to leverage it. Using her knowledge of public relations and marketing, Taylor was able to connect with citizens and businesses in her city and promote more hands-on interactions with the mayor through social media.
Reaching different generations…
Taylor acknowledges that social media nowadays is often used as a news source for younger generations. She explains the importance of using different platforms depending on your target audience. Many companies are now using TikTok to reach the Gen Z audience that they can not reach through Facebook or Twitter. The millennials being reached on platforms like Twitter often don’t read beyond a headline or the limited characters allowed in an initial tweet. Taylor explains that it is crucial for communication teams and reporters to craft social media posts in a way that will interest readers enough to want to understand the full story, without reducing information to a headline.
The full Storyology…
Taylor has first hand experience with both sides of the ConnectThe2 Podcast having worked as the Media Relations Manager. While there are two styles of narratives the podcast focuses on, Taylor feels especially drawn to the Storyology component. Storyology intrigues her because a business is more than just the products it creates or the technology it uses. She says that people miss out on the full picture of a company by not getting to know about its relationships with key stakeholders like community members, clients and employees.
Hear more...
If you've enjoyed these takeaways be sure to listen to our full interview linked below. Also, be sure to listen to, rate and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, iHeartRadio or Soundcloud.
Quotes
“It’s really interesting using social media to reach different target audiences. I think it depends on what your message is, where you want to reach somebody, and what your outcome and your goals are at the end of it. I would say social media is something to consider if you’re not on it already, but also a part of your communications strategy.” (03:00-03:23)
“I think social media…is interesting because when we’re talking to reporters and thinking about news and things that are coming out, social media has turned into the news source for some of the younger generations. It’s easy, they can click on it, they can see a headline. Sometimes they go off on that headline without clicking on a story, so I think how things are framed in a social media setting for a reporter specifically, how you label an article, how you draw that attention to say, ‘Hey there’s more to the story, and you should read it’ is going to be interesting. It’s definitely been a challenge for media I’ve worked for in the past to take this new setting of social media…and how do you convey the same information in what used to be 140 characters on Twitter? With the podcast…I want to make sure we’re sharing this to a group of followers or people who might be interested, but how do I use the right hashtags to say, ‘Hey, here’s why you should actually click and listen to this entire podcast’…How do I know that you’re actually going to find value in what we’re talking about? I need to convey that when we post that to social.” (4:42-6:15)
“I think about a company and let's look at the key stakeholders at any organization. Because it’s not just your customers. It could be your employees, your community that you’re in, your surrounding area, investors, clients. There’s a whole list of your key stakeholders. So when it comes to Storyology, you’re absolutely right in saying that there is more to the story than what I sell or what I do. There are so many opportunities that can go missed because sometimes you’re looking at it from the side of marketing or PR. Integrating those two is also very important, because there are so many sides to each company and business that should be showcased. It just depends on ‘is it the right time?’ which is what storyology is about. Is it the time and place to tell this story and what makes it important? What makes it valuable?” (10:08-11:06)
Learn more about Connect2 Communications:
Website: https://www.connect2comm.com/
Podcast home page: https://www.connect2comm.com/podcast
Twitter handle: @Connect2_Comm
Instagram handle: @connect2_comm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/connect2comm