Social media expert, business strategist launch SocialMatrix PR
Josette Pagán
The need that companies have for a strong presence in social media networks and knowing how to make the most out of the benefits of being online is snowballing at such a rapid pace that it is blowing the doors open to new opportunities for entrepreneurship.
The belief that social media will become a key element in any integrated marketing and advertising plan has brought together social media expert Juan Carlos Pedreira and business strategist Josette Pagán, who recently partnered to launch SocialMatrix PR, a firm specializing in taking a company’s online presence to the max.
During an exclusive interview with News is my Business, Pedreira and Pagán explained that the time is now for companies to embrace social media — including sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, among others — given that 90 percent of Puerto Rico’s population uses social networks to communicate and that for every five minutes that a user is online, at least one minute is invested in social networks.
“The great majority of companies in Puerto Rico have pages on Facebook and Twitter. However, those pages are usually run by people who know the technology but may not necessarily have the business savvy to achieve its greatest potential,” said Pedreira, founder and editor of the CaribNews bilingual news service.
“With the experience that we both bring into this venture, we’re sure we can help clients develop the potential of social media and help them see this as a customer service channel, which is what social media will become,” said Pedreira, who is an attorney and graduate in communications from Syracuse University.
Juan Carlos Pedreira
While Pedreira brings his strengths in social media and online content, Pagán is contributing more than 20 years of experience in developing communications strategies for public, private and nonprofit sectors.
“What we want to do is help the client create the online content, engage with their audiences in those social media networks, while monitoring and analyzing the data that is available out there about their brand or the company, and make sense out of it,” Pagán said.
“We want to help companies use that data to maximize their business opportunities, and consequently, their growth,” she noted. “We’re looking out for their bottom lines.”
Having effective online presence is especially significant in Puerto Rico, where there are an estimated 134,000 people signed up to Twitter, while 81 percent of all Internet users have a Facebook page, according to ComScore Media Matrix. On average, an Internet user spends 6.1 hours a week surfing the net.
“So basically, we’re out to create campaigns that position a client’s company as the leader in their category in the cyber world,” Pagán said. “We want to help them increase their customer base and sales, while strengthening brand loyalty through a strategic social media plan.”
SocialMatrix PR’s strategy also calls for working closely with advertising agencies that may not yet have a full-blown digital media division, the entrepreneurs said.
