Posts Tagged ‘Social PR’
Best Social PR Guides, Tips and Tools of 2010
Wednesday, January 12th, 2011Social media marketing, online PR and SEO are three tactics that are all powerful on their own, but have far more impact when used in a coordinated, synergistic manner.
How can you amplify and extend new releases through social media? Optimize company news for SEO benefit? Effectively connect with bloggers and other key online influencers in your industry? Which online tools are most helpful for PR pros? What does the future hold for online / interactive / social PR?
Get the answers to all of these questions and more here in some of the best social PR guides, tips and tools of the past year.
Interactive PR Guides, Tips and Tools
Twitter Pitching Etiquette: What works, what doesn’t… by COMMS Corner
Noting that “Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, if used effectively, can help build relationships, identify new trends and help facilitate networking with like-minds throughout the industry,” Lacey Haines and Adam Vincenzini share a few best practices for pitching journalists through social media, such as keeping pitches short and using a DM rather than a public message when pitching on Twitter.
The Most Overused Buzzwords and Marketing Speak in Press Releases by Adam Sherk
We’ve seen these before—meaningless, over-used goobledygook buzzwords in press releases—but here Adam Sherk provides an updated list for 2010, topped by “leading,” “unique,” “solution” and “innovator” and proceeding through “customer-centric,” “outside the box” and “peak performance.” So, if you’re stumped for an opening line the next time you’re drafting a press release, try something like “XYZ Company, the leading innovator of unique, customer-centric solutions, today announced an outside the box product which supports peak performance.” Go ahead, works for anything.
6 free online PR tactics that deliver by iMedia Connection
Rachel Hunt supplies valuable guidance on how to use social networking, award submissions, guest blogging, speaking opportunities and original research to maximize the impact of PR efforts.
Public Relations: The best press release is no press release by MarketingSherpa
The headline may be a bit harsh—drafted and used properly (which they too frequently aren’t), press releases can still serve a valuable role—but Daniel Burstein does make some excellent points here. One of the best: “Talk to me (the media) like I’m your older brother, not your mother…When you talk to your mother, she’s likely excited and proud about almost anything you have done…However, try the same pitch with your older brother and see how well that turns out. ‘Loser. You’re only in advertising because you couldn’t hack it in medicine.’ To grab the attention of your older brother, you need something really newsworthy.”
5 successful marketers reveal their favorite public relations tools by Matt About Business
Matt Mansfield interviews five PR pros including Joe Chernov of Eloqua and Lisa Ann Pinkerton of Technica to get the scoop on their favorite tools for PR management, social media and other functions. The tools, briefly reviewed, range from the obvious (e.g., Vocus and Cision) to the obscure (Butterfly Publisher).
Pitching on Twitter? Try these 8 tactics to entice the media by Ragan.com
Maya Wasserman offers expert guidance to successfully connecting with reporters and editors on Twitter, from focusing on individual journalists rather than publications and building a relationship before pitching to using PitchEngine and being brief (which is pretty much enforced by Twitter anyway).
Social Media Press Releases and Blogger Outreach
The Art of Creating a Social Media Press Release by Socialfish
After a quick trip through the history of social media press releases, Maddie Grant muses that the essential elements of a social media release remind her of nothing more than…a blog. She then makes the heretical (!) contention that “You don’t need a PR agency.” While that may be taking a good idea a bit too far, she does make an interesting argument that “If your ‘news’ is cool or important enough that when you post it on your blog, your community shares it, and tweets it, and talks about it, then the trade journalists who cover your industry will notice…Do this right and the news will find you.” Good advice even if you do use a PR agency.
The 5 Cs of Blogger Relations by prTini
***** 5 Stars
Noting (very accurately I might add) that “The top bloggers receive hundreds of pitches a day. Even bloggers with less traffic to their site are still being pitched on a regular basis. Working against us, some PR people aren’t quite so savvy and are spamming these bloggers,” Heather Whaling lays out an excellent model for doing blogger outreach right, including collaboration (“how can we provide content that will drive traffic to their site?”) and content (“before you ever think about pitching a blogger, make sure you’re offering something valuable”).
Is the Press Release Dead? 5 Tips to Revive It by iMedia Connection
“Has the press release taken its last breath?” Paige O’Neill answers “not yet” if it evolves into a social media release, and provides guidance on how to create and share one effectively.
Social PR News and Commentary
The Future of Public Relations and Social Media by Mashable
Erica Swallow interviews 14 PR experts including Jeff Esposito, Lou Hoffman and Dave Delaney to get their opinions “on the future of public relations and how they see social media changing the industry.” In short—relationships with key influencers have always been and will continue to be the key to an effective public relations strategy. Social media changes how those relationships are formed and maintained, but not fundamentally what PR pros do.
Google Launches Blog Finder for Any Topic by ReadWriteWeb
Marshall Kirkpatrick dives into Google’s expanded blog search capabilities and concludes “The search results in this new search by blog feature look pretty good to me. The ranking of those results, however, seems questionable…That said, in as much as I know about the topics I searched for, the top blogs in those fields definitely peppered the search results, to greater or lesser degrees.” PR pros shouldn’t rely solely on Google’s tool when developing an outreach list, but it’s a good one to add to their arsenal.
Update on Trusting PR Agencies without a Social Media Presence with Your Social Media Programs by PR Meets Marketing
Cece Salomon-Lee reports on the progress PR firms are making in using social media for their own business as well as their clients’—”eating their own dog food” so to speak. Among her findings: “While most agencies didn’t link to their social media channels on their website in 2009, 83% included this on their home page in 2010. Twitter was the most popular social media channel, with 80% of PR agencies having a presence. 35% had followers numbering over 1000.”
PR and SEO
Why PRs can be better link builders than SEOs by Econsultancy
Kelvin Newman contends that the skills which make PR pros successful (e.g., deep vertical industry knowledge, writing, relationship-building) also make them natural link builders for SEO. There’s no question that online PR plays a key role, in conjunction with SEO, in successful web presence optimization.
SEO Press Releases Extend Your Coverage by Adventive Marketing
5 Stars *****
Janet Killen explains in a comprehensive yet concise manner step-by-step instructions for getting maximum SEO benefit from a press release, integrating keywords, links, online distribution, social media and RSS.
Get More from your SEO Press Release by InteractMedia SEO Content Marketing Blog
Expanding on Janet’s advice above, Beth Hrusch reminds us that keeping readers in mind is critical too, and provides seven tips for optimizing press releases for both search engines and people.
Related Post
Best Social PR Guides and Tips of 2010 (So Far)
Best Interactive PR Articles and Blog Posts of 2009
Monday, April 5th, 2010Interactive PR, sometimes called social PR, is a combination of search-optimizing press releases, creating social media releases through tools like PitchEngine, blogger outreach and the use of social media to promote company news and announcements. Though the ability to distribute press releases online has been around for more than a decade, it’s only in the last few years that tools and techniques for combining PR with social media have really emerged, and they continue to evolve.
Here are some of the best articles and blog posts from last year on tools, techniques and insights related to interactive PR, from best practices in blogger outreach to helpful resources and the latest strategies.
Blogger Outreach
Blogger Relations by Sourcing Innovation
Interesting post detailing 10 “secrets” for effective blogger outreach. Good advice, and if you like this post, you may also find value in How to Get Coverage in Blogs – Really.
Social Media PR: Top 10 Ways Not to Pitch Bloggers by Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York
Shannon Nelson summarizes advice from several bloggers on Twitter about how NOT to pitch them.
The Very Basics of Blogger Outreach by Social Media Today
Kevin Briody provides seven tips for successful blog pitches, such as building a solid list up front, personalizing your email and keeping your message concise.
Interactive PR Resources
PRChannel
***** 5 Stars
An extensive list of resources for online PR pros, including how-to articles, free and paid distribution services, tools, industry news, career listings, PR associations and more. Two other helpful resources from PRChannel are 6 Must-Read Books for Public Relations People and 5 Questions to Ask When Considering a Media-Monitoring Service.
50 Free Press Release Submission Websites by Internet Marketing
This is Avangate’s Top 50 press release submission list, the most trusted sites where you can publish a press release, all of them free of charge. This list was initially created in 2007, but has been updated periodically since then.
15 Online Press Release Distribution Sites by sitepoint
Another helpful list of online PR distribution sites.
Downloadable List Of 120+ Press Release Sites by SEO Tips & Opinions Blog
Joseph Alvini provides yet another list of online PR sites, a mix of free and paid services in both online and downloadable formats.
10 of the Best Social Media Tools for PR Professionals and Journalists by Mashable
Sarah Evans offers her list of resources for keeping up on social media trends and performing online PR tasks more effectively, including PitchEngine, BeatBlogging.org and Twellow.
Interactive PR Insights and Tactics
Optimizing A Press Release by PRESSfeed
A detailed 11-step process to optimize press releases for search.
9 Steps for a Public Relations Plan in 2010 by The 60 Second Marketer
Ann Pruit offers tips for maximizing the impact of online PR ranging from providing journalists with tips and insights to creating seasonal angles.
SideWiki changes everything by The Digital Content Blog
Mark Borkowski explains why he believes “SideWiki will change the lives of beleaguered PR folk. In time, this tool will significantly change the way brands strategise, think and exist,” and what PR pros should know and do about this tool.
PR and Media, from Begging for to Earning Attention by Conversation Agent
Valeria Maltoni makes the case that “There is opportunity…for PR and media to step up their game and go from begging for to earning attention (because) both groups worry about circulation, in different ways,” and then provides guidance on how to get more PR coverage in the crowded online news space.
15 Ways PR Agencies Can Help Companies With Social Media by Dave Fleet
Dave Fleet details tactics the PR firms can use to help their clients succeed in social media, from audience research and policy development to influencer outreach and design/creative work.
10 Reasons Media Relations Will Get Easier in 2010 by Journalistics
Jeremy Porter predicts that social media, research tools, expanded media options, improved filtering and other developments will help get journalists interested in your stories.
How to Get Coverage in Blogs – Really
Monday, March 22nd, 2010B2b marketers and PR pros know that getting coverage in an industry-specific blog is highly beneficial. Blog links are valuable for SEO. Relevant blogs can drive targeted direct traffic from the blogger’s social media sphere of influence. And coverage from independent bloggers enhances a company’s reputation and credibility.
Numerous bloggers have written about how to pitch blogs, such as B.L. Ochman, Christina Kerley, Cece Salomon-Lee and Laura Moncur. Such posts often take the form of “do’s” and “don’ts” for successful blogger outreach. Best practice recommendations generally say that you should:
- • Personalize pitches with the blogger’s name, blog title, and some indication that you’ve read the blog;
- • Explain why your topic is important to the blog’s readers;
- • Keep pitches short and compelling;
- • Include links to related media (video, photos, screen shots);
- • Offer an interview with a company executive;
- • Explain how you’ll promote the blogger’s coverage, if you get it; and
- • Follow up after 3-4 days if you haven’t heard back.
These posts also frequently include guidance on practices to avoid when pitching bloggers. For example, don’t:
- • Send out an impersonal mass mailing;
- • Send only a press release, or a release with just a brief introductory note, and expect coverage;
- • Take a “shotgun” approach, sending irrelevant announcements to a large number of bloggers; and don’t
- • Ever, ever, EVER include a press release as an attachment (many bloggers will automatically delete unsolicited messages containing attachments).
All of this advice is as relevant today as it was two years ago. The problem is that it’s no longer enough.
As more PR firms have discovered the value of getting coverage in blogs for their clients, the practice of blogger outreach has spread exponentially and the volume of pitches has exploded. Based on anecdotal evidence and personal experience, as little as two years ago the “hit rate” for blog pitches was fairly respectable, at least among B-list and C-list bloggers, because these writers received few pitches and many were flattered by the attention suddenly being paid to them by PR firms. But in 2009, the volume of pitches began to rise dramatically. Today, it’s not unusual for a C-list blogger to receive several pitches per week, and B-list bloggers to get 10 or more per day. I can only speculate on how many pitches an A-list blogger like Chris Brogan, Brian Solis or Erick Schonfeld must receive.
The vast majority of bloggers write part-time, and there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to even respond to each pitch, much less write about each. Consequently, as the volume of outreach has risen, the hit rate has declined. What to do about this if you’re in PR, or a client seeking coverage in industry blogs?
First, recognize that the advice given above is focused on “cold” outreach, that is, where you or your client has had no previous contact with the blogger. The first step in increasing effectiveness is to shift to “warm” outreach, where you establish a relationship prior to pitching. This requires more time and effort, but can pay off in more coverage.
Follow your targeted bloggers on Twitter. Retweet some of their posts. Provide relevant and helpful comments on some of their blog posts. Help them promote their content through Twitter and other social media tools. Join the same LinkedIn groups they belong to. This will get their attention and establish a social, online relationship with them. Once you’ve done this, a well-crafted pitch, following the rules laid out above, will have a greater chance of cutting through the inbox clutter.
The most effective means to coverage, however, is to offer a guest post. Even TechCrunch accepts guest posts, though that isn’t the place to start. Begin by approaching C-list bloggers, the easiest place to get coverage. Provide true thought-leadership content (not thinly-disguised marketing collateral) that establishes your expertise in your industry. Use your presence on these blogs to build credibility with B-list bloggers, then move to the A-list.
Guest posts turn the idea of blog pitching on its head. Instead of asking a blogger to take time out of their busy schedule to write about your company, product or service, you’re offering to save them time by providing valuable, relevant content for the blog that he or she doesn’t have to write. It’s a win-win-win; you get your name and link on blogs, readers get a helpful and interesting post, and the blog authors get useful content plus a day off.
As the social media landscape continues to evolve, interactive PR practices must evolve along with it. Smart PR firms, and their clients, will focus less on “cold” pitches and more on establishing relationships and creating thoughtful content.
What is Webbiquity? How to Be Everywhere Online
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010Welcome to Webbiquity! What exactly is that? Briefly, Webbiquity, or web presence optimization (WPO for those who prefer TLA’s), is the fusion of SEO, social media, interactive PR, online reputation management and other disciplines to make an individual or organization ubiquitous on the web for their name/brand and unique descriptive phrase. If SEO is about getting your website onto page one of Google, WPO is about owning that page.
For example, Jill Konrath is webbiqitous for the phrase “selling to big companies,” holding all 10 spots on the front page of Google for that phrase. The results include her website, blog, a link to her book
From a historical perspective, the web a decade ago (or even a bit less) was still primarily a broadcast medium with limited inactivity. Although in theory anyone could own a website even then, the web presence of most commercial organizations was limited to their own websites and whatever had been written about them by professional publishers and analysts, plus a few directory listings. The last few years have, of course, seen the emergence of social media and an explosion of user-generated content. A company’s website is now only one of myriad places where customers, buyers and other interested parties can find information about it.
This new environment has created the conditions for web presence optimization: using all of the tools now available to make a company as “findable” as possible not only for branded searches but also for key phrases that uniquely describe the enterprise and its offerings. Using these tools properly means not only dominating search, but also presenting a clear and consistent message across channels, wherever buyers or industry influencers may find you.
Specifically, web presence optimization is about achieving webbiquity using the tools show in this diagram, including social networking, social bookmarking, blogging, interactive PR, video and content marketing to disseminate the company’s message as broadly as possible. Just as importantly, companies need to maximize the search value of these different tools and platforms by taking advantage of the linking and cross-linking opportunities they provide.
So, for example, social media releases–part of interactive PR efforts–point readers to company microsites and its media sharing (images, video, presentations etc.). Media sharing accounts are connected to Twitter, which is also used to promote content marketing. Reputation management sites point the organization’s Twitter account as well as social networking profiles. And everything links back the enterprise’s website and blog.
The end result is that when customers, prospects and influencers (bloggers, journalists, analysts etc.) are looking for information on your industry, they find you everywhere. Your story and messages are bolstered by your webbiquity. You have the opportunity to become a valued resource in your industry. Further, the interactions you have with these various constituencies across social networking and other media platforms demonstrate that your people aren’t just smart, they are also helpful and responsive.
This is obviously a high-level view of the elements of webbiquity. Future posts here will delve more deeply into the tools and tactics that can help you and your company “be everywhere online” for your brand and industry discussions.
Best of 2008: Interactive PR
Sunday, January 3rd, 2010What are some of the best tools for implementing PR 2.0? How do PR, SEO and social media work together to build name recognition and credibility for a company? What are the best (and worst) practices in interactive PR? How should marketers and PR professionals adapt to the decline of traditional publishing and the rapidly increasing influence of social media?
Find the answers to these inquiries and more here in some of the best articles and blog posts about interactive PR from 2008.
Thankful For PR 2.0 by THINKing
Harry Hoover calls out some of his favorite PR 2.0 tools, technology that has made the practice of PR more effective and transparent. Included on his list are Twitter, Peter Shankman’s Help a Reporter Out (HARO), and online social media release service PitchEngine.
Digital PR and SEO Series: Part 3 Social Media Monitoring by Online Marketing Blog
The prolific, mercurial Lee Odden explains how to integrate media relations, SEO and social media to optimize your brand’s online presence, reputation management and engagement with key audiences.
Dirty PR, Sexy Keywords and Outsmarting the Search Engine by PitchEngine
Noting that “there have always been bad PR practices out there, but thanks to this digital era of communications, new methods of PR delivery are making it increasingly tricky for journalists to weed out the good from the bad,” Jason Kintzler explains how PR professionals can use SEO and social media properly—for relationship-building, not trickery.
Steve Rubel on how blogs are changing the face of PR by iMedia Connection
Lori Luechtefeld talks with PR pro and blogger Steve Rubel about the importance of focusing on your audience and message rather than shiny, sparkly new online tools. Among other points, Rubel contends that the press release will evolve rather than disappear, that blogging has permanently altered the media landscape, and that transparency is paramount in building relationships with a broader range of constituencies.
PR Firms: Spend your Money on SEO by Orange Soda
A helpful, if perhaps somewhat controversial, post about what’s dead in PR (e.g., press releases, inviting reporters to lunch) and what’s hot (e.g., blogging and SEO). Some of the points made are spot-on, but as the posts above from Jason Kintzler and Lori Luechtefeld note, the press release is much more likely to evolve with changing practices than to disappear.
Building Relationships is More Important Than Building Links Alone by Search Engine Journal
Blog links have become a valued commodity in the PR world, so much so that popular bloggers receive a constant stream of pitches by email. Loren Baker contends that the best way to generate links is to think beyond the one-off pitch and build relationships with key bloggers in your industry. Following his strategy and the steps he lays out in this post, “one can cut past the boilerplate emails and link requests, and build not only a business relationship with a publisher, but also a long term friendship.”
To Succeed Small Business Marketers Must Unlearn Traditional PR by Content Marketing Today
Newt Barrett expands upon the core idea presented by David Meerman Scott in his invaluable book, The New Rules of Marketing & PR: that PR and marketing professionals need to shift from writing company- or product-centric press releases to customer- and market-centric content that has real value to the company’s prospective clients. In Newt’s words, “if your PR strategy is driven with a customer focus that is backed up by a rich set of customer-centric content, you will generate news.”
Brave New World of Media Pitching: LinkedIn by PR Meets Marketing
PR 2.0 expert Cece Salomon-Lee follows up on her post about Twitter pitching by explaining how LinkedIn can help with PR, such as through forging new connections and researching reporters.
Online PR – Is there any value beyond the links? by Search Engine People
Search marketer Jennifer Osborne answers the provocative question posed in her title with a resounding “Yes!,” detailing six ways to measure the impact of interactive PR, from links and increased traffic to SEO rank and increases in offline inquiries.
Optimizing Press Releases – It All Starts with the Lead by StraightUpSearch
This brief but valuable post offers several simple tricks to help get your news releases not only found but actually read online.
How To Pitch To Bloggers by Pick Me!
The tireless Laura Moncur, author of a half dozen blogs, gives PR practitioners priceless advice on how to effectively pitch bloggers, such as doing some research first, understanding how bloggers differ from traditional journalists, proiding review copies when applicable, and being “prepared for the truth.”
Words to Write By: SEO Tricks for Press Releases by Speak Media Blog
PR strategist Jennifer A. Jones recommends using SEO keyword tools to discover the most popular current keywords when writing news releases. At the time she wrote this post, “sex,” “money,” “secret” and “trick” were among the top attention-getting words (it’s not clear if that means used separately or in combination…hmm) while gobbledegook words like “solutions,” “leading” and “cutting edge” are pretty much worthless.
Social Media Newsroom for How Best to Avoid Dying
This is the social media newsroom page for the book How Best to Avoid Dying
Press Releases and Search Engine Optimization by Search Engine Watch
SEO and web design expert Mark Jackson offers step-by-step guidance on how to maximize the value of press releases for SEO, from writing the release through distribution and publishing.
Facebook Connects Your Brand Across the Social Web by PR 2.0
Brian Solis, principal of Silicon Valley-based PR firm FutureWorks, reviews a presentation by Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook and cites the platform as key to online reputation management, noting that “With just a bit of code, Facebook Connect enables seamless integration between Web sites, pages, communities, and networks and the Facebook identity system.”
