Tuesday’s Tips & Tactics – Inbound Marketing in 10 Minutes or Less is a weekly series presented by a member of the Kuno Creative inbound marketing team. The series is designed to instruct viewers on the best ways to think about and deploy inbound marketing tactics in order to maximize marketing resources, leads and sales. Each week will be completely devoid of hype and focus exclusively on proven concepts and tactics deployed every day in the Kuno labs.

This week’s episode offers up a list of best practices and considerations for press release optimization in order to maximize search engine benefits for the press release as well as the website it links to. Some of the topics covered include social media, URL redirects, tracking URLs, inbound links, images, video, duplicate content and how many links to include in a press release.

Download: Press Release Optimization [Episode 10] – Tuesday’s Tips & Tactics: Inbound Marketing in 10 Minutes or Less

View more presentations from Kuno Creative.

Join us next week for a Tuesday’s Tips & Tactics on how content marketing affects website analytics. Feel free to leave questions and topics of interest for future shows in the comments box below.

Online Press Release Optimization Guide

Use press releases for search engine optimization and social media optimization to maximize traffic, conversions and leads.

And yet, there are ways in which tried and true PR tactics and results, extended through social media or other marketing channels, can work reliably to support lead and business development, particularly for B2B companies.  Here are the most powerful ways to use PR to support business generation.

Merchandising earned media.  Every company posts its best publicity hits on its website, yet they’re often in the form of expired links or hard-to-read PDF files.  It’s far better to keep publicity results fresh and to make sure they’re shared through relevant social media channels.  Better yet, major feature results can be marketed proactively in a customer newsletter, sales kit, or collateral piece.  They may also be used to great effect at trade shows and conferences.

Blending earned and paid media.  Publicity is rarely 100% predictable, but seasonal campaigns can present big opportunities.  For a client with a strong digital security story, we routinely created a burst of news just before tax season, when the new feature is most relevant.  As the survey became an annual publicity event, the client began to use the earned media results in a direct mail campaign to dealers.  They also bought search ads around the digital version of major print and broadcast segments. The result was a 1+ 1 = 3 marketing push at exactly the right time.

Marketing expert content.  Chris Sietsema groups marketable content into “bricks” and “feathers.” “Bricks” are large productions, like research reports or video series, while “feathers” are continuous text and photo updates shared on social media platforms.  In my experience, many companies don’t invest in the right “brick” content, nor do they go the extra distance to extract maximum value for the considerable time and dollars invested.  The most successful and promotable content is that which focuses on a company or executive’s unique expertise; that spots a trend; breaks news of relevance to customers; or actually bucks the prevailing trends.  Companies should aim for at least one piece of “brick” content per quarter.  But far more important than frequency is how the content is merchandised (see below).

Extending educational events.  An event designed to share important news or educational content can be nearly as powerful as breaking news, with greater pertinence to customers.  How to amplify it through PR?  The key word here is “repurpose.”  For example, new industry research shared at a client symposium is just the beginning. It can be offered to relevant media as an exclusive feature, ideally slated to break the day of the event. Afterward, it should be written up in a white paper promoted online with a landing page for lead capture; carved up into user-friendly blog posts that are tweeted and shared; adapted as a bylined article; used as the basis for an executive speech; posted and tagged on SlideShare, and more. There are endless ways of getting mileage out of content with direct relevance to customers.

Placing customer testimonials.  A time-honored PR tactic for professional services clients is to tell customer success stories through trade and vertical media and blogs.  The more vertical, sometimes, the better.  Although niche publications and sites often have small audiences, the long tail approach can be very effective in generating leads from similar clients.

Creating conference visibility.  There’s nothing like the power of earned media among a captive audience of customers and stakeholders.  A burst of visibility from features in trade show dailies; coverage of booth events; and thought leadership from speaking gigs is one of the most efficient returns for the PR investment precisely because it works so hard within the conference bubble.  The key here is tight coordination among marketing, PR and sales.

Driving product sampling.  Because “free” can be inherently newsworthy, using traditional and social media outlets to promote a sampling program can be very cost-effective.  Beyond websites that focus on samples, many mass media outlets, like consumer magazines and blogs, will include mentions that help drive sampling campaigns.

Not all is lost, however. Even if you don’t have a big name, it is possible to get more press and make media connections on your own. You just have to know where to look.

1.     LinkedIn

You can easily determine who the editors of different publications are just by doing an advanced LinkedIn search. Search by company and position. For example, type in “Business Insider” and “editor.” You’ll see exactly how you’re connected to them – you might even know somebody who already has a connection to them. If not, then target them in a strategic way by interacting with them on social networks. It’s like dating, though, so don’t push too fast. You don’t want to scare off them off before you’ve even made it to the courtship phase

2.     Branding

If you work on your personal and company brands, they will create a pull strategy that brings press to you naturally. Editors and reporters read a lot from different sources; if they see you (or your company) being billed as an industry expert, they are going to be attracted to you. Another great way to draw editors in is by providing well-written, high-quality content to other publications. It makes it easier for you to find opportunities if editors have already have seen samples of your work; you will automatically have some credibility. That’s something you can’t pay for.

3.     Conferences

While conferences seem like a fun, beer-fueled time, there are many useful conferences where you can network with media contacts. BlogWorld is coming up June 5^th through 7^th in New York, and it’s a great way to get face time with a lot of bloggers and editors who have influence with the press. Once you form a solid relationship, ask them what other conferences they attend. This information can help you decide which ones best suit you and your press goals.

4.     Organizations and Group Networking

There are great organizations and small groups that are loaded with media connections.  Join these groups and become an active member. Interact with them in group discussions, and give them positive feedback when you like one of their pieces. Make an effort to stand by one rule: help someone first before you ask for anything in return. Media contacts can sense from miles away when you’re using them for PR. Editors and writers are smart; they know what can help you, and your business, in the press. Avoid setting off their spidey senses by authentically trying to build a relationship. At some point, they will help you out. No one likes to be in anyone else’s debt.

5.     PR Companies and Agencies

Good PR companies are a great way to get more press. They already have strong connections established and can do the legwork so you can concentrate on running your business. Be somewhat careful about engaging PR companies, and do your research. There are a lot of people out there who have been screwed by PR companies. Ask yourself the following questions: Do they operate on a pay-for-performance model, or do they charge a retainer? Do they deliver mentions in articles, or do they provide opportunities to write full-length articles? How do they maximize the benefits of being placed with publications? A lot of people have bad tastes in their mouths about PR companies, but there are ways to vet them to determine whether they will actually add value – or just be fixed costs that leave your bank account each month.

Even if your name doesn’t have the impact of “Trump,” that doesn’t mean you can’t rack up some press on your own. Take the time to use your people skills and develop some solid media relationships – do something for them, and they’ll do something for you. The worst-case scenario is that you end up with Kim Kardashian’s reputation, and she doesn’t seem to be doing too badly.

Scenario

Image the scenario – You own an online wine store, and a customer of yours has complained on twitter that it took 3 weeks to deliver a case of win to their home address. Now, your delivery procedure states that delivery to all customers will be within a 4 week period, this gives you a superb opportunity to simply turn the situation around in your favour. It’s very simply to reply with a simple comment saying “We are very sorry you are not happy with our delivery times, however we do make every effort to communicate this here (insert link) to our customers before purchase, please let us know if we can assist you further and we would be happy to do so.” That should do it, short and sweet – lets your audience know you don’t tolerate poor service, and that you attempt to communicate in a concise and fair manner, whilst also showing humility.

What does this do long term for your business? Well the evidence, in all honesty, would be very hard to measure. It’s more a case of prevention rather than cure, and we believe at Social Colleague that you should try and prevent a spread of negative publicity rather than ignoring it and hoping it will go away. So the chances are you may never actually see the results directly unless those you interact with become repeat customers, but every small piece of interaction – particularly on Twitter, and especially using the search tool, can be very healthy for your business.

Google

Further more, simply Googling yourself or your company can be a great way to find what your customers (and potential customers) are saying about you online. Big business’ love the ratings websites for the exposure it gives to their brands, but are not so keen on the negative publicity it can bring. Which is why they invest so much time, money and energy in communicating via social media. Typing your business name or website into a search engine may seem a little vain, but can really be useful. You may find forum posts and threads with faceless opinions, justified complaints, or very positive customer comments and loyal customers which you may chose to reward. Either way, there is a world of information out there that would be foolish to ignore.

Worse still, imagine an ex-employee unhappy with your being dismissed recently creates a Twitter account and decides to make tweets that can only be described (diplomatically) as rude and derogatory. Now you would know that that account is not yours, but how would the rest of Twitter know? Simple, you create an official Twitter page, verify it with the website using ID credentials and you are then able to eliminate the problem. It can sometimes be that simple.

Have you experiencing something similar? What did you or your company do to combat it? Would you do anything different now?

Spirit Airlines is known as a low-cost, no-frills airline. They charge extra fees, as many airlines do for baggage. They even charge for carry-on bags that go into the overhead compartment. More on that in a moment. First, the big PR nightmare for Spirit came when Jerry Meekins, a Vietnam veteran who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, asked for a refund because his doctor told him not to fly.

The response from the customer service rep at the airline was flat out, “No.” The rule is no refunds and that’s the rule. It’s company policy. Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza supported his employee and made it clear that he would not refund the $190.00 airfare. That was until Mr. Meekins went on a national public relationships campaign to get all veterans (and others) to boycott the airline. He appeared on national and local talk shows. He was interviewed for major publications. All he wanted was for Spirit to refund his money and take a closer look at their policy. He asked that each case be looked at individually.

Lesson One: Not all customers are the same. Sometimes a situation may need a closer look, regardless of policy. (I hate that word, policy!) Mr. Meekins was right. This was a reason that warranted a closer look. There will be times you have to say, “No.” However, there are times to show compassion and flexibility. This was one of them.

Lesson Two: Social media, or any kind of media for that matter, can be powerful. Realize that your customers can spread good and bad stories about your company in a very short time. A couple years ago Dave Carroll’s guitar was damaged by the baggage handlers at United Airlines. They refused to fix it so he wrote and video taped a song, “United You Broke My Guitar.” He put the recording on YouTube and it went “viral” with millions of people watching it. United eventually fixed his guitar. By the way, Spirit eventually refunded Mr. Meekins his money. They also donated $5,000.00 to his favorite charity.

Lesson Three: Apologize and react quickly. If you don’t, the situation can get out of hand.

Spirit’s Second PR Nightmare:

And, if all of that wasn’t enough, Spirit made headlines again with an announcement that they were increasing their carry-on baggage fees to $100 each way. That’s an extra $200 per roundtrip. If you read the policy (there’s that word again), you will learn that planning ahead can save you a few dollars.

Here’s my take: This may sound like I support $100 baggage fees. I don’t. Actually, a better way of saying this is, I won’t. However, this is the way that Spirit chooses to run their business. If you don’t like paying the fees, then don’t fly on the airline. You don’t have to complain to everyone. Just fly on a different airline and you will have the personal satisfaction of knowing you disagreed and did something about it. People who choose Spirit are doing so because of the low cost options. Just like any other airline, they should read the “rules” and understand the extra fees. This is the way they do business. If enough people don’t like the way they operate, they will either change or go out of business.

This reminds me of a speech presented by an executive at Southwest Airlines. As most people here in the United States know, Southwest doesn’t assign seats. One of the audience members said that they wouldn’t fly Southwest because he didn’t like that he couldn’t get an assigned seat or a first class upgrade. The executive’s answer was perfect. She said that Southwest isn’t for everyone, as much as they would like it to be. The good news is that their model is embraced by many happy and loyal customers – enough to make them one of the most profitable airlines in history.. While she is disappointed that this person wouldn’t fly on Southwest, she said she respected his decision and hopes that one day he will change his mind.

So, back to Spirit. While I don’t like Spirit’s $100 carry-on baggage fee, I’ll accept that it the way they choose to do business. But accepting doesn’t mean I’ll fly them on my next trip. I’d rather pay a little more for great service and be able to put luggage in the overhead at no charge.

Lesson: Know who your customers are and cater to them. You can’t be everything to everyone. Southwest Airlines doesn’t try to convert the passenger who wants a pre-assigned seat or a first class upgrade. Instead they focus on the customers that accept their way of doing business. Then they give them the best experience they can.

Read more:

Here’s a story from CBS that summarizes Spirit’s week of negative publicity.

It starts innocently enough when you meet a reporter for lunch at a local restaurant.

You spend the first 10 minutes making nice, and then the reporter pulls a notebook and pen out of his pocket.

After the first few easy questions to put you at ease, he asks, “Is it OK if I record our interview?”

Don’t freeze up. Don’t freak out. Don’t walk out of the restaurant.

That question actually works in your favor because, with a recording, there’s no excuse for inaccurate facts or quotes.

If the reporter records the interview, you should, too, so you have a record of it.

Here’s a list of six voice-recorder apps for the iPhone. If you have a different type of phone, do a Google search for an app for your brand.

“Is it OK if I record our interview?” is one of 27 questions a reporter might ask you. I’ve included them all, explained how you should answer them, and noted which ones are trick questions, in my updated “Special Report #2: Questions You Can Expect Reporters to Ask During an Interview.” (I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor for 22 years and I know all the trick questions.)

The best surprise is no surprise.

Strategic public relations is the strategic management of relationships between an organization and its diverse publics, through the use of communication, to achieve mutual understanding, realize organizational goals, and serve the public interest.

Caroline didn’t quibble with much of this but did question the last bit that says public relations is supposed to serve the public interest.

“I can’t believe it makes any sense to state that PR is by definition in the public interest,” she wrote in an email to me. (It was Caroline herself who suggested I had the makings of a blog post here so I am quoting her with permission.) For example, she said, how can PR efforts on behalf of the tobacco lobby or a gun manufacturer be in the public interest?

“My view is that certainly, the mandate of public relations should be in the public interest,” Caroline wrote. “My quibble is with the notion of public interest being intrinsic to the core definition of the function.” In fact, Caroline was of the view that “the effort to inject ‘public interest’ in the definition of PR itself smells of doing PR on the PR function which I think does more to muddy than to clarify the nature of the discipline, which is already subject to significant confusion.”

I’ve worked with Caroline on a number of projects and a big part of our interest in working together is that we agree on many things when it comes to the practice of communications and public relations. But I think I part ways with her on this.

My view has always been that public relations practitioners are advocates in the court of public opinion. And so, even when our clients are undesirable, they still deserve vigorous representation. Insofar as the advocate is not conflated as the client — which, I concede, is not usually the case — and insofar as the advocate herself or himself operates ethically — which, again, does not always happen — then the representation even of the tobacco industry serves the public interest.

By way of comparison, consider a local lawyer I know, a paragon of the Ottawa defence bar. He clearly relishes the rare experience when he has an innocent client to defend, and often goes to considerable and creative lengths to satisfy himself that his client is, indeed, innocent and truthful. The diligence of his efforts, however, are diminished not one whit when he believes his client to be guilty, and the guilty client gets the same rigorous defence as the innocent one. My lawyer friend could never be accused of acting in anything but the public interest so long as his personal behaviour is ethical and above reproach.

I believe the same ought to apply to PR practitioners. I believe that if we were seen as offering the same public interest service as lawyers do, even when our clients are “guilty,” so to speak, our profession would be held in higher esteem. To that degree, I don’t mind if the “public interest” bit of Dr. Flynn’s definition is “PR for the PR function.” Quite frankly, the PR function can use all the PR it can get. As can the legal profession.

What do you think?

Francis Moran and Associates is an associated team of seasoned practitioners of a number of different marketing disciplines, all of whom share a passion for technology and a proven record of driving revenue growth in markets across the globe. We work with B2B technology companies of all sizes and at every life stage and can engage as individuals or as a full team to provide quick counsel, a complete marketing strategy or the ongoing hands-on input of a virtual chief marketing officer. 

The future isn’t social media. The future is all media. Yes, that means you too, Wall Street.

The channel agnosticism conversation is happening now and in 2012 it will reshape communications strategies in the financial world. The thrust of the concept is simple. Dispense a message using all vehicles at our disposal to reach key constituents. Whether the impetus is to garner loyalty, draw new customers or create brand awareness, the approach remains the same.

Let’s look at two real examples that worked in 2011:

Traditional Media:

On Saturday morning, a sophisticated investor reads Barron’s for breakfast and sees an in-depth profile of a winning money manager. On Monday, he calls his financial planner and they discuss parking some cash with that manager.

Social Media:

A financial planner tweets a link to his white paper about what the 2012 presidential election means for a retirement portfolio. A retiree reads the piece and starts rethinking her retirement strategy. What did we accomplish here? In effect, we took incremental and studied steps to build a financial business and a leading voice in the community. We did it the old-fashioned way (newspaper) and the new-age way (social) with sensitivity to the rules that many investment experts believe keep their hands tied. In most cases, it’s important to employ these tactics and others.

Some financial firms already employ these tactics. The largest brands were first to this party. Yet, many players are reticent to take the leap. Here’s how to formulate the game plan for the next 12 months:

Plan and Attack.

Establish a core message that is palatable across all mediums. Some language may have to be adjusted accordingly, but the overarching theme is constant. What’s the reasoning behind attacking on all media fronts? This is not PR for PR’s sake. Identify what will help build your business and then fish where the fish are.

“When” is as Important as “Where.”

Data collection and management are at the foundation of any successful plan. When is the best time for the business to host a blog, tweet or appear on TV? When are your key constituents paying the most attention? Afford the business time to experiment with diverse tactics to establish the ideal approach as it pertains to timing and where those messages are placed, be it on Twitter, television or in the newspaper.

Stick With What Works.

Have respect for and experiment with all channels, but use only those necessary to meet the business’ marketing and communications goals. No one ever said a Google+ page and a Twitter handle were essential (and they never will). Manage the approach as carefully and closely as the dissemination to avoid unwieldy communication across multiple channels. So, to those of you in the world of high finance, bulls and bears alike, this is the basis for your marketing and communications plan of tomorrow. Bear in mind, the process is constantly evolving – which is as exciting as it can be challenging, because this is how your business will remain relevant. Finally, know above all else that this business relevance will require an understanding not just of social media, but of all media.

This story is a part of Worldcom PR Group’s “PR in 2012″ e-book, available now as a free download at: http://bit.ly/HeGTqc. BlissPR is one of the most active partners of Worldcom, the largest global partnership of 94 independently owned public relations firms, with 104 offices in 92 cities on six continents. BlissPR’s Elizabeth Sosnow currently serves as the Digital Chair of the Global board.

Here are 5 tips for creating SEO friendly online press releases:

1. Include at least 1 full http link and two anchor text links.
Online press releases are a great source of links and can help round out your link portfolio and drive targeted traffic to your site. A good rule of thumb is to include 1 link for every 100 words, although some PR distribution services put a min/max limit on the amount of links you can add. Be sure to include your full web address at least once (usually after the first time your company is mentioned by name) and at least two anchor text links using important keywords. Your anchor text can either be in the body of the press release or the boiler plate.

2. Optimize headline with most important keyword.
When using an online press release for SEO, it’s important to treat it like any other piece of content, which means you need to optimize it. When it comes to writing the headline, be sure to incorporate one of your top keywords. For instance, instead of writing a headline that says “Brick Marketing Opens New Office in Massachusetts,” my headline should read “Boston SEO Firm Brick Marketing Opens Second Massachusetts Office.” “Boston SEO firm” is one of the keywords I’m targeting and this press release could potentially rank for a related search.

3. Use a paid PR distribution service.
To ensure that your online press release gets the most attention (and doesn’t get flagged as spam by the search engines) be sure to use a paid online distribution service. Online press releases from trusted distribution services get more attention from reporters and online news sites, plus the search engines trust these PR sites to distribute quality content.

4. Publish online press release on your own site.
One way to get a few extra links to your site is to post a slightly edited version of the press release to your own website. That way, anyone that wants to link to the press release will be able to link to your site, and not the online PR distribution service that published the original press release. This is also a great way to help keep your website supplied with fresh content, which will give the search spiders a reason to revisit and index your site.

5. Share online press releases on social profiles.
Don’t rely on the PR distribution sites to do all the heavy lifting! If you want your content (any content, not just press releases) to get noticed you have to help promote it. Post links to your latest press release on your social profiles (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, etc) so your social network knows what is going on with your company. The more information you can publish the more reasons a connection has to interact with your brand.

Is PR getting its own taste of bad press? You’ve probably heard the buzz from digital media that the press release is dying a slow death. I find it interesting that PR is often dismissed as part of an interactive marketing strategy (for no longer being relevant), but creating new content is “king”! We’ve all welcomed this meme as a critical component of search engine placement and PR is great fodder to attract search engine spiders. So where is the disconnect here?

Today I hope to debunk that perception and shed light on the value of online PR. As someone with a strong background in traditional media, I will share how the PR industry has evolved and the value it now offers.

The SEO Press Release

Let’s begin by exploring how the digital revolution has transformed the press release. The most significant change is the shift to the SEO release. While there are traditional PR principles to draw from (knowing how to write well, crafting an interesting story angle and networking with influencers), there are a whole new host of considerations for developing an SEO release. This includes writing catchy headlines with Google keyword searches in mind, optimizing content with targeted anchor text, including links to drive traffic to a website or online newsroom and adding video or images to make shareability of your news more appealing. From a content perspective, the message crafted in SEO releases is more about what the reader is looking for than what the company wants to say. And the way PR professionals network has been impacted as the digital age has brought about a whole new category of influencers with bloggers and online contributors.

Jim Nichols, Forbes Magazine contributor, shared this perspective on how information in the digital era is consumed in a recent article:

An advertising message can prompt someone to do a Google search, which finds your product because your site was properly SEO-optimized and press releases helped you get – and sustain – that ranking. That person signs up for a webinar using the same language found in the ad but to a greater depth, and then shares the findings with a colleague. At the end of the day, a discussion breaks out in the boardroom and someone says, ‘I remember hearing about this problem in company X’s webinar. Maybe we should give them a call.’ This is how today’s world of media consumption works.

PR’s Role in Online Marketing

Online PR should be the catalyst for every online promotion. As a best practice, whenever you develop a new piece of content, you should start with a press release and leverage it to generate multiple items at the same time, such as: social messaging copy and abstracts for Tweets, Facebook posts, Google+1 shares, LinkedIn comments, StumbleUpon likes, etc.

The Value of Online PR

By utilizing SEO press releases as part of your internet marketing strategy, you can expect to realize the following benefits:

Increased Visibility

From major media outlets to online users, the SEO release can be accessed by anyone searching for information on your industry, product or business.

Improved SEO and Website Traffic

Optimization allows you to embed anchor text within the body of the release and add keyword metadata on the backend. I would recommend that you use a keyword analyzer tool for grading the potential performance of your release with search engines.

Valuable Link Building Tool

With an SEO release, you have the ability to garner high quality back-links from reputable sources. There is long-term value as releases are indexed by third-party sites and maintained over time. And the more times your press release is viewed, the better the visibility for your website.

Ability to show ROI

Tracking online PR activity is relatively easy with reader impressions (the # of people who have read your content), traffic referrals (visitors referred by links on other websites) and trackable sharing (pingbacks, shares, likes, tweets, +1′s, etc.)

Brand Awareness

Improve your online reputation by using SEO releases to promote a positive image of your company.

Ability to Target Blog Communities

Many online distribution service providers offer the ability to reach out to a wide network of online bloggers and freelance writers in addition to national online media reporters, editors, etc.

Summary

The traditional press release has evolved as more consumers (74% according to the 2011 Pew Research Study) prefer to get their news online. And with exposure to this new audience, the public relations industry is turning it’s focus to building online traction for companies and brands. Creating keyword-rich SEO press releases that are shared across multiple platforms, result in higher organic search rankings through links on online news outlets.

Post Action Item!

Each time you add new content to your site, whether it’s an article, resource tool, video or blog post, distribute an SEO release. It’s one of the most valuable ways you can impact SEO and drive website traffic.

I am interested in hearing your online PR success stories – please share your feedback below!

I migrated away from pure PR to content and digital communications in the early part of the last decade. (Wow, am I that old?) However, I have continue to have a soft spot for PR. It has been stunning to see the vast changes to landscape that have taken place since my departure. Many of the pubs I worked with are gone, and the ones that are left are completely reinvented animals from what I knew.

I had the pleasure of meet Jeff Vance through my buddy and communications sage Lou Hoffman. Jeff is really an excellent example of the new journalist. He has been evolving the new model with passion and risk taking while maintaining his journalistic ethic.

His journey is telling. He’s gone from getting pitched all day long for the column inches he controlled to growing his own community of experts he nurtures, engages, and taps at a moments notice for story and comments.

Watch Video Here

Interviewed:

Jeff Vance Journalist and Founder of Sandstorm Media Sandstorm Media Blog

Too often, they signal contempt to the the very bloggers they’re pitching.
But bloggers have their number.

“Bloggers and other social media online influencers may not know who Edward Bernays is or have the lingua franca of a trained communications professional, but they sure can spot the eye roll of condescension and contempt from a mile away,” Abraham writes.
Try as he might, the flack can’t fool the blogger he secretly despises.

“If you think that bloggers are actually failed journalists, you may have contempt for your audience; if you consider the time spent by a blogger would be better spent “working,” you may have contempt for your audience; if you believe what bloggers do is ‘just prattle on,’ you may have contempt for your audience; and if you actively play favorites and only engage with the crème de la crème of bloggers, you may have contempt for your audience.”

Stifle your snobbery, if you hope to pitch bloggers successfully, Abraham advises. Start by reading How to Win Friends and Influence People.

1.  Mass E-Mails.  This is a no brainer.  Marketing is all about personalization, communication, engagement and LISTENING.  The same rules that apply to everyday communication apply to journalists.  They hate to be BCCed or even worse CCed.  Remember — you are pitching a news outlet and no news outlets wants to cover something that everyone else is.

2.  Sending the same @ reply on Twitter to 30 different people.  Everyone can see your @ replies.  It’s even worse than sending a mass e-mail because the rest of world can see what an idiot you are.  Just don’t do it.

3.  Big Press Kits.  Have you ever been to a journalist office?  It’s not exactly a penthouse on Park Avenue.  I know you think those creative press kits you convince your clients to produce are “cute” but are they practical?  If you absolutely have to create a press kit it’s best to keep it to an 8 x 10 folder.

4. “Just Following Up.” Imagine that’s it 3pm and you have a 4pm deadline for a 1000 word story where your main source just fell through.  And then you get a call from a PR saying asking “Hi — just calling to follow up on the release I sent you and to double check that you received my release on the opening of Jimmy’s Jump Factory.”  Enough said.

5.  Phone Messages.  Sad, but true.  Imagine how many messages a journalist at the New York Times receives each day.   By the time they get to message #5 they have already tuned out.

6.  Being Added to your Newsletter.  I love newsletters– we have one at The Abbi Agency. But we don’t add people.  We let them chose whether or not they’d like to receive our information.  You should too.

7.  Itineraries.  I am not saying an itinerary on a media trip is a bad thing, but being booked from 7am to 9am every hour on the hour is not what most top tier journalists are looking for.  I know you need to make sure they meet all the big wigs, but what they really want is time to explore and discover the hidden stories.

8.  Press Trips with 20 People.  Press Trips are a valuable tool when it comes to showing the media a destination first hand.  But nobody likes to be herded like cattle.  Press trips should be intimate, customized and personalized.  Focus on quality not quantity

9.  Friending on Facebook.  Ask yourself this question before you send journalists a friend request — are you their friend?  Do you know their kid’s names, birthdays, spouse?  If the answer is “no” then you are not friends.  Send a connection request on LinkedIn instead.

10. Profile Pitches.  Everyone thinks their client is worthy of a profile in INC Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and Forbes.  Maybe your client is. Or maybe it’s best to start with pitching an expert source, grow the relationship and then pitch a profile.  Just saying.

• Rule #1: You need a great story
• Rule #2: You need great connections

If you ignored just one of these rules, the chances of winning any serious press coverage would have been extremely limited.  Without a great story your release would be little more than litter on a newsroom floor. Without great newsroom connections, even the best release would stand little chance of being featured in the press outside of silly season.

In the digital age where Internet technologies have severely disrupted the PR industry, these two rules continue to stand firm.

While journalists and editors have, to some extent, been sidelined, having a great story has never been more important. Without editorial filters ensuring the quality of your message, a weak or ill-thought-out release given global exposure via the web has the potential to damage your brand. Whereas an editor would have thrown your release in the trash and said nothing more about it, the general public can be less forgiving.

Connections are also incredibly important. Online PR distribution tools like PRWeb have built their businesses on the back of an extensive list of connections which goes far beyond the traditional newsrooms, targeting a vast network of bloggers, citizen journalists, search engines and social networks.

Thanks to this extended reach, your Press Releases and the strategy built around them need to be optimized to take full advantage of the diverse range of media they now have to engage with.

Seven Steps to Optimize Your PR Campaigns 

1. Easy to Remember URLs: Ensure any website addresses featured in your release are easy to remember and point directly at the product, service, feature or event you are promoting. For example if you are promoting a recruitment drive at your organization the URL should be something like: http://www.yourdomain.com/careers. While this might not be so important online where the viewer can click directly to your page, if the release is picked up by the print or broadcast media, you’ll want to make it is easy as possible for them to direct people to the most relevant page.
2. Landing Pages: Optimize the landing page experience on the URLs you are promoting to drive conversions. This might mean stripping out unwanted and potentially distracting navigation.
3. High Quality Images: Both print and online media love great images. Be sure to include print and web quality images with you release.
4. Video: As the lines between print, broadcast and online media continue to blur, featuring video content with your press release will definitely win friends and influence people.
5. Getting Social: While companies like PRWeb will include social media tools like Facebook “like” buttons, you should also include details like your Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin address in your contact details to encourage social engagement.
6. Write for the Web (SEO): Online PR is a fantastic SEO tool. Try and include important keywords and phrases throughout your release (without giving it the appearance of being written by a robot). Pay particular notice to the quality of your headline and opening paragraph as these will be the most visible sections when featured on a search engine or news site. Keyword tools offered by Google will help you discover popular search terms around your release topic.
7. Maintain Real-world Relationships: While automation will potentially yield phenomenal results (with the right release), always strive to get to know key influencers in your target market. These might be journalists, bloggers, consultants, etc. As an ex-journalist myself, I can happily confirm the best way to do this is to offer to buy them a beer.

Learn more about optimizing your PR strategy for the digital age at http://www.PRWeb.com

Error Ridden

You’ve put together and sent out your press release in just under an hour. In a fast paced business world there isn’t always time to spend on something like a press release. However, rushing through this important document, and making multiple mistakes will speak volumes about the quality of your company. Don’t let this happen to you.

Avoid it by remembering to:

• Proof read: Read over the document on your computer, then print it out and read it again. Read it out loud and in your head. This process takes 10 minutes and can save you a lot of hassle in the end.
• Mail it out: Shoot out an email to colleagues and have them give it the one over. Ask them to do it right away, and have a better press release in 5 minutes.

Not Newsworthy

A press release is just that: something newsworthy that the press is about to release to the public. If your press release is lacking in the newsy department, it will be tossed and ignored. Don’t waste your time putting together a well written document, for nothing.

Avoid it by sending PRs that are:

• Impacting: Does this affect a lot of people?
• Controversial: Will it stir up debate and conversation?
• Immediate: Did something just happen that has never happened before?

Overly Promotional

A press release is supposed to be about a newsworthy story; something that people care about. You have plenty of outlets to promote your product, company or services, but a press release is no place for that. If you are overly promotional, you’ve wasted your time because the release will be thrown out.

Avoid it by not including:

• New products: Unless they are critical to the news. For example, your newly released supplement is causing extreme weight loss in obese children.
• Marketing efforts: Make no mention of social media platforms, your blog, etc. This is not a time to be worrying about site traffic or page views.
• Sales: New product pricing or new campaigns have no place here.

There are many mistakes a new company can make. It’s important that they are not made in your press releases. Not only will it be a waste of your time, as the documents will be thrown away immediately, but it looks bad for your company. As a new addition in the business world you want to appear strong, competitive and display a level of emotional intelligence; a bad press release will do just the opposite.

This is a phrase that we’ve all heard before, one that many of us have been known to use – and may even still believe. It’s a statement that rang true for many, many years, but as the times have changed, so has the reality of this truth.

Today I’m going to correct this statement once and for all, and explain why and how it no longer rings true – and how the new truth affects you and your business.

Correction:

In today’s market, there is absolutely such thing as bad publicity.

Social media changed the game
Before social media, traditional marketing, as we all know and remember, was about one-way conversations. The brand put out advertisement and consumers had no choice but to watch, listen and see this publicity before carrying on with their day. Because of these one-way conversations, it only made sense that it didn’t matter whether or not the publicity was positive or negative. All that mattered was that consumers would hear the brand’s name and subliminally lock it away into their subconscious – hopefully calling upon it when they found themselves in need of the brand’s products or services.

Today, business is not run under the same conditions. The one-way conversations have been redirected into two-way discussions and we, as consumers no longer have to simply listen, watch or hear the advertisement and publicity that brands put out. Today we have loud voices and an even further reach. So when something goes wrong in or with an organization, we no longer hear one-side of the conversation. In fact, the consumer’s side of the negative publicity can be far louder than that of the brand’s, having far more of an impact than it used to.

So if a negative brand situation can result in fewer customers, wider negative appeal and range, and ultimately a loss of revenue, I’d say it’s very safe to say that today, there is in fact such thing as bad publicity.

There is an up side
However, this new reality doesn’t mean that we, as brands, are left at the mercy of our customers. In fact, the powerful voice and reach goes both ways… if you know how to use it.

There’s a way to address and respond to each bad publicity – or social media crisis – that gives your brand the upper-hand. It is possible to turn that bad publicity into a positive campaign that allows you to leverage the negative press, turn it around and come out of the situation with even more loyal fans, and higher revenue than you had going in. But that of course takes the right mindset and a solid social media crisis plan.

So what used to be “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” has turned into “there is absolutely such thing as bad publicity – if you aren’t equipped with the right social media crisis plan.”

What does bad publicity mean to you and how do you think social media has helped change the name of the game? Share your answers with me below!

photo by: B Rosen

Brittany Behrman, Creative Copywriter for DMi Partners

As professional communicators, PR people are required to develop content that is accurate and compelling on behalf of companies and organizations. In fact, the ability to be a good writer is arguably the most important skill needed to be a great PR professional. Yes, being able to pitch media and cultivating online relationships in this social media world are also key components to success in PR. However, without good writing skills neither of these tasks can be successfully accomplished. Great PR writing is not necessarily something that can be easily picked up at college, but can be learned through practice and diligence on the job. According to eCollegeFinder.org, an online education portal for online colleges, in an article entitled 5 Ways To Get Noticed and Earn a Full-Time Writing Job, maintaining a blog and social media presence and writing as a pastime can improve your ability to generate content and “showcase your talent.”

Those are lessons well learned for successful PR practitioners. Just consider these three points:

• Good writing can be learned. Look at content put out by other organizations and firms. What are they doing that really works? (And don’t be afraid to steal a few rhetorical tricks!)
• Good writing makes you look better. (And let’s not even get into the damage done by misspellings and poor grammar in emails to your boss or client!)
• Good writing bridges communications platforms. Writing a blog post and an email should be treated differently.  What may be appropriate for one may not be for the other. (And even tweets benefit from good writing!)

“Metta World Peace” is even trending on Google as of this morning:

Mr. World Peace even has a section on his Wikipedia page dedicated solely to his disciplinary and legal issues throughout the years. The point here is that even after Ron Artest “re-branded” to Metta World Peace in September of 2011, the Los Angeles Lakers forward still seems to play with little to no class on the basketball court.

What can we as marketers learn from Metta World Peace’s actions when it comes to reputation and brand management? Below are 3 tips that will help you maintain positive brand awareness and a clean reputation both on and offline.

Don’t Keep Repeating the Same Mistakes

No matter what type of business you are in, if negative behaviors by your company have been brought to light in the past, correct your mistakes, don’t repeat them. In 2003, Ron Artest was suspended 3 games by the NBA for destroying a TV camera at Madison Square Garden. In the same season, he was suspended another 4 games for a confrontation with another NBA coach. Then came 2004 and the infamous Pacers/Pistons brawl where Artest was the center of altercations between fans and players. The disciplinary and legal issues go on and on for Mr. Artest/World Peace.

My point here is that as a company, you will never earn or maintain a positive reputation unless you are willing to fix what is causing your issues. If you run a restaurant and your customers are constantly complaining about the temperature of the steak, it might be time to look for a new cook.

Re-Branding Doesn’t Solve All of Your Issues

Similar to my first point, re-branding will not serve as the end all be all unless you are making positive changes within your company or organization. I tweeted this last night:

how can you have the last name “world peace” and throw an elbow like that? @MettaWorldPeace that was clearly blatant. #dirty ball player

— Craig Kilgore (@ckilgs) April 23, 2012

While Metta World Peace’s reasoning for the name change/re-brand probably wasn’t to indicate cleaner on court play, my second point is that simply re-branding your products/services does not mean you will avoid negativity carried over from your previous brand. For your own peace of mind, World Peace’s reasoning for the name change according to his court hearing was that:

changing my name was meant to inspire and bring youth together all around the world

Again, if you have issues that are leading to negative brand awareness or a less than pleasant online or offline reputation, don’t count on re-branding to save you.

Use Common Sense

The last point that I want to make is that all of this could have been avoided with some good old common sense. We see it all too often, whether it’s World Peace elbowing his opponents or KFC encouraging you to stock up on fried chicken during an earthquake, the constant here is the lack of common sense. Being active in sports for my entire life, I understand how easy it is to get caught up in the moment and let your temper get the best of you. Being a digital marketer at Mainstreethost, I realize that some of the biggest marketing opportunities arise in correspondence with current events or world news. At the end of the day, you are better off taking a couple of extra seconds to think about the damage your actions can potentially cause. Use common sense.

Conclusion

If you are responsible for your company’s brand awareness or reputation management, don’t continuously make the same mistakes, use common sense and realize that re-branding is not the solution to all of your problems. From a personal standpoint, learn from World Peace’s blatant inability to learn from mistakes when going about your everyday routines (don’t elbow people in the face and expect it to just blow over).

What are some of your favorite brand disaster stories?

(view original post here)

So many of us are addicted to Pinterest, that it’s all too easy to forget about some of the tried-and-true sites like Meetup.com that should be on top of our “must do” lists during a publicity campaign.

If you do business locally, or you want to publicize whatever you’re doing in your local market, Meetup offers a wide range of features that can help.

About MeetUp

First, a little about the site. It’s the world’s largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.

Meetup boasts an impressive 9 million visitors a month, meets in 45,000 cities worldwide, and has 280,000 monthly Meetups on every topic imaginable. Use the search box on the homepage to look for a group that fits your interests. Or start your own group.

Here are nine ways to use Meetup in a publicity campaign:

1. Create a Meetup account.

Even if your group has no special events to publicize, or you have no intention of meeting regularly, or even if your membership is invitation-only, create an account anyway. Write a good description of what you do and the kinds of people who would be a good fit. You never know who’s searching for you.

Wellspring, a gardening retreat and conference center near my home in Wisconsin, found The Port Washington Garden Club on Meetup after I created an account about two years ago. The education director searched on Meetup specifically for groups devoted to gardening and horticulture. She found my club and emailed me. Wellspring now promotes our events and we promote theirs. If you aren’t on the site, nobody can find you!

2. Attend a meeting, meet members and start forming relationships.

Don’t go intending to blast a free commercial about your business or hand out copies of your latest press release. Nobody likes that.

Meetup’s business groups have lots of ways for members to promote their businesses to each other. Get a feel for the group, its practices and offer free, helpful information. They’ll be dying to know what else you know. They’ll also be more inclined to spread the word about what you’re doing.

3. Offer to speak at a Meetup group that includes people in your target market.

The Wisconsin Business Owners Lunch & Learn Meetup has invited me to speak twice, and I accepted. But I didn’t pitch. Instead, I gave a content-rich presentation on blogging. And I walked away with a pocket of business cards of people who want to subscribe to my weekly ezine, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week.”

Groups like these are always looking for speakers. Here’s a nice promotion that featured me the last time I spoke in January. Great publicity!

4. Offer free information and samples to Meetup groups.

Group organizers love free stuff they can pass along to their members during a Meetup. A doggy day care owner can offer an oversized all-natural dog biscuit for a Meetup group of dog lovers. A plumber can give away a step-by-step guide on how to fix a leaky faucet to moms in a Single Moms Meetup. You can find the group organizer and contact information for each Meetup on that group’s page.

5. Connect your Facebook account to Meetup.

This lets your Facebook friends see what you’re up to on Meetup, and vice-versa which further spreads the word.

6. Take advantage of Meetup promoting your group.

Once you’ve created a Meetup group, Meetup will promote it automatically. Most groups have new members within a few days.

7. Found a Meetup you love? Look for similar Meetups.

On some Meetup pages, you’ll see a box that says, “People in this Meeteup are also in…”

8. Need to get in front of bloggers? Many communities have blogger Meetups.

In Chicago, for example, there’s the Chicago Bloggers Meetup with 309 members and the Chicago Blogs Meetup with 80. Getting to know bloggers long before you want publicity is a great strategy. Don’t have a blog yet? That’s OK. Ask them how to start one.

9. Learn about PR, publicity, marketing and social media.

In most major cities and many smaller ones, you’ll find Meetup groups devoted to these topics. I found two social media groups in the Milwaukee area that I want to join. What a fun way to learn more about whatever you need to know.

10. Look within Meetup groups for PR-related vendors.

Need a press release writer? Photographer? Ghostwriter? Publicist?

Meetup’s search box makes it easy to find, within minutes, local groups where these people congregate.

That’s my list. How else do you use Meetup.com for publicity?

A press release can be a very powerful tool, at the end of the day. To learn more about press releases and what not to do when employing them, read on.

Extra, Extra, Read All About It: The Scoop

A press release has its roots in journalism, not content marketing. Essentially a press release is exactly what you’re thinking of – news that’s fresh off the presses, hot and ready to be delivered to a salivating audience. Without further ado, here’s the first don’t:

1. Don’t use a press release if you don’t have any news to release. A press release should be used if you’re offering some breaking news about your business that people will actually be interested in reading. Good things to write press releases about include conventions, sales, new and impressive team members, mergers… anything that’s actually noteworthy. Don’t write a press release about your product. While widgets may be big news to your business, the fact that they exist isn’t exactly newsworthy.

Remember that the point of a press release is to get people excited about something. Doubtlessly you’re always excited about your business, but there’s a reason why you never see the headline “Everything Is Fine” in a newspaper. It’s not newsy.

2. Don’t wait too long to make your point. A press release is not a place to spend a lot of time stuffing keywords into the first paragraph. While press releases can technically be up to 800 words long and still be considered a press release, I typically advise clients to go no longer than 500 words.

Longer is not better with press releases. You want the story to hit your readers so fast that they’re left reeling with the news and have no choice but to search for more information. If you put them to sleep halfway through the release, that’s defeating the point.

3. Don’t advertise. A press release is not an advertisement for your company – it is about as far from sales copy as you can get. You don’t want to spend the majority of your press release talking about great your product/company is. Rather, you want the event to be the main part of the press release. Press releases always pay attention to the moving parts of your company – the ones that are novel, and the ones that are new and might change soon. A sale doesn’t last forever. A merger soon becomes de rigour for the company. A convention ends. Press releases hit upon these topics, not how great your company is. (I am assuming that your company is great all the time, of course – at least, you offering superior products and solid customer service should be a given, not a press release!)

Advertising copy is death to a press release. Furthermore, many press release sites (which is where you go to release the press releases) won’t allow advertising copy. PRweb, which is one of the top press-release distribution companies, specifically forbids advertising copy in press releases. Read: if advertising is in your press release, it won’t get out.

4. Don’t put yourself in it. Staying objective is key to writing a good press release. Remember that press releases need to be approached with a journalistic eye – unlike blogs and white papers where you may have ghost writers that blend in and act as part of your business, you want your press release to be markedly objective. You don’t want the piece to sound like an advertisement for your business, a la #3. This also means that you want to keep the words “I” and “you” and “we” out of it.

Remember that journalism is supposed to be impartial. With that third-person distance from your press release, it makes it even more news-like. Consumers are savvy – they generally realize when they’re being marketed to. Make sure not to market openly in your press releases for maximum impact.

5. Don’t forget a quote. Think of the quintessential nosy journalists. They’re always following the subject around with pen and paper (or a microphone, depending) and trying to get the subject to make a statement. That’s exactly what you want in your press release. A quote from somebody in your company will help give the press release a current vibe and also brings the voice of your company into the press release.

Remember that press releases need to be objective in tone… but if you’re using them in a content marketing strategy, you’re going to need to find some way to advertise your company. A quote from someone pertinent in the company means that you can get your “our widget company is proud to sell better widgets faster and with better customer service as compared to any other widget company” line in. Quotes are also the one exception to rule #4, so take advantage of the loophole!

With these tips in mind, you’ll be able to write a press release that both passes the guidelines of press release distributors and gets the attention of a company. If you’ve got something big and exciting happening right now, a press release is a perfect content marketing mechanism to use. But just like with all kinds of great power, great responsibility comes with it – don’t fall into the five pitfalls listed above!

However, what journalists need has changed dramatically.

Jim Brady on the Changes in News Consumption

They’ve been telling us for at least five years now that they need more than just a page of text. And PR Newswire’s study of how multimedia with a press release increases views makes it very clear that we have to provide images, video and graphics with our news releases.

Yet today I saw this press release about a survey of marketing decision-makers regarding their organization’s attitudes and practices in social media. The release has some useful statistics:

• 65% of C-suite execs are interested in how their brand is perceived in social media. (I’d love to know what the other 35% think of social media, but that’s another blog post altogether)
• 71% of those surveyed think they are doing a good job of reporting on the brand’s perception in social media
• 56% says they measure it by levels of engagement
• 31% use quantitative measures (# of fans, followers)
• 11% rely on gut feel ( very scientific!)

Perceived Value to the Brand

• 84% ranked Facebook #1
• 45% ranked YouTube first
• 41% said LinkedIn was their best bet

The Engagement Gap

Although the majority of companies surveyed see Facebook as the most valuable social media platform, the public is not so enamored of brand fan pages. A recent BlogHer study surveyed 2000 women and discovered that Facebook is not their most trusted source for information and advice:

• Blogs 81%
• Pinterest 81%
• Twitter 73%
• Facebook 67%

The press release references a paper released at the 2012 International Public Relations Conference on Millenials’ interaction with fan pages on Facebook that shows that this group (intensive users of social media platforms) have an arms-length relationship with Facebook fan pages.

All of this data would make a fascinating infographic. At the very least it should have been in a chart or two.

A slidedeck using visuals to depict the data could have been made – see what BlogHer did with their survey:

2012 social media final, v2

View more presentations from BlogHer

Using the slide deck a short video of the main points, with perhaps a couple of interviews and interesting quotes could have been produced for next to no cost.

What a missed PR opportunity.

Here’s another reason not to rely on Wikipedia as a trusted source of knowledge for anything.

A new study published in the Public Relations Journal shows that a stunning 60 percent of articles about specific companies contained factual errors.

The research was conducted by Marcia W. DiStaso, Ph.D., co-chair of PRSA’s National Research Committee and an assistant professor of public relations at Penn State University. She surveyed 1,284 PR professionals to find out how they use Wikipedia or correct errors they find there.

“It does not surprise me that so many Wikipedia entries contain factual errors,” said DiStaso. “What is surprising, however, is that 25 percent of survey respondents indicated they are not familiar with the Wikipedia articles for their company or clients. At some point most, if not all, companies will determine they need to change something in their Wikipedia entries. Without clear, consistent rules from Wikipedia regarding how factual corrections can be made this will be a very difficult learning process for public relations professionals.”

Wikipedia’s editing process is so cumbersome, that some people just don’t bother. Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, told the Associated Press last fall that Wikipedia is losing the crowd that keeps it updated. The typical profile of a contributor is “a 26-year-old geeky male” who moves on to other ventures and leaves the website.

Administrators are working to simplify the way users can contribute and edit materials. Finally.

If you’re in PR, or you do your own publicity, do you use Wikipedia? Do you find it difficult to use? Do you regularly monitor it? Have you tried to submit a Wikipedia entry for your client but it got rejected? Share your story in the Comments section below.

Send pitches via social media. Although the number one way that media professionals prefer to receive pitches is via email, Paluch sid that most reporters at the Press-Gazette and other area newspapers follow PR pros on Twitter in order to get story ideas. Often, it is a quicker way to connect with a reporter on a more personal level and get response.

Make subject lines interesting. Keep in mind that reporters receive a numerous amount of pitches daily, and they all typically have the same subject line. According to Ossmann, if an email’s subject line reads “press release” she most likely won’t even open it. “Since I get a lot of pitch emails everyday, the ones that have boring subject lines are usually skipped. You have to make it interesting so it catches my eye and makes me want to open it,” Ossmann said.

Flag important emails. News stations are definitely competitive with other news outlets in the area, so missing an important story could cost them a lot of money. If you have a breaking news story, it is best to flag the email or even call a reporter direct. They will appreciate your information and it will make your relationship stronger.

Be aware of large-scale events. As much as they wish it wasn’t so, reporters have to focus their time on covering large events that take place in their area. Sometimes, important and newsworthy stories are skipped when something like the Superbowl or a big marathon is taking place. It is important to remember that, even though you may have a great story, it may not be placed during a time like this.

Be careful with exclusives. Exclusives are a great way to build your relationship with a certain news outlet or reporter, but be cautious of what message that is sending to the other news outlets and reporters that you are connected to. Ossmann said that she and her coworkers watch every station during the evening news and will notice if a company spoke to another station and not them. Even if they had a great relationship with that company previously, it is damaging to be selective on who you give story ideas to.

Always get back to reporters ASAP. According to both Paluch and Ossmann, the number one complaint of reporters is that PR people don’t get back to them when they said they would or in a timely manner. Often, the reporter will get frustrated and move onto another story at a different company. It is important to have media relations as a number one priority amongst your daily tasks to ensure that you are getting them the information they need.

Include enough lead-time. Even if you have a breaking news story, the media often needs at least an hour to prepare and arrive on site. Both Paluch and Ossmann agreed that breaking news stories should be pitched about an hour or more before air time and all other stories should be pitched 3 days to a week before.

Include extra information. If a pitch includes the contact information for sources, photos and video (if applicable), the story is more likely to be placed. Reporters are very busy just like we are, and any way that we can make their lives easier is appreciated. One note from Ossmann: make sure that pictures and video are good quality, or they can’t use them on live TV. In addition, Paluch mentioned that if you are planning on sending a lot of digital media, make sure to only send it to one email account or their servers get jammed and the only way to fix the problem is to delete your pitch.

Keep these tips in mind and you will be on your way to securing more placements! For more information on PRSA and to see a schedule of PRSA-NEW’s upcoming events, visit www.prsanewis.org.

If you’re a blogger, do you ever get pitched by marketers and PR folks? I’ve had enough of bad practice in this department and here is my rant on the topic.

Do you agree with me or am I being too harsh? Please let me know what you reckon!

With so many different sources available, where do financial journalists prefer to turn for their story inspirations? As it turns out, according to a new Gorkana survey of these journalists released in March, while reporters have many resources for inspiration, they rely most heavily on reading newspapers and other publications for their story ideas.

The results from the survey suggests that when looking for story ideas, financial journalists are likely to first turn to those that are closest to their work – their fellow journalists and their audience members. More than half (59.5%) of the 350 journalists interviewed said they read newspapers and other publications for inspiration, while 45.5% said their personal interests or the interests of a colleague can lead them to story ideas. Almost a third (32.4%) of reporters said they turn to audience emails and phone calls for ideas.

What does this mean for the companies and communications professionals trying to reach financial journalists? How can we improve our chances that a journalist will consider our news and ideas?

• Look at the same sources that journalists say they use. For example, if you want to reach the commercial real estate reporter at the Wall Street Journal, read not only their stories, but also articles from Commercial Mortgage Alert and the New York Observer’s commercial section.
• Find relevant ways to tie current news articles to pitches and story suggestions. A broader piece on retirees moving out of the country can turn into an article focusing on local seniors housing trends.
• Don’t discount the comments sections – many stories generate robust discussions amongst readers that can lead to new, unexplored points of views and angles.
• Consider the credibility of sources that you are offering in pitches and online. According to the research conducted by Gorkana, CEOs top the list of credible news sources for financial journalists, followed by academics/experts, financial/industry analysts, and technical experts in companies.

What other suggestions do you have for improving story suggestions and pitches for financial journalists?

The survey of 350 financial journalists was conducted by Gorkana, a global services provider for PR professionals and journalists, in partnership with two DePaul University College of Communications professors: Dr. Matt Ragas and Dr. Hai Tran. Read the full study here.