The Write Blog

PR campaigns can be the difference between successful and unsuccessful ventures – and they’re the lifeblood for getting your company’s news story into the public eye.

We’ve previously posted a blog about how to write a press release, but where do you go from there? There are a couple of different strategies out there for cultivating a PR buzz both in print and online:

1. Releasing a press release

Releasing a press release is pretty easy now. There are a number of searchable databases available, such a PRWeb, PRLeap, ClickPress, etc – where you can upload your press release, sometimes for a small fee. Journalists and media members with access to these databases will be able to search databases for relevant information or story ideas. In some cases, these sites will also distribute your press release to journalists or send your release to industry-related sites or news hubs. It’s a good idea to upload your press releases to these sites so that your news is archived and available to the online community.

2. Targeting the Media

A really successful PR campaign will include directly contacting media sources. If you can, hire a PR firm. If not, check out Kristina Hill’s blog, Tips for Avoiding the PR Spam Zone. Cultivating a good working relationship with print and broadcast journalists – as well as any online journalists who work for relevant industry sites – is the best way to get your press release seen, and, mainly, your story told.

Good old fashioned etiquette and research go a long way in this business. Hill’s recommendations include:

1. Identifying the correct local or regional media contacts and paying close attention to their style of reporting
2. Finding out their preferred methods for pitching a story – maybe they only want emails, or maybe they want to be pitched on the phone, afternoons only.
3. After identifying local and regional media contacts, broaden your range to include national, international, blog, and online contacts.
4. Reviewing, updating, and double-checking your lists regularly – the easiest way to the trash bin is to send your press release to the wrong person or a deleted email address.

For more best-practice media relations tips, check out the Media Relations blog with suggestions straight from the horse’s mouth: journalists themselves.

Principles that have traditionally been used for search engine optimization are now being applied to a new wave of internet marketing techniques – social media optimization, or SMO. That’s using things like Myspace, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

But aren’t networks like Myspace only for the Generation Nexters? The typical Myspace encompasses a broad demographic, since Myspace is still currently the big kahuna of social networks. Should businesses use this Myspace thing after all, or just forget it?

The answer is definitely yes, especially if you already have a social media marketing campaign underway and you have a little time to dedicate to updating your profiles. Companies who feel that they don’t have enough time for Myspace, or that there isn’t a need for a business profile on Myspace should consider the following:

1. Word of Mouth

Any business revolves around one thing: relations. Today, most companies operate using traditional modes of communication, mainly telephones and email. And Myspace can be used as just another mode of communication to link with current, past, and potential customers. With Myspace, you build your community by adding friends. And then their friends can link to your profile as well. Features like bulletins are used in the same way as email – only it blankets your entire “friend” base at once. For instance, you can post a bulletin about a current promotion and have it appear on your entire community’s homepage as soon as they log in. By providing content that is entertaining and useful, you can start connecting and building relationships with clients using new, internet-based communication tools.

2. Search Engine Optimization

Search engines pick up Myspace pages – what better way to multiply your internet presence by having an page, in addition to your website, where users can go and check out your business.

3. Pictures and Video

Engage your target audience by uploading pictures of yourself, your offices, your products, your logo, and even printable coupons or whatever you feel is relevant – it will give your audience a better understanding of who you are and what you can offer. There’s also an option for you to upload video to your page. Myspace videos can become viral, meaning that if one user likes it, they recommend it to their friends, and then their friends’ friends, and so on.

4. Company Overview

Your Myspace profile is an extension of your business. You can customize your profile to match your company’s colors, and give users a detailed overview of your company and your product offerings. Having your business on Myspace allows you to market your brand to over 100 million current users.
Ultimately, the decision is yours: Only you know your business’ specific needs and your specific client demographic. Myspace may or may not be the right fit. For more reading about Social Media Optimization and to determine if Myspace is right for your business, check out Associate Content’s article, Using Myspace to Promote a Company’s Visibility.

With all the push for businesses to invest in and create social media marketing campaigns, more and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon. And this is definitely a good thing. But there is a common misconception that a social media marketing campaign can yield highly scalable results in a short period of time. Yet this is something that needs major clarification.

The fact is, it’s just not feasible to completely quantify the results of your social media marketing campaign.

It’s an issue that www.doshdosh.com draws attention to in this blog about ROI and social media. The blog explores the benefits of social media marketing, and how to use it to your advantage. But most importantly, it says that the results of your SMM efforts are “not direct and immediate.”

What does this mean? Social media marketing is a great tool when used properly – it just takes a little time and TLC before the results can be seen. To some degree, results can be measured by paying attention to the number of hits to your websites from social profiles, social bookmarking sites, forums, and other sites where you are connecting to your audience through SMM.

However, the difficult part to measure is the “general PR effect” of your campaign – meaning you have no way of knowing who passes your information around or who remembered your brand name weeks later after reading a cool article on Digg. Unfortunately, without personally tracking each customer down and insisting they tell you exactly how your social media marketing campaign has affected them, it’s hard to get true tracking on your campaign.

So what do you do?
Even though collecting complete stats for your SMM campaign can be tricky, you can still get a good feel for what’s working. First, you need dedicate yourself to giving each SMM tactic a good run. Keep at it. Since your campaign typically won’t start a buzz overnight, push your campaign hard for six months to a year. Keep your social profiles updated, post blogs often, respond to any feedback you get, and build as many relationships as you can. The longer you push, the more of a presence you will create in the industry. Establish your brand in every way you can then “measure” which of your techniques are working best.

After a year, you should be able to concentrate on the areas that are drawing the most attention. If your online articles are getting tons of feedback, devote your time to writing more of them. If people are swarming to your LinkedIn profile, keep on connecting with them. Maximize your time and campaign by focusing on the marketing outlets that are specifically working for you, and you’re likely to watch your clientele grow immensely.

Now that it’s being recognized as legitimate, everyone’s clamoring for social media marketing services. Savvy business owners are looking to social media marketing for higher website traffic, larger profits and the increased brand visibility everyone’s shouting from the rooftops about.

But what about online reputation management? That’s one part of social media marketing that sometimes gets lost among those other benefits, which are often perceived as being more lucrative. How could you possibly know what everyone’s saying about your company in the far-reaching corners of the Internet? What does it even matter? Well, it matters plenty. One disgruntled customer can now be heard far and wide, often negating the effects of all the money you’ve spent dumped into your social media marketing campaign.

Web 2.0 has given customers their voice back. It’s no longer David vs. Goliath when a consumer is mistreated or has an unpleasant experience with a company. Web 2.0 has evened the playing field and returned power to the consumer. Unsatisfied consumers won’t hesitate to log onto sites like Consumerist, hit the comments section, and start driving nails into your company’s coffin. Or they go to forums or networking sites and post negative reviews. If particularly vitriolic, one review can unspool the five positive reviews of your company posted directly above it. It might not be fair – that bad experience might have been the result of a bad-apple employee that has since been let go – but that review is there.

Blog and forum members visit these sites because they are particularly concerned with quality of product and experience. They’ve got a little bit of a watchdog complex in them. So when customers get on there and complain, they’re doing so to the most attentive audience possible.

What does this mean? You’ve got to fight for your reputation. And you need to be proactive about it. Start a customer loyalty campaign that encourages recent clients to post positive reviews, or at least search for and respond (appropriately) to any negative reviews posted. These responses can be vital, because it gives readers a chance to see that your company cares enough to respond to consumer complaints.

So if you haven’t started already, I highly recommend getting out there and claiming your company’s reputation and identity. That way, any negative review that finds itself posted will have less steam because your company will already be established as a clean, fair, and caring company.

Check out this post over at Duct Tape Marketing. I like what the blogger says about how everyone now has two brands: online and offline. The post lists 34 online reputation management sites and is extremely comprehensive. Check them out and get started on protecting your company’s most important asset: its image.

Copyblogger’s “Four Ways to Target Online Buyers with the Right Words” has a great analysis/advice section for marketing to eco-friendly, socially conscious, tree-hugging types (among other types of consumers). Green is the new black, and it seems a lot of businesses are trying to revamp their marketing efforts to promote a more “green” brand.

But some of these companies are just using this newest wave in the green revolution as a cheap advertising and PR marketing opportunity. Greenwashing – deliberately misleading customers about the environmental practices or ingredients in a product – has become so prevalent that the Federal Trade Commission is getting involved (some good examples of greenwashing can be found at NPR’s Greenwashing blog). Years ago, the FTC laid out clear rules for using words like “biodegradable,” “ozone safe,” and “ozone friendly” on product labels.

A lot has changed since then, and the FTC’s new green guidelines for advertising are eagerly anticipated and long overdue. Look out for the new FTC guidelines in the coming year if you plan to market in the green industry.

A confession: I’m a wannabe treehugger. It’s so easy to get caught up in the do-good rush of a label that is Cruelty Free! Sustainable! Free range! Naturally derived! Renewable! But in actuality, these words have no real definitions, and their use is not currently regulated by the FTC (however, if you see the “USDA Organic” seal on a product, you know it’s been certified as the real deal).

So as the American consumer becomes more jaded in this greenwashed society – especially when corporations like Shell, BP, and GE are regularly accused of greenwashing their marketing campaigns – here are some tips about giving treehuggers what they want to hear (and generally just good marketing advice):

1. Be Specific

Forget generic claims like “All-natural” – it’s an obvious greenwashing term that means nothing. But, if you can be very, very detailed about your product, your company may gain some points in the green revolution. Consider the difference between labeling your product as “All-natural” versus “Our products are grown at our farms in Greensburg, Kansas. We don’t use pesticides or toxic chemicals of any kind, and we harvest everything ourselves so that we can deliver our best product straight to you.” The latter is obviously more detailed, and seemingly more reliable than the nebulous, broad-reaching, unsubstantiated claim.

2. Be Relevant

Don’t include irrelevant “eco-friendly” features about your products – unless your product is new or the feature is new. For example, claiming that your paper towels are “100% Biodegradable” is irrelevant – all paper towels are biodegradable. And a certain major beverage company, in an advertisement for their new “eco” water bottle, claims that the bottle is “100% Recyclable” – which is great, but the bottle has always been recyclable, and all plastic bottles are recyclable anyway.

Don’t drive people away with silly or misleading information; instead, include information like this only if your product is new or improved.

3. Be Transparent

In other words, don’t try to hide anything. If you want to gain reputability in the green community, always refer consumers to your website on your product label – true eco-conscious consumers will check! Make sure everything, such as all ingredients used, your refinement and manufacturing processes, company affiliates and associations, philosophy, and pictures, are clearly spelled out on your website. It’s not always easy to make a name for yourself in the green community, but after establishing your credibility and earning consumer’s respect, you’ll have a long and prosperous relationship with your devoted followers.