Using Unconventional PR to Gain Exposure

July 20, 2008 By 4 Comments

In my last post I mentioned that David Meerman Scott, in his book and ebook, suggests that we should write press releases about any topic and not just when we have big corporate news such as a new product launch.  This got me thinking about the various unconventional uses of internet PRs I’ve seen at my company.  Two examples come to mind:

Example #1: We had a client who used our company to write and distribute a PR for them because they were in the final interview phases with a major organization in their field.  The purpose of the press release was to gain them positive exposure on the internet when the firm searched for them.  We wrote the PR highlighting previous accomplishments, articles that had been written about them, and their education…basically a resume.

Result #1: In 15 days the client received 29,000 headline impressions, 400+ fullpage reads/downloads of the PR, and it was picked up by 50+ websites, blogs, journals, etc.  The client ended up receiving the job offer that they had been being recruited for.

This was an unconventiontional use of PR because it was used to enhance their online reputation and it was used to gain exposure to obtain a new position.

Example #2: I have distributed PRs for my restaurant, Caminito Steakhouse, when we have hosted beer and wine dinners

Results #2: We received similar stats as my first example.  But more importantly to me, due in part to our PR efforts, when you search Google for “argentinean steakhouse” we appear as the 2nd search result on the 1st page, 3 times on the first page and 13 times on the first 10 pages.  This is out of over 899,000 results when searching that term!  We are not nearly as big or in as big of a market as many of the steakhouses listed on that search result but, because of our SEO efforts and using PR in a traditionally unconventional method, we have seen an uptick in customers, website hits and reservations via our website.

Now, I know some may think that the way I utilized internet-based PR for the restaurant is conventional because something like a beer dinner is similar to a product launch for a typical company.  However, it’s unconventional because most restaurants, especially in smaller markets, don’t actively include PR in their marketing plans…if they even have a marketing plan at all!

These are just 2 examples out of many which I’m sure exist out there.  So I turn the question over to you…what are some of the traditionally unconventional ways you have either used or read about using press releases to gain exposure?

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Old School vs New School PR in a Web 2.0 World

July 16, 2008 By 7 Comments

It amazes me how many companies still do not harness all that the Web 2.0 world has to offer when distributing press releases and creating industry buzz.  Let’s take a look at the old school vs new school approaches to distributing press releases.

The old way of marketing – Traditionally marketing teams would put together a press release and send it to a handful of newspapers, magazines and radio stations.  The press release might be mentioned/written about and those audiences who subscribe to the newspaper/magazine or who listen to that radio station would be exposed to the content of the PR.  If the company hires a reputable marketing firm, they may guarantee that their PR will receive more exposure due to the reputation and network of that firm.  But, how would they reach all of the other possible interested folks who weren’t part of one of those groups mentioned above? Simply put: they wouldn’t.  This translates to lost opportunities for the company in developing prospective customers and helping the company to push their brand to a mass-audience.

The new way of marketing – Nowadays companies who embrace Web 2.0 have so many other available tools besides the traditional vehicles for reaching prospective customers.  Now companies can have a website, blog, social networking pages such as MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, and also reach audiences into the millions with their PR campaign – if they know how to properly target that PR for the internet.

Besides becoming diversified on the World Wide Web, companies have to debunk the old myth that you only publish press releases when you have BIG news such as a new product release, corporate merger or acquisition, etc.  Companies should publish press releases about anything that they have going on.  The more press releases you get distributed, the more your company (and brand) will stay at the tops of the major search engines when prospective customers search for your company and/or products.

David Meerman Scott, in his book The New Rules of Marketing & PR suggests writing a PR about anything from your CEO speaking at a conference to winning an award or publishing a white paper.  Whatever the subject, the goal is to keep your company in front of prospective and current customers.

Resources on becoming a new school PR expert:

  • I highly recommend purchasing The New Rules of Marketing & PR.
  • While waiting for the book to arrive, download and read the condensed ebook which focuses on web-based press releases with suggestions on how to properly optimize your PRs for the web.
  • Brian Solis’ PR Tips for Startups is an excellent resource for an overview on the history of PR and where we are today in the Web (PR) 2.0 world.  Solis provides thought-provoking and actionable tips for the reader to implement.
  • Another resource from David Meerman Scott is his Gobbledygook Manifesto which will help you to analyze your corporate marketing and PR materials, remove meaningless catch-phrases, and communicate with your prospective and current customers in way which they will understand.

Becoming proficient at maximizing social media, web-based PR and marketing, and understanding all of the available tools to you will not happen overnight.  It will take time to build these networks and is a space that is ever-changing to meet the speed of technology.  But, don’t be afraid of it, embrace it and utilize these resources to help you start understanding the Web (PR) 2.0 world.

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A Report Card for Your Press Release

July 11, 2008 By 2 Comments

I was looking through the Web Ink Now archives tonight and came across a great new tool in helping you publish the best PR possible.  Whether you’re brand new at writing press releases or an experienced professional, HubSpot’s PressRelease Grader can help you improve your PR copy.  The tool will provide you with a “marketing effectiveness score” after analyzing the language, links, “search engine optimization characteristics” and content of your copy.

The best part is it’s FREE and simple to use!  Just copy and paste your PR into the system, add some other basic information such as company name and email, and you’re immediately provided with your score and suggestions on how to improve your copy.

Though not hard to use, the team over at HubSpot have even created a how-to video for their new tool:

YouTube Preview Image

Head over to PressRelease Grader now and see how your latest press release scores.

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Use Google Alerts to Monitor Your Company’s Online Presence

July 6, 2008 By 2 Comments

I just came across a great article by Mike Volpe on using Google Alerts to monitor your company’s online presence.

Use Mike’s suggestions in conjunction with the information on my previous post to gain some direction in developing your online reputation management strategy.

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Monitoring Your Company’s Online Reputation

July 2, 2008 By 3 Comments

An increasing concern among professionals, new grads, and entreprenuers concerns establishing a positive web presence.  The explosion of social networking through blogs, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc have caused many companies to become increasingly concerned with their online reputation.

If you provide services online or are just a small entreprenuer without a website, people will always have a say about you and/or your services.  While the internet is a great medium for getting information about your products and services to the masses, irate or jealous competitors can use the internet to express their opinion(s).  Businesses take great care in protecting their names and brands all over the years as the brand, image and reputation of the company is important to its success or failure.

Nowadays one irate customer or disgruntled employee can post negative comments on different forums, blog sites, wiki pages, etc. which can cause major problems for a company in a short period of time.  This negativity can spread quickly, from search engines, blogs, forums and even to YouTube!   The explosion of using viral marketing to distribute a message online can be a vital part of a company’s marketing plan however that same concept can be used against them.  A negative or misinterpreted message which spreads rapidly through the Internet can take years to fix.  So how can an entrepreneur, company, new graduate, public official, or anyone else concerned about their online reputation monitor against this?

Monitoring your online reputation isn’t as hard as it seems.

Here are some tips on how to start managing your online reputation:

1. Subscribe to Google Alerts. Use your name, your company’s name, and/or particular important phrases as your keyword(s).  Google Alerts will automatically notify you via email if a blog post, forum post, article or other form of digital media has been published based on those keywords.  You even have the option to set alerts daily, weekly or monthly.

2. You can also subscribe to Yahoo News alerts and use the same keywords that you used with Google alerts.

3. Publish web-based press releases, a blog, and/or post comments on various forums and blogs.  This will help to push down anything negative with information that you control!

These tools shouldn’t be used only if/when you find negative information online about you, your company, your products or services.  You should implement these tools to proactively build a positive online reputation.

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