If you have researched your industry and developed a creative PR
plan to promote your products, services or company you are ready
to start promoting. Your research has indicated the best places
to appear online and you're hoping that your creative PR plan
will work and get you listed. So how do you achieve your online
public relations campaign goals? Tenacity.
You know where you need to appear, right? So go get listed and
don't take no for an answer. The key to successful online PR
campaigns is the tenacity with which you approach your goals. Of
course, without knowing the "Rules of the Game" for each medium
you are trying to get your message to appear in you might be
just chasing your tail. Each online medium has its own unique
rules that you must abide by in order to be successful with your
online PR campaign.
Here is a quick Rule guide for newsgroups/forums, press
releases, email inquiries, etc.
Newsgroups:
Find the right forum - If you sell Widgets, it won't do you much
good to spend time in the Gidget forum. Thorough research will
keep you up to date on the most used and visited newsgroups and
forums and you should participate in only those that might be
constructive for your organization to participate. Instead of
being a member of hundreds of forums, it's best to focus on
those industry leading forums that can impact the image of your
business.
Lurk before posting - Unless you have some social disorder which
compels you to speak out of turn without knowing much about your
audience or the topic at hand, you should always lurk before
posting in forums or newsgroups. The reason for this essential
rule should be obvious: if you know a lot of information about
the topics being discussed and the people that are suggesting
them you are better positioned to be well respected in that
forum. Always take advantage of any "Introduce Yourself"
sections and make an effort to inquire about other people, their
products as well as the questions that they introduce for
discussison in the forum.
Share only your expertise - If you've started a website you
probably did it because you have some expertise in something. If
you are contributing to forums or newsgroups, always present
your site as an expert within an industry. Put simply, remember
that "What you say, says a lot about you!" Focus on providing
helpful information in a timely manner and you'll achieve expert
status over time. Doing so can result in reams of qualified
traffic for a long time to come.
Respond online and offline - Want to really be taken seriously?
Send other members personal messages. Member forums usually
provide some means of contacting other members. Build
partnerships and relationships that are mutually beneficial;
work together for online PR success.
Don't advertise - There are too many newsgroups and forums to
count. Just a handful in fact for even the most popular areas of
interest. So it's important not to alienate your audience. Take
great care to craft a message that will initiate discussion and
not directly advertise your products. People come to newsgroups
and forums for information, not advertising. So take the first
step and start giving the people what they want. That will put
you right in front!
Use a Signature file - Remember to "Tell 'em what you told 'em"
within a Sig or signature file. Signature files are what follows
any message and is a excellent way to reiterate any point. Most
forums and newsgroups enable you. This message is created by
the, who else, creator of the message. This is the perfect
opportunity to "sell" what you do. Promoting a new e-book this
week? Mention it to your readers and date it. Tell them you'll
give them a discount if they saw that ad and signed up with that
week.
Press Releases More mistakes are made with press releases in a
company's communication efforts than any other. This is because
of a deep lack of understanding about what press releases should
accomplish as well as a deep lack of knowledge about how to go
about accomplishing your goals through online press release
distribution.
-- Follow AP Style - The AP Stylebook is a must-have when you
write copy for online press releases. There are many good
resources available to check your writing style with that of the
recognized norm.
-- Inverted Pyramid - The Inverted pyramid style of press
release writing means simply to include your most important
information at the top of the press release. This is a hold-over
from the non-digital days and still serves as an essential tenet
of press releases that succeed.
-- Creative Presentation; but Newsworthy Releases - The single
biggest mistake most releases make is not being newsworthy to
anyone but your own organization. A creative presentation or
outlook on something that is happening within your business or
industry is much more likely to catch the attention of the
media. Will new legislation affect your industry? How does your
company solve some problem currently in the news?
-- Include Contact Information: Make sure that media have access
to your with updated contact information available on your
release.
Succeeding with press releases online is simple when you also
follow some simple guidelines that should be illustrated within
your online pr plan. Collecting Media contact information and
building media relationships with journalists, reporters or
influential media people is essential and should be conducted
with the utmost respect for the time and attention of the media.
You waste both the media's and your own time contacting people
that can't do anything for you When you know who the most
influential people are within your industry (which is what your
research should tell you) and build relationships with them,
communicating freely with them at every reasonable opportunity,
you are more apt to secure access to the select group of
publishers and hopefully their larger audiences - in the least
garnering some "eye time." Then, when you send newsworthy
information to those that are open to receiving information
about your company and its products or services, you'll see your
site mentioned frequently within publications of your select
industry.
Email Inquiries: When contacting any one via email; it's better
to be safe than sorry. That's why you should follow these
recognized principles when contacting someone via email:
-- Be Honest, Polite and Succinct, Be Flashy only in your words:
There is typically very little need to send HTML emails outside
of advertising. If you're looking for tips on sending
unsolicited email, this article is not for you (plus, you should
know better!). When you are trying to contact someone to make a
proposal or mention your company to them, it's good to be
honest, polite and succinct. The media is using email less and
less to absorb information, so the more your message seems legit
the more it might generate interest from your list of
influential media. Make sure to let them know that you know who
they are, what they write about and most importantly how they
can help you. Don't make claims you can't support and make an
effort to be as succinct as possible and ever-free of blatant
advertising.
About the author:
Peter Prestipino is the founder and principal of SCG - Swirling
Circle Online PR Group providing Internet solutions to small and
medium sized businesses through online PR efforts such as
mini-website development, link building, press releases and
product reviews. For more information, visit
http://www.SwirlingCircle.com.
