How Can You Effectively Pitch Media These Days?

It’s pretty clear pitching has changed drastically in the past five years.  When speaking to a group of media pros in the Columbus area, I learned a lot about how our role as public relations professionals as changed, and more importantly, how the media want to be contacted.

Most savvy PR practitioners have been strategically utilizing social media for the past few years.  We’re listening to our audiences, we’re gathering news, we’re promoting our events and announcements, we’re staying on top of the latest trends, etc.  However, I remember the time when it seemed like we still needed to cater to those “old-school” journalists when we were pitching media outlets like newspapers, radio stations, etc.  It was assumed journalists were more reluctant to take your tweet or direct messages seriously – they probably wanted a phone call (or something else entirely old fashioned).

At the PRSA monthly luncheon this week, any lingering ideas I had of stuck-in-time journalists were erased.  I listened to editors, directors and reporters from the Columbus Dispatch, WOSU, 10TV, WTVN and Business First all confirm they want email pitches.  In fact, some said they want DMs on Twitter.  I could not agree more – the immediacy and effectiveness of hitting a media contact on Twitter is far more efficient than sending them one of 300 emails they are getting that day, or calling them (when they are likely too busy to answer or out of the office).

When you start following media contacts on Twitter or LinkedIn, you begin to establish a relationship with that person.  You are paying attention to what events they are covering, RTing their articles, or replying to questions they post.  (You can even build a list of media contacts that you want to follow daily in a dashboard like Hootsuite or TweetDeck).  And vice versa, if that contact is following you, they can see you are a knowledgeable source who posts relevant information.  So, when you send that DM, they are going to pay attention to what you have to share.

Ideally, the best pitching strategy for today’s busy media:

• Send them a relevant, targeted email.  According to one media pro, format your subject line like this: “subject, verb, object.” For example, “Tressel leaves OSU.”
• After you send this email, send them a direct message on Twitter, and let them know you just sent them an email about Tressel leaving OSU.  Reporters always want an exclusive, so if you can, give it to them… and doing it via Twitter DM is an immediate, private way to do so.

Again, this strategy works best when you’ve been following this media contact previously.  So get out there and follow your target media contacts.  Build that relationship, offer them exclusives and get those targeted, concise pitches flowing!

**Special thanks to all the media who participated in the PRSA luncheon this week; the information was very valuable!

Tags: media, pitching, pitching media, public relations, twitter

Why SEO Matters for Writers and PR Pros

You might think search engine optimization (SEO) and public relations are entirely different avenues for online marketing. In fact, the world of SEO might be entirely foreign and uninteresting to you. My education in public relations and journalism never touched upon SEO. However, to be an effective writer and communicator today, it is essential to have a basic understanding of SEO and how it affects your writing.

As communications and public relations professionals, we are constantly writing – press releases, executive bios, newsletters, white papers, case studies, award submissions, social media updates, etc. All of your writing should be optimized for SEO purposes. Think about it – even if its original purpose is a hard copy, most of the content you write these days will end up online in some form.

Consider your goals for whatever content you are writing. It may be to increase awareness, create buzz around an event or topic, or inform your audience of news. These goals should coincide with another very important goal for your business: to be found online. When people are looking for information on a topic, event or company, they are likely browsing online (and chances are good it’s from their mobile device).

Therefore, in order to be found online, all the content you write should be optimized for SEO purposes. Make sure those keywords that people are searching to find your organization are in your headline. Use keywords throughout your social media updates. Beef up that first paragraph in your white paper with some keywords about your topic. In order for communicators and public relations professionals to have our work found and read online, we have to make it SEO-friendly.

If this is something you are struggling with, or you want to know more about SEO, you should check out our Webbed Marketing University series. The first session is an intro to SEO, and will highlight some of the basics to help you meet your business goals… even as a public relations or communications professional.

Web Conversions – New Google Analytics Tracking

Event Tracking as a Goal in the New Version of Google Analytics

Previously, there were three options for goals in Google Analytics: a pageview, the time a visitor spent on the site, and the number of pages a visitor viewed.  With the new version of Google Analytics, you can now track events as web conversions or “Goals”.  This opens up your goal tracking to many more possibilities.  Here are a few:

• Watch a video
• Listen to a recording
• Share content via social media
• Download a PDF
• Comment on a blog post
• Rate a product
• Track links to another website
• Fill out a form
• Interact with an application

What is the benefit of this?

For PPC campaigns in Adwords, these new event goals can be imported as conversions in AdWords.  Now you can see which campaigns and keywords are engaging your audience and refine it down to the ad group level for your search engine marketing campaigns.  Previously, to track a form submission as a goal, the form would need a unique “thank you” page. Now, we can track the click of the submit button as an event goal even if there is not a unique thank you page URL.

For search engine optimization clients, this goal tracking provides even more insight into how users are interacting with your site and increasing the view into engagement for the site variables (downloads, video views, etc). For example, you can track when a visitor views a video, and you can specify the amount of time that a person needs to watch the video in order for it to count as a goal completion.

On the social media side, you will be able to determine how users are interacting with your via social media networks. Learn how often they are sharing your content and which pages are most relevant to social media users.

Setting up the Goal

There are four event components that can be set up as a goal condition: a category, action, label, and value.  At least one of these components must be defined but you have the option of defining all four.  Think about all of the event goals you would like to set up before starting.  It’ll make it easier to organize your goals into categories, actions, and/or labels that make sense and are consistent across your site.  Then, choose a goal value, either the value you assigned to the event when you set it up or set a constant value.

Keep in mind that setting up events as goals requires you to add code to the website element you want to track.  So, either you or an IT person will need access to edit the website code in order to benefit from the new event goal tracking.



Tags: conversion tracking, google, google analytics, internet marketing, metrics, online marketing, ppc, search engine optimization, SEO, social media

Webbed Marketing to Start Summer Series of Online Training with Webbed Marketing University

Columbus, Ohio Internet marketing agency announces online training program, Webbed Marketing University, will begin a three-part series in June.

Webbed Marketing, a social media marketing and search engine optimization company in central Ohio, announces its Webbed Marketing University (WMU) summer session to begin on June 1, 2011, with a three-part webinar series focused on SEO, social media and online public relations.

The Internet marketing training is an ideal resource for professionals to gain a better understanding of online marketing, and how it will help their business.  The program is designed to be beneficial for professionals who are new to social media or SEO, as well as those who already have a grasp, and just need strategic direction.

“WMU is largely successful because we cater to the attendees’ business goals,” Bill Balderaz, Webbed Marketing founder and CEO, said.  “These sessions are available in the convenience of a webinar, but the individual attention to and discussion of YOUR business’s goals and objectives sets WMU apart from other online training programs.”

The 1.5 hour webinars will be held in a series of three months.  The first session will cover SEO, and will utilize attendees’ business pages as examples.  This session is led by Ryan Whiteside, Webbed Marketing’s SEO specialist, and Tommy Redmond, Webbed Marketing’s SEO Manager.  The second session will discuss the latest trends and updates in Facebook, and how businesses can use them for their business.  A lot of organizations have jumped on the Facebook bandwagon, but don’t have a clear understanding of their goals, or the purpose of the Facebook page.  Rebecca Roebuck, Webbed Marketing’s Social Media Manager, will host this webinar.  The final webinar in the series will cover online public relations and social media, led by Webbed Marketing’s online public relations specialist, Courtney Cooper.  The webinar will focus on the latest trends and tools for social media and online public relations best-practices.

Wednesday, July 13 at 2 p.m., “Introduction to SEO”

Wednesday, August 10 at 2 p.m., “Facebook – trends, updates and best practices for your business”

Wednesday, September 14 at 2 p.m., “Online Public Relations and Social Media”

For more information on the webinars and to register for the series, please visit http://www.webbedmarketing.com/wmu.html.

About Webbed Marketing

Webbed Marketing is a team of experts in the Internet marketing field. Their goal is to grow businesses through the application of Internet resources. The firm specializes in search engine optimization and marketing, as well as viral marketing services, word of mouth and buzz measurement and social media strategies. Visit www.webbedmarketing.com for more information.

How Connected Are You- Really?

In a professional, and personal, world where we are all “connected” via various social media platforms, social networking sites, etc., etc, I wonder how connected we really are. In the last two weeks, I’ve received e-mails from two friends from college, whom I’ve barely kept in touch with in the last two years. We were all in J-School together, and went our own ways for the real world. One of them, I randomly found and meet up with at a pub in London while I was living there (he too was working in Britain temporarily). The other, I spent many “girl’s night out” nights with in college, and worked with her on some class projects/organization work. Yep, we’re connected on LinkedIn, I follow them on Twitter, we’re friends on Facebook, blah, blah, blah.

However, I’m not connecting with them. Occasionally I’ll see one of their updates on a social network, but I don’t comment because, well, I haven’t actually talked to them for a couple years. The point is, BOTH of these friends e-mailed me when they noticed my name come across a press release that was pitched to their current employers. Random, right?

These “isn’t it a small world?” moments made me think about how often we are actually connecting with people. It’s so important to actually reach out to those you know…or knew… or want to know better. Every once in a while, go through your Twitter lists or your Facebook feed, and find someone you would genuinely like to drop a “hello, how ya doing?” to. It’ll be worth it… for you both. Who knows, maybe that will be your next client, business deal, etc. Don’t wait for opportunities- make your own.

5 Myths About Today’s News Release (and 5 Truths)

Public relations professionals are thoroughly trained in the art of writing a strong news release. Countless classes, workshops, presentations and articles have instilled in me the tried and true factors of a successful press release. Traditionally, your audience when writing a press release is the media, or maybe a public target audience. You want the public to act on the release- whether that’s donating money, attending an event, or some other call to action. Your goal when addressing the media with your press release is to catch their attention and intrigue them with your oh-so newsworthy information. Bottom line: you want them to cover the information in your press release.

As a young professional in the world of Internet marketing, my background in journalism and public relations has proven to be immensely useful. However, am I writing the same style of news release I wrote for all those classes and projects I completed in college? Most definitely not. Sometimes, I think people get the wrong idea about writing press releases today. Maybe it’s because people are so used to the “old-school” style, maybe they don’t think new formats are successful, or maybe they just don’t know times are a changing.

Regardless, here are 5 myths about news releases that every PR pro should know.

MYTHS:

1. You should always have the company name in the headline.

2. The media are waiting for your story and you should write as many company releases as possible.

3. The release should flow easily for the audience to read, with strong, relevant transitions.

4. Subheads are not necessary.

5. Vary your vocabulary and word usage.

REALITY:

1. You should always have the company name in the headline.

Of course, it’s OK to use your company name if it’s a company that people will be searching for. However, most people are not searching for your company by its name. Let’s say you are “Benny’s Pizza” in Marysville, Ohio. If someone is looking for a pizza shop, do you think they’re Googling “Benny?” Of course not. Your headline should include the words “pizza shop,” or something similar.

2. The media are waiting for your story and you should write as many company releases as possible.

The media are NOT waiting for your story. In fact, they likely don’t want your story unless it’s relevant and timely. Don’t bombard the media every week with releases that are not newsworthy; you will diminish your credibility as a PR pro, and the media will stop caring about what you send them.
If you do have something to promote to the media, try to be creative with your outlet. Maybe a press release isn’t your best option. Consider a video clip, a Twitter hashtag or even a viral competition. There are countless ways to get your news out there- a news release might not always be the best fit.

3. The release should flow easily for the audience to read, with strong, relevant transitions.

No longer does your news release need to read like a little story. It’s OK to have a strong lead paragraph with your key information, a quote, a few links, contact information and a boiler plate. The media online are looking for quick, easy-to-read information. The more concise and the easier it is for the reporter to pull your information, the better.

4. Subheads are not necessary.

Subheads are absolutely necessary and serve as an excellent way for search engines to pick up your keywords, and help you rank on page 1 of Google or Yahoo or Bing. If your headline includes several keywords, and you have an equally keyword-strong subhead, chances are good that the search engines will find you. Use subheads!

5. Vary your vocabulary and word usage.

Keywords, keywords, keywords. It’s crucial for you to understand what keywords people are searching to find information about your release. If your release is about a new club opening in Marysville, do your research and find out what people are searching to find things to do in downtown Marysville. Maybe they are searching “Marysville,” “Marysville happy hour specials,” “dance club,” “bars in Marysville.” Whatever it is, use those words; don’t try to get fancy and impress the readers with your ability to say the word “club” in eight different ways. Bottom line: use the words that people are searching to find the information in your release.

News and Pitching: Clearing Through the Clutter

Most of my days start with coffee, Twitter and Google Trends. I’m certain I’m not alone here- especially for all the PR and marketing folks out there. I wanted to address how we gather our news, where we are getting it and how we we are using it for our public relations role.

Most of us know how to filter through the clutter now. However, are you gathering your news from a variety of sources? At a recent PRSA luncheon, I heard CBS news correspondent, Bob Orr, speak on the importance of varying your news sources. He emphasized the value of gathering news from all outlets, and a variety of sources. Don’t just take one source’s word for it; pull together your own conclusions based on all the facts (and opinions) available. I couldn’t agree more with Bob.

After hearing Bob’s opinion on news sources, I’ve been thinking about how I pitch the media. Consider if, as a public relations pro, you are strategic with your media pitches. Do you do your homework and find the reporter who covers the beat that relates to your story? Do you research that reporter and discover how they want to be pitched (e-mail, phone, Twitter, etc.)? Are you following all relevant reporters on Twitter; and do you regularly engage with them?

Personally, I understand that maintaining media relationships can be forgotten or even “just postponed.” In a busy workday, something that does not have a deadline, like checking in with a reporter on Twitter, can seem unimportant. However, the benefit of keeping these connections is significant for your clients and your campaigns. I urge all public relations pros to make the extra effort to keep in contact with your media connections- even if you have to give yourself a deadline for it each week.

I was also thinking about the issue of finding the right outlet to pitch your story or client. So, if you are regularly connecting with the reporters that cover relevant beats for your needs, are they coming to you when they need a source? Of course, that would be ideal. However, what other ways do you find the reporter who needs you? Resources like HARO (Help a Reporter Out) are excellent for connecting journalists with the sources/experts they need. Outside of this, what else can we be doing? In today’s fast-paced, social media-obsessed culture, what is the best way to cut through the clutter and get your client that PR win?

This month, I challenge you to be aware of a few “common” PR tasks:

• Gather your news from a variety of sources and draw your own conclusions.
• Maintain consistent relationships with your media outlets.
• Creatively cut through the clutter to get your message to the appropriate outlets.

Best of luck- I hope these reminders will make us all better PR pros.

Who Says Social Media Killed the PR Star?

Why am I hearing, well, seeing via Twitter and PR blogs, so much about the field of public relations as a dying profession? Most arguments are based on the idea that social media is replacing public relations. Public relations, and PR stars, are most definitely not on their way out of the industry; in fact, I would argue we are critical for success, considering today’s economic status and general business culture.

Obviously, I’m an advocate of all-things social media. I don’t see how any public relations pro in today’s market could be against it. In fact, I recently travelled back to my alma mater, Ohio University, to speak on a panel at the PRSSA chapter meeting…in the legendary Scripps 111. Of course, plenty of students had questions about social media and its relationship to PR. These tools go hand-in-hand. As experts in public relations, it’s our job to adjust to changing trends and forms of communication as they pop up (not that I’m saying social media is merely a trend). At the panel session, I emphasized the importance of utilizing social media – personally and professionally. Today, the only way to keep up (and ahead) in the game of PR is to understand, practice and monitor social media efforts. Monitoring and proving value is the critical point to remember.

This concept of monitoring and proving value took me right back to my own seat in Scripps 111 as a student in my intro to PR classes. Since my freshman year, I was engrained with the idea that public relations was “a two-way communication between an organization and its publics.” The typical tactics included press releases, event planning, crisis communication, strategic print materials, etc. What was the so-hard-to-prove bottom line that my professors begged for in every assignment? VALUE. RESULTS. NUMBERS.

The exact same is true of utilizing social media for our PR efforts – from two-way communication to finding the value of PR. Social media is a tool to implement public relations plans in today’s marketplace. It is a form of communication that is vital for executing a successful PR campaign – if you can prove the value, that is.

In the end, PR is not dead. Are some old tactics and forms of communication (see my last WM post) dead? Of course. That’s part of the job – know your audience and adapt. Social media is an exciting new tool in our PR toolbox and, with the right knowledge and skills, any PR professional can provide value and results with social media.

Tags: public relations, social media

PR and Face-to-Face Interaction…or Ear-to-Ear

So, we all know the affect of social media on our professional, and even personal, lives. The ability to immediately “hit” someone on instant messenger with a question, shoot a text message without disrupting whatever the recipient is doing or even submitting a tweet to contact someone.

If you are keeping up on communication today, you’re mastering these skills on a daily basis. However, I’ve noticed that some communications pros are actually NOT accepting these outlets so effortlessly. At first, I assumed it was a generational issue; I was using Facebook at its early stages, chatting on AIM was a great after-school activity in middle school, and I regularly had to pay my parents back for going over my monthly texting limit in high school. Social media is second nature to me and my peers. But, I was very surprised when I realized this lack of social media adoption is not solely a generational dilemma.

The argument I’ve often heard is that tweeting , e-mailing, texting and IMing can’t replace the value of a phone call, or even better, face-to-face interaction. I can’t help but question this – and not as a teenager IMing my friends, but as a public relations professional. How much do you really gain from, say, a phone call? My top four arguments for why social media interaction is equally effective, and maybe more effective in some cases, than phone calls and meetings, especially in today’s business world:

• We’re busy. So much time is saved without drawn-out phone conversations. Get to the point in writing, and respond to the point in writing- no nonsense.
• Our audience doesn’t want to be bothered. Give them your message in an outlet that allows them to come back to it when it’s convenient for them. A phone call isn’t always time-appropriate, and voicemails often go unanswered when we get busy.
• You can efficiently contact more than one person at a time. Of course, we can do this with a conference call, but then everyone has to take turns talking (or just talk over each other), and you always have a few people who just aren’t comfortable speaking up in that group-call situation. One e-mail, CCed with all the people you want involved, is much more efficient. Tweeting a message to one person allows hundreds of others to see it, share it, and spread the word. The same goes for all other social media outlets- share one message with your entire audience instantly.
• Social Media is Cheaper. Whether you are comparing it to long distance phone call expenses, conference call fees, or the travel costs associated with face-to-face interaction, social media devices allow for quick, cheap communication – typically whatever the built-in cost for Internet services are at your organization. Social media provides an easy way to cut costs for those who are scraping the barrel.

So, the bottom line:

Making your calls less frequent + Making your tweets , e-mails, Facebook messages, LinkedIn updates and IMs more frequent = More efficient communication in an industry that is constantly changing.

Tags: public relations, social media, webbed marketing

What’s Your Brand?

Every successful marketing or public relations practitioner understands the importance of researching, creating and implementing a successful brand.  It’s part of your job to discover what that brand should be, and how to make it appealing, targeted and ultimately, drive revenue for a company.

Take a minute to consider your personal brand.  How much effort do you put in to developing or monitoring your own brand?  Of course, this isn’t something we often think about it, but its importance is immeasurable.  If you are not proactively representing your skills, personality and work ethic, who will?

In the past few weeks, I’ve cast my attention on personal brands.  I’ve noticed the various outlets professionals use to showcase themselves, as well as the way their brand is received by their audience. 

I’ve noticed that a lot of professionals seem to “toot their own horn.”  I’ve always believed that if you’re the one doing your own bragging, you aren’t that big of a deal.  If I hear about the moves you’re making from others, or I see it for myself, I’m thoroughly impressed.  The bottom line is that creating your brand has to be strategic; you can’t just brag about how sweet you are to everyone you meet.

So, by doing great work, networking in your industry (and not just with the “right” people, but all people), and building strong, lasting relationships with clients and co-workers, will your brand build itself?  Not necessarily.  However, consistency, a confident presence, recognizing what you do not know, and the ability to adapt in a constantly changing industry are tools that will leave you standing in the spotlight.

Don’t get carried away with earning recognition; get carried away with how people perceive you.  Eventually, you will be noticed for the work, but in the meantime, focus on fulfilling the brand you want to be portraying.  There are plenty of marketing and public relations professionals out there- all chasing that paper.  Why is your brand different; what’s your story; how do you stand out in the crowd (without shouting your own praises)? 

Today, think about your personal brand, and take a few minutes to develop that image before you crack in to that client proposal.

Tags: brand, branding, personal brand, public relations