Tag Archives: online pr

5 Instagram Tips for PR Pros

Posted on September 14, 2012 by | 5 Comments

Be interesting, be useful …. or be ignored. Image via our own Victoria Harres.

Each week, Dear Gracie answers questions from ProfNet Connect readers with advice from our network of nearly 50,000 ProfNet experts. Has there been a question burning in your mind lately, something you’ve been wondering that none of your colleagues can answer? Please send it to grace.lavigne@prnewswire.com

Dear Gracie,

Instagram has been around for a couple of years, but seems to have exploded in popularity recently. How can PR pros use Instagram to increase publicity for clients?

Improving Images

**********

Dear Improving Images:

Four ProfNet experts provide a snapshot:

Instagram is a social network where users can share photos and comment or like their friends’ photos, explains Jeff Peters, social media specialist at The Halo Group.

It offers users a simple, easy way to take and edit photographs, and then post them across all major social media portals, says Seth Grugle, digital and social media specialist for Much and House Public Relations. It borrows the #hashtag concept from Twitter and aggregates friends like Facebook.

An artsy shot that benefited from tinkering with Instagram filters, by PR Newswire’s Sarah Skerik

“One of the most interesting aspects of Instagram is that it’s not really a ‘site,’ but lives almost purely on mobile,” notes Peters.

“While it’s possible for just about any brand to use Instagram, the platform itself is most appealing to brands and industries that are more visually oriented,” Peters explains. “Instagram helps create a visual connection between a brand and a consumer or potential customer.”

For example, a fashion line could post photos of inspirational clothing patterns, a car manufacturer could post photos of challenging roadways, or a celebrity could post behind-the-scene shots that grant followers access to sights and scenes they’d never get to see otherwise, says Grugle.

PR professionals should seriously consider using the social network to complement client announcements and press releases, just as they do with Twitter and Facebook, says Jennifer DeAngelis, a PR account executive with InkHouse.

“If a picture is truly worth a thousand words, then the visual imagery projected through Instagram translates well beyond a 140-character maximum,” says Grugle.

Tips and Suggestions for PR Pros Using Instagram:

1. Check Out Instagram’s Business Page, suggests Peters. Instagram for Businesses provides information on how to get started, examples of successful approaches, advertising and marketing opportunities, and more.

2. Consider Your Audience. “Are your brand’s fans using Instagram?” asks Kevin Dugan, veteran marketer with The Empower Group. “If your audience isn’t on Instagram, do you need to be?”

“Don’t just use Instagram to use it or because it’s positioned as ‘hot,’” agrees Peters. “Make sure that you’re giving your audience content that they want to see and interact with.”

3. Post Appropriate Content. “Understand why you want to use Instagram, how you’re going to use it, what you want to get out of it and how your audience uses it,” says Peters.

“Don’t forget that, while pictures are great, substance is critical,” stresses Dugan. “What are you trying to convey?”

4. Don’t Just Post — Interact, says Peters. Some of the most popular brands on Instagram use behind-the-scene photos, photo hunts or contests. For example, fashion retailer Free People integrates Instagram directly into their product pages.

5. Get Creative, says Dugan. “Optimize the content for the format and break out of traditional molds.” Here are a few examples of unique approaches:

Instagram is also often mistakenly overlooked for various types of announcements that a company might make, such as a new product, a new hire, an upcoming event or a recent award, says DeAngelis in her post How We Can Use Instagram in Public Relations.

Gracie

Written by Grace Lavigne, senior editor of ProfNet, a service that helps journalists connect with expert sources. Dear Gracie is published weekly on ProfNet Connect, a free social networking site for communicators. To read more from Grace, check out her blog on ProfNet Connect.

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Posted in Digital Content, Tools & Tactics

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How Social Media Is Changing PR

Posted on August 2, 2012 by | 8 Comments

On the last Tuesday of each month, ProfNet hosts ConnectChat, a monthly series of Twitter chats exploring key communications and media topics. During a recent ConnectChat, Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO of Pure Performance Communications, discussed the changing role of PR in the digital era and how we can adjust our mind and skill sets accordingly.

Breakenridge says that with the rise of social media PR professionals need to:

  • Master information technologies as a “technology tester,” including video, SEO, website analytics, monitoring applications, CMS and more.
  • Start dialogue and build relationships through new channels.
  • Strategize to connect directly with stakeholders, especially customers.

Breakenridge notes that being a technology tester is the most challenging new skill for PR pros to master because it requires constantly paying attention to new apps, resources and platforms. “It’s so important to understand use technology the way stakeholders,” she says.

To excel in these new practices, people in the PR industry need to become hybrid professionals, says Breakenridge. This process includes:

  • Moving the best of traditional practices forward and integrating them with digital and social communications.
  • Working cross-functionally with marketing and moving outside of the PR “silo,” which includes learning and applying marketing tactics.
  • Collaborating with other departments too, like Web/IT, sales, customer service, HR, etc.
  • Being flexible and adaptable in a global communications environment.

Breakenridge provides some new roles popping up in the PR industry:

  • Internal Collaboration Generator: knows good communication starts on the inside with technology sharing
  • Pre-Crisis Doctor: plans for crises through new approaches, processes and recovery steps
  • Relationship Analyzer: takes relationships to deeper levels through technology and visualization
  • Master of the Metrics: understands metrics tracked over time and can track them back to executive goals

To successfully use metrics, PR pros must have objectives and know what they are trying to achieve, adds Breakenridge. “It’s important to know what you’re measuring: leads, sales, registration, awareness (buzz), community growth, etc.”

Listen to conversations and identify influencers to drive discussion and systematically map out audience connections, explains Breakenridge. “Understand the culture, critical issues and passion in the community to make better connections. Use crowdsourcing, contests, and promotions for deeper engagement.” She notes that you can use @mentionmapp and @TouchGraph to visualize connections.

Social media provides incredible intelligence, and, when filtered, can help PR pros plan more strategically, says Breakenridge. For example, social media can help companies react quicker to negative situations and crises. “You can strategically engage for more valuable outcomes: leads, sales, registration, better CS, more productivity.”

Social media should move across an organization, says Breakenridge. PR should work with other departments (marketing, advertising, branding, etc.); it should cover everything from social governance and planning to content curation and the monitoring of programs. PR should spearhead social media, but not own it. “Working with other groups doesn’t mean we lose our core purpose; we have just expanded our opportunity!” she says.

Where is PR headed? Breakenridge says PR will:

  • Continue to integrate with other areas and strategize cross functionally.
  • Start incorporating interactive living rooms, touch experience, augmented reality, etc.
  • Gain influence by telling more meaningful stories through technology and educating others on best practices.

Written by Grace Lavigne, senior editor of ProfNet. Check out her blog on ProfNet Connect.

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Mapping the Reach of Content Distributed by PR Newswire

Posted on August 1, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Press releases and other content distributed by PR Newswire reach audiences via news media, search engines, social networks and a huge global content syndication network.

 

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Posted in Content PR & Marketing, Digital Content

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January Media Moves & News

Posted on January 9, 2012 by | Leave a comment

PR Newswire’s Audience Research Group continually updates the media database that powers our MEDIAtlas service, and our popular Microlists, which let you target niche audiences on the fly.  Here’s a summary of recent media and blogger updates.  Updates by region can be found here: http://www.prnewswire.com/knowledge-center/mediaware/January2012MEDIAtlasUpdatesbyRegion.html

Are you ready for some football?!! Then you’ll want to check out the new NFL Magazine. Launched in mid-December, the magazine is the official magazine of the National Football League. Printed monthly, the new publication will include articles on the games, teams and personalities of pro football. Circulation is approximately 300,000 to 400,000. Regular contributors to the magazine will be well-known analysts and reporters as well as some retired players and coaches. The Editor is Jim Buckley, whose email is jbuckley@shorelinepublishing.com. Check out the website at http://www.thenflmagazine.com.

CBS Television has decided to revamp its morning line-up and is replacing The Early Show (http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/earlyshow/main500202.shtml) with a new show called CBS This Morning. Hosted by Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Erica Hill, the show will debut on January 9th. Rose and Hill will anchor the 7:00 a.m. ET hour, which will focus on hard news. King will anchor the 8:00 a.m. hour which will include news more focused toward women. Chris Licht will serve as Executive Producer of CBS This Morning. Chris Wragge, who Co-Anchored The Early Show, will return to CBS’ New York station. The Early Show News Anchor Jeff Glor will now be the show’s Special Correspondent. He will also Anchor on Sundays.

Geraldo Rivera dons yet another hat as he becomes a morning radio Host on WABC-AM. His show will air 10:00 -11:00 a.m. weekdays. He replaces former Host Joe Crummey. Rivera will also continue at Fox News as Weekend Anchor/Reporter.

It wasn’t a happy holiday season at Reader’s Digest Association. The company has laid off 150 positions. Approximately 75 of those are in the United States while the remaining are international. The company wants to focus on its top brands, such as “Reader’s Digest,” “The Family Handyman” and “Taste of Home” so it eliminated mostly positions that were not directly related to those titles.

Playboy magazine is planning to move its editorial, art and photo departments from their Chicago headquarters to Los Angeles in April 2012.

The Chicago Reporter will join forces with WMAQ-TV, the NBC station in Chicago to provide additional investigative reporting as part of an agreement between non-profit news organizations and NBC-owned stations.

Following on the heels of a number of other broadcast stations, WCBS-AM has moved to lower Manhattan. It’s now located in the same building as its sister stations – WINS-AM, WFAN-AM, WCBS-FM, WXRK-FM and WWFS-FM. The address is: 345 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.

YUE is a new, bi-lingual, Chinese-English magazine. It debuted in New York City with a circulation of 35,000. The quarterly magazine is geared toward the upper class with stories on fashion, dining, shopping, travel and entertainment. It is being published and edited in English and Mandarin by Ms. Chiu-Ti Jansen. The website is not yet up and running. But story ideas can be emailed to either editor@yuemagazine.com or publisher@yuemagazine.

George Stephanopoulos is returning to “This Week.” Current Host Christiane Amanpour has returned to her roots as an International Reporter. She will be hosting a new global affairs show on CNN International. However, she will still produce about six primetime, news specials per year on ABC. Stephanopoulos, meanwhile, will stay as Co-host of “Good Morning America” while also hosting “This Week.”

An anthrax scare shut down the newsroom at WPIX-TV last month. An employee received a threatening letter which contained white powder. The scare came shortly before the 5:00 p.m. newscast so Reporter Kristen Cole opened the broadcast outside. Once police and a Hazmat team decontaminated the studio, Anchor Jodi Applegate was able to take over the regular inside anchoring duties.

Former Los Angeles Times Wine Critic Lawrence Robert Balzer passed away of natural causes at the age of 99. Balzer was Wine Critic for the paper from 1965 to 1995, wrote several books and taught wine-tasting classes aboard the Queen Mary until a few years ago.

The entertainment publication Variety will offer a film production tracking service called FlixTracker. The paid service will collect information about films in development and production, information on how to contact Hollywood executives, film budget details and various other industry information. The service will be solicited to Hollywood companies and studios for a $1000 annual subscription fee.

PaidContent.org has established a West Coast presence by hiring Daniel Frankel from TheWrap as its West Coast Senior Editor. Frankel replaces Andrew Wallenstein. Follow Frankel on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dannyfrankel.

Sports Columnist Bill Conlin retired abruptly from The Philadelphia Daily News after a story alleging he abused children broke in sister newspaper The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Pittsburgh’s WWCS-AM (http://www.birach.com/wwcs.html) has dropped its Spanish-laced programming and is picking up the national Fox Sports Radio feed with this New Year. This is the third format change in three years for this Birach Broadcasting station. They previously aired the Radio Disney feed before the Spanish programming change. Sima Birach (sima@birach.com) is the Station Manager.

Ron Smith, longtime conservative talk show host at WBAL-AM and a Columnist at The Baltimore Sun passed away recently from pancreatic cancer at the age of 70. Ron wrote 146 conservative columns for the Sun (not a conservative paper) and was amazed they gave him the forum starting in 2008. He had retired from the newspaper in November and the radio airwaves in early December.

After much anticipation, CNN has finally announced the names of its new morning shows. Ashleigh Banfield (Ashleigh.Banfield@turner.com), who was a former MSNBC Anchor, will Co-host along with Zoraida.Sambolin (Zoraida.Sambolin@turner.com) the newly created morning show titled “Early Start”. Soledad O’Brien will lead the 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. morning segment entitled “Starting Point”. “Starting Point” is set to take a “conversational ensemble” format with the host at the center. The two new morning shows are set to air this month.

After 27 years of publishing, Florida Underwriter Magazine has made the announcement that its December issue was its last. After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January, Publisher Summit Business Media has announced it will cease publication due to financial hardship and the uncertainty of digital mediums.

AMERICAN CAR COLLECTOR magazine has launched with a January 2012 issue. The new magazine features collectable American cars, and covers the market, collectors, new products, auctions and events. Sister publication CORVETTE MARKET is being merged into American Car Collector. Jim Pickering is now the Managing Editor. He can be emailed at jim.pickering@sportscarmarket.com while the new website is http://www.americancarcollector.com

GAMEPRO, a gaming magazine and website ceased publication on December 5. It was in print for 22 years. The publication has integrated operations with PCWORLD.COM

KTRV-TV,  an independent station in Boise, Idaho, has closed its news operations. They have announced plans to cut production staff as well.

Marty Davis, publisher of the gay lifestyle-focused Just Out newspaper, has announced that the Portland newspaper will cease publication after its December issue. The paper had been published for 28 years.

Ted Williams known as the man with the golden voice is now working at one of New England’s most popular stations, The New England Cable Network. Williams was discovered along the side of a road in Columbus Ohio peddling for money.

Raul Rodriguez has been named Vice President and General Manager for Univision’s KDTV-14, KSOL and KBRG. Adriana Muro has been promoted. Her new title at Telemundo’s KDEN-25 now reads Creative Services Manager.

Telemundo Station Group has a new President. Manuel Abud will be the leader, replacing Ronald Gordon in 2012.

Univision and other top Latin stations have come to an agreement with Hulu. Hulu will now be offering a Spanish programming to its subscribers. Nineteen employees from The Denver Post have accepted voluntary buyouts to avoid layoffs.

The Gazette, in Colorado Springs, reports a number of employee buyouts as the reorganization and “digital-first” initiative takes place. The San Diego Union-Tribune is now known as U-T San Diego. The name change will unify print and digital products under one brand. The online edition at SignOnSanDiego.com is now: http://www.utsandiego.com

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Writing Press Releases that Don’t Sound Like Advertisements

Posted on December 21, 2011 by | 7 Comments

Today’s communications strategies hinge upon content, and the press release release is an important part of that content mix. However, to be successful, a content marketing strategy needs to serve the needs of the audience first. Traditionally, press releases have been geared toward telling an organization’s story. Can press releases be made to fit into the content marketing paradigm?

According to the members of the Public Relations Professionals on LinkedIn, the answer is a qualified “Yes,” depending upon how the press release is written. Tips sourced from the conversation include:

  • Plan for and encourage online visibility by using multimedia in press releases – a tactic that we know generates more views and wider sharing of messages.
  • Make the obligatory quote in the second paragraph really work. Instead of a canned quote in which the quoted exec notes how excited he or she is about whatever is being announced, use this space to address – and answer – key marketplace questions, or to clearly describe what is special about today’s news.
  • Instead of a press release, write the news story. Eliminate jargon and hyperbole, focus the message and substantiate the claims just as you would if you were submitting the final work to a ruthless news editor. Paying attention to the readability of the message is important and will produce a better final product.

To these tips I’d also add the imperative to write from the audience’s perspective – which (I will concede) is a little counter-intuitive when it comes to press releases. Here are some ways you to bring this important point of view into your writing:

  • Develop an ongoing understanding of what your customers and prospects are talking about online. Use frequently asked questions and unresolved marketplace issues to frame your communications, including press releases. Make the answer to a key question the focus of the announcement, not the fact that XYZ Co. is Today Announcing Something.
  • Highlight actual people – customers, production staff, design engineers – in your writing. Involving a variety of people will surface more stories and angles, and help you create content that resonates with your readers.
  • Speak in the language of your marketplace, not your marketing department. Present information and quantify data using metrics that are actually meaningful to the people you’re hoping to influence. You’ll need to do a little market research, but there’s no better way to give your content a boost than to ensure that it’s contextually relevant to your audience.

As you plan your next press release, try to incorporate a couple of these tactics. Pay attention to the results your press release generates – and look beyond simple page views as you do so. If you dig a little deeper into the results from your press releases, looking at the number of times the content was shared in social networks, and the number of people who clicked links embedded within the release, you’ll start to understand what sort of messages actually inspire your readers to action. That’s intel you can use to fine tune future press releases and improve their results.

Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media, and is the author of the free ebook Unlocking Social Media for PR, which we’ve updated for 2012.

Image courtesy of Flickr user barto.

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Brand Streaming: The Need, Opportunity & Impact

Posted on October 24, 2011 by | Leave a comment

At PRSA this year,  I gave a presentation focusing on how brands are streaming their content today and how we need to think a little more strategically on how we do that.   We can’t simply post all of our content all over the place, but need to have a more focused stream for our content.    This is not an easy process today.  We not only have to be quick with content creation, but also agile enough to change up when the market moves.  Dave Armon from Critical Mention interviewed me about the presentation – that video is at the top of the post, and my presentation deck is below:

Streaming The Brand: The Need, The Opportunity, The Impact

Keys communicators need to keep in mind when developing the content to support their brand’s stream:

  • People love a good true story
  • Developing and maintaining the audience’s trust is paramount (no one will pay attention if they don’t trust you!)
  • Make the content accessible: easy to find, view and use.

Learn more about managing brand streams at this week’s FREE webinar hosted by  PRSA and PR Newswire:  Streaming Your Brand: Managing Brand Conversation and Cohesion in a Real-Time World

Thursday, October 27, 2011
Time: 12:00 PM Pacific, 1:00 PM Mountain, 2:00 PM Central, 3:00 PM Eastern
Duration:Approximately 45 minutes

About the Webinar
Content flowing from brand to constituent – and constituent to brand – has become a real-time, always-on stream…streaming across channels to media influencers, social influencers, consumers, policy makers and decision makers, and then streaming right back to you – full of insight and opportunity.The ability to more effectively and proactively manage this “brandstream” has much to do with your ability to lead conversations, ensure brand coherence, protect reputation and drive business results. From targeting to distribution to analysis, from social to traditional, the technology and tools now exist to allow you to unleash real-time communications and content opportunities like never before.

Join us as we take a closer look at the essential tools, tactics and practices to help you manage and empower your brandstream.

Presented by:
Tom Stein, President and Chief Creative Officer, Stein + Partners Brand Activation
Sarah Skerik, Vice President, Social Media, PR Newswire

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Posted in Digital Content

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Unlocking Social Media for Public Relations

Posted on September 14, 2011 by | 1 Comment

We’ve noticed that many folks are still struggling when it comes to incorporating social media into their public relations strategies. How to do you get started?  How do you determine whether or not a network is a good fit for your brand?  Should you pitch reporters via social networks?

We tackle these questions and more in this beefy ebook, which spans almost 60 pages, and offers advice on getting started, and specific tips on using a variety of networks – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, YouTube and a host of others – to reach new audiences and augment your PR efforts.

Download Unlocking Social Media for PR (it’s free!)

We recognize the social media landscape is continually shifting.    You can always find new information on our blog, and if you want to ask questions or chat about the challenges social media can pose for a PR pro, visit the ProfNet Connect forum we’ve set up for these discussions.

Social Media/PR Discussion Group

 

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Bloggers Are People, Too.

Posted on September 8, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Lots of people discuss wild mushrooms online. Some are into hunting illegal psychoatives, others hunt edibles. I’m one of the latter, and this tremendous puffball I found is an edible. Distinctions matter when it comes to personal interest.

One of the coolest things about the blogosphere and the social layer is the absolute ease with which one can find like minded people.  Believe me – whatever hobby, interest or passion floats your boat, you are not alone. Others share your interest, and they are out there – blogging, tweeting, or chatting away in a Facebook group or on a discussion forum.

And best of all, niche interests are well served.  Let’s look at gardening, for example. It’s a marketplace worth billions.  People grow all manner of things in their gardens – veggies, native plants, roses, orchids, lilies, fruit, heirlooms and modern cultivars. Some adhere to biodynamic or organic practices.  Others, plagued by platoons of voracious insects or rampaging weeds, have been driven into a Round-Up and Raid wielding rage, and fully subscribe to the “better living through chemistry” adage.

My point is, if you’re doing PR for a brand in the gardening space, it’s not enough to target “garden blogs.”  Organic gardeners aren’t interested in chemical sprays.  The patient souls who sprout native roses from seeds (a process that takes three years in some cases just to see a single leaf) are not interested in the latest pest-resistant re-blooming landscape rose.

To be effective, communicators must respect the personal interest of their audiences. To do otherwise risks committing deep offense – and triggering a wave of negative publicity that could very easily bleed over into relevant groups.  Unfortunately, despite well-documented missteps over the last few years, some PR pros still haven’t learned these lessons.  This week, another big brand – and its PR agency – are in hot water over some spurious tactics.

Distinctions in interest really matter.

I spend a decent portion of each weekend tramping around in the woods, braving mosquitoes, poison ivy and evil thorny undergrowth in my pursuit of edible wild mushrooms.  When I get home (every now and then with a delectable find) I often spend time discussing identification characteristics of wild mushrooms with a small band of fellow foragers.  Several are professional mycologists, and the wealth of information the group shares are astounding, along with the occasional recipe. (Puffball Parmesan, anyone?)  The group is interested in finding edibles, for sure, but a lot of time is also spent identifying and discussing non-edibles, just for learning and interests’ sake.

However, in addition to people who are interested in edibles, there’s another type of wild mushroom forager out there.  They’re not after innocent morels, boletes and puffballs.  Oh, no.   They’re not.  Instead, they hunt psychoactive mushrooms.  You know.  “Shrooms.”   Or, “medicinal mushrooms” as some fans euphemistically refer to them.  When picked and prepared, the law calls them illegal substances.  Occasionally one of these, um, enthusiasts, will happen upon the discussion group to which I belong, and will attempt to start a discussion about his or her area of interest.   Chances are good they’ll be driven off by hostile and angry response before the moderators can kick them off.

Point is, there’s a place for every conversation, but not every place is appropriate for every conversation.  Broad generalizations by communicators can lead to at the worst, disaster, and at the least an ineffective campaign that wastes dollars and resources.

Respectful tactics

In my mind, it all boils down to respect – specifically, respecting audiences as individuals and as people – not as “targets.”   Identifying different areas of interest within audiences takes time, but pays off in the long run.  Instead of communicating with a mass group of “mommy bloggers” or “garden bloggers” it’s a good idea to narrow the field to those whose interests are in line with your brand’s objectives.

The approach to communicating with social groups (including bloggers) needs to change, too.  These folks aren’t journalists – many are passionate hobbyists who aren’t part of the professional news media. The shotgun approach – hosing down an audience with content and expecting those who are interested to glom onto the information — won’t work.  And don’t expect those who are disinterested to simply ignore it.  They may instead take offense.

Personally, I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to try to dupe a blogger (or anyone else for that matter) into changing their mind about something.  Think about it this way – how would you feel if someone did it to you?  If a brand called your closely held personal convictions into question, in public? Or, worse, if a brand didn’t respect your convictions/practices/beliefs and tried to trick you into trying something you were fundamentally against?

One good way to keep perspective is to spend some time thinking through the worst-case scenario.  How could the message or campaign be misinterpreted?  What happens if the audience reacts negatively?  What steps would you take to protect the brand in these types of scenarios, which would play out in public?

Cultivating relationships with key people who are very likely to appreciate what the brand you’re promoting represents can be a fantastic way to build buzz and conversation around a product or service. Strategic engagement designed to identify and encourage brand advocates – who will then share their enthusiasm with their respective audiences – can also be tremendously effective.   However, these type of tactics are high-touch and personal, which is precisely why they work.

Author Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media.  She also hunts edible wild mushrooms and charts her experiences on The FUNGIrl blog.

Looking for more specificity as you start to identify key journalists, bloggers and influencers for a project or a pitch?  PR Newswire offers a host of ways to learn more about and connect with your audiences, so you can reach the right people.

Targeting journalists, bloggers & influencers for public relations campaigns

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Six Reasons Why SEO “Top Lists” Strategies Also Work for PR

Posted on September 7, 2011 by | 4 Comments

A thoughful campaign can trigger a waterfall of visibility.

Because the whole point of most public relations exercises is to generate visibility for specific messages, I like to draw ideas and tactics from the search engine optimization and marketing crowd. They’re a data driven bunch, and they have measuring outcomes down to an absolute art. At the same time, it’s no secret that the search engines – especially Google as of late – have been deploying big algorithmic changes with frequency. The ground under the feet of anyone with a stake in building online visibility has been shifting, sometimes uncomfortably.

One of the biggest changes recently was Google’s abrupt shut-down of real-time search. Google had been ingesting data feeds from Twitter, and using that data to inform search results. As a result, tweets (especially those from influentials) were featured prominently in search results. When Google shelved real-time, they stopped taking the data from Twitter, and while you can still find tweets in search results, the numbers of tweets featured seem to be fewer. And the real SEO value – meaning the ability to associate a specific web page with specific search terms, and achieve high rankings in search engines for said web page, when the aforementioned keywords are searched – seemed to be on the decline.

So, as you can imagine, I was pretty interested in a blog post from SEOMoz on Friday of last week, titled “Yes You Really Can Build Links on Twitter,” which offered suggestions for building links (i.e. relevant inbound links from one site to another that can help influence search engine rankings, and are a key piece of SEO strategy) and, not surprisingly, there are some great ideas for PR folks to add to their tactics. What’s really interesting, however, is that the tactics blend SEO, building social relationships, influencer targeting, social content optimization and smart content marketing.

One tactic I really liked that could have a ton of value for the PR set was a comprehensive approach to building and using those irrepressibly popular “top 5 whatever” lists. In the example given, SEOmoz imagines they represent a maker of snowboard equipment. Here are the steps they take to build a list of the “top 5 snowboarding stunts videos” to build search engine visibility:

  1. Start a conversation, and ask people what they think is the best snowboarding stunts video they’ve seen. Reach out to people who have shared snowboarding videos in the past, or have the word ‘snowboarding’ in their profiles. (Tip from SEOmoz: Follower Wonk is a great tool for this.)
  2. Once the best videos are identified, the next step is to ID the Twitter accounts associated with the videos.
  3. Create the content rolling up the videos – blog post, article, etc. – and then tweet at the “winners” and give them a badge they can display on their own blogs. (From the SEO perspective, this is the win – getting a link from a solid blog back to the your site.)

Why is this approach smart for PR? Let me count the ways.

  1. The initial step – inviting the community to suggest videos – starts building audience and attention for your message right out of the gate. Keep their interest with good follow-through, and you’re on your way to building lasting attention for your brand.
  2. Focusing on socially connected people – the type of folks who upload videos to YouTube and share links on social networks – can add a real degree of amplification to your messages, and even set the stage for a viral event.
  3. Personal interaction – from inviting contributions from the community to tweeting directly to the top 5 boarders selected – makes the brand feel approachable and human. People are more likely to friend a friendly brand. And that personal, positive interaction can also trigger a potent word-of-mouth effect.
  4. Content. Congratulations, you’ve just developed a nice piece of content that you can use myriad ways. Of course you’d Tweet it and share it on your other social channels. You could even issue a press release about it, pitch it to a handful of media, and add it to other communications, such as newsletters.
  5. The overall visibility, in search engines and social networks, this type of effort creates is really worthwhile. It’s fun, positive, social and lasting.
  6. It’s measurable, on a few different levels. You can measure search engine ranking for specific keywords, traffic to the product-related web page you link to in your blog post, mentions of and conversations around your brand, overall web site traffic, new followers/friends/subscribers, media mentions – the list goes on.

These types of one-output/lots of results projects are valuable and efficient, and are relevant for traditional and new media channels and a wide host of stakeholders. Have you used this tactic for your brand? We’d love to hear about it!

Author Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media.

Image courtesy of Flickr user NeilsPhotography.

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Forums: Virtual Focus Groups for Communicators [Tips]

Posted on August 31, 2011 by | 4 Comments

A screenshot of a popular cycling forum. Users frequently discuss brands of bikes, parts, clothing and related gear. BikeForums.net has 200K+ members, 12,000K are active and 1,500 were online this morning.

Before Facebook was conceived or Twitter was launched, before “community” became the flavor of the day and the term “social media” was even coined, people were meeting online to discuss topics dear to their hearts.   All over the web and in myriad languages, people gathered in discussion groups and on forums, where they chatted to their hearts’ content about topics they found interesting.  And despite the popularity of social networks, forums and discussion groups have not lost their cachet.

I love gardening, but maurading deer limit my plant choices. A post like this definitely influences my buying decisions.

ProBoards.com, the internet’s largest free forum host, is home to more than 3 million forums, with more than 20 million users.  Industry associations, publishers, special interest groups and brands host countless more discussion groups and forums.  People flock to these groups to ask and answer questions, networks and simply to hang out with like minded people.  Most are also easily found via search engines, when search queries pull up related discussion threads.

Case in point:  My farrier recently suggested that I consider a hoof supplement for my horse (i.e. vitamins to help grow stronger hooves), but he didn’t recommend one in particular.  So, being the intrepid Googler that I am, I turned to my favorite search engine and plugged in a pretty specific search string: “best hoof supplement for TB.”   (TB is the shorthand for the horse’s breed, which happens to be predisposed to hoof issues.) Okay, so clearly I am an advocate of forums, but even I was surprised by the results of my search.

The top results on my search on Google were all drawn from forums.

ALL of the top results were from forums.  This search was done with personalization turned on, and the top result is from a forum I frequent, however, I do not visit the other forums listed in the search results.  So, while Google knows of my affinity for one of the forums, the inclusion of the others suggests that forums generally are pretty good search engine fodder.

Opportunities for communicators:

You can find discussion groups devoted to almost any topic, from caring for all types of animals to fixing mountain bikes to planning healthy lunch box meals, and the discussions aren’t limited to consumer issues.  B2B groups abound as well, discussing supply chains, technologies and issues specific to professions and practices.  In my mind, these are perfect virtual focus groups, and you can join in, interact, watch and listen to your hearts’ content.

Despite their focused subject matter and audiences, these groups aren’t on the PR radar screen.  Some organizations do have social media monitoring in place, and keep tabs on brand-related conversations online, but generally speaking, that’s the extent of the interest in these groups.  As a long time denizen of a variety of groups related to personal interests, I think that’s a mistake.  While discussion groups are not appropriate places to push messages, they provide a number of opportunities for the dialed-in communicator.

  • Market intelligence. The discussions on forums can be a rich and unending source of market intelligence.  Members will discuss hacks – how they’ve modified an item to meet their needs, frustrations, unsolved problems and theory.  They will share tips, tricks and tactics, and offer candid assessment products, services, vendors and suppliers.  Everything is on the table.  I personally think of forums as ongoing market research groups.  Actively listening to these groups will reveal what is on your audience’s mind, and will surface trends and issues quickly.  There’s far more value to be had than simply monitoring mentions of your brand.
  • Industry research & insight.  If you frequent discussion a discussion group, over time you’ll see subjects pop up again and again.  You’d think the group would be annoyed at answering the same question over and over again (and in fact, many discussion groups have published FAQs which are in and of themselves rich sources of information for PR pros,) but the reality is that people will try to fill in gaps in information. When you see a question – especially one that starts with “What’s the best …” or “How do I …” recur over and over, that’s an opportunity. There’s a gap in public information. People pose questions on forums when they don’t find answers in search engines.  Fill that gap!
  • Connections with enthusiasts and influencers.  Many forum discussions name products.  People will weigh in with comments about how much they love or hate their [item, product]. They will relate experiences. In addition to identifying enthusiasts who advocate your product, you will also start to see who on the forum carries more weight.  Chances are good these folks have followings outside of the forum too, and are solid influencers.  You’ll also find bloggers in the group.  Forums are great places for connecting with enthusiasts and influencers on a personal basis, and you may find opportunities to work with brand advocates who can amplify your message.

 Rules of engagement:

Like any social network, forums are personal.  People make friends on forums, and build associations that last years.  Just as Twitterers will hold ‘Tweet-Ups’ to meet in person, it’s not uncommon for forum members to meet up at events.   So as you venture forth in forums, it’s important to remember that the denizens of discussion groups are not gathered around their computers, eagerly awaiting marketing messages.  They are seeking interesting and valuable information, and interaction with other enthusiasts and experts.  Bear that context in mind.

As I mentioned earlier, I think there’s more benefit to be had in interacting with forum members, but you need to do so as a member of the community. You have to be friendly, interested and knowledgeable.   You can also derive a lot of information from simply observing the interactions on the board as you would observe a focus group.  There’s so much to be gleaned from watching and listening, especially over time.

If you decide to start interacting, especially on behalf of the brand or organization you represent, keep a few things in mind.

  • Don’t feed trolls.  There are rabble-rousers and troublemakers on forums.  Don’t bite when they bait you, especially if you’re new to the board and don’t know the players and the vibe.
  • Get to know the board’s style. Are the conversations grammatically correct and more technical in nature?  Or does the board have a more free wheeling style that is OK with abbreviation and “text speak.”?  Does the board support, advocate or eschew certain trends or practices with in the field of interest?   Finding and communicating within that context is important.
  • Respect specificity.  There are different disciplines and interests in all broad categories, from cooking (vegan, country, gluten-free, light) to cultivating daylilies (heirlooms, natives, hybrids) or cycling (road, off-road, cyclocross, fixie). You can see where thinking in broad terms of cooking, daylilies or cycling could be way too broad.  Focus on specific topics to which your brand or organization is highly relevant.
  • First and foremost, be helpful, and stay on topic. This is a good time to remind ourselves that forums are about them, not us.  When you interact on forums, your answers and comments should be about the topic at hand.  Segues about related products generally aren’t well received, unless the information being relayed is new and (here’s that word again) specific to the discussion.
  • Be transparent.  If you are a representative of a brand or organization, put that in your bio, and put a little disclaimer in your answers reminding others of your affiliation.  I’ve found that doing so actually increases my credibility, and furthermore, folks are often pleased that someone from an industry player is listening.

After putting some queries out to the PR community, my sense is that forums and discussion groups are broadly overlooked.  As a long time denizen of a variety of niche forums, I know the influence these groups generate.  I’ve been a member of different online forums for years – well before the advent of social media.  Those forums taught me the power of online communities to influence decisions and create virtual networks of people who could do some real-life heavy lifting: I’ve been involved with regional efforts to collect native plant seeds for prairie restoration efforts,  moving rescued horses around the country to foster homes, and lobbying for various legislative issues.  The influence of organized and connected online enthusiasts is real.

To find forums clustered around topics near and dear to your heart (or your business!) type your keywords plus the word ‘forum’ or ‘discussion group’  into a search engine (e.g. “daylily forum”  or “cycling discussion group”) You’ll find your people.  They’re out there, talking, interacting and waiting for you!

Author Sarah Skerik is PR Newswire’s vice president of social media.  She’s been active in online groups for more than 10 years, and currently counts groups devoted to daylily cultivation, wild mushroom identification, cycling [road] and dressage training among her favorites.

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