A blog can become an important part of your PR strategy — but only if you keep adding fresh content to it.
The blogosphere is littered with abandoned blogs and blogs distinguished mostly by long droughts between new postings. Sporadic updating is akin to a date with a tease. You intrigue your readers only to disappoint by not delivering. Do this over time and you lose them completely.
Search engines thrive on fresh content. It's the key to search engine optimization and to moving your blog up the search listings. If you want your blog to be found and read, you have to feed it fuel so it can race to the front of the line. If you want it to engage your readers and build an audience that is engaged with your communications and gives you feedback, you have to add fresh content at least once a week. After you do, spread the word via email, Facebook, Twitter and however you can. In short, tell the Web world that you have posted something new.
Send out the bait and bring them in. Don't bait the hook and you won't catch a thing.
Fresh content doesn't mean a long posting. It doesn't mean it has to be Pulitzer material. It just has to be fresh, interesting and helpful to your target audience.
So don't be one of those businesses that starts a blog, then leaves the thing alone in the dark recesses of the Web. Give your blog the attention it deserves and update it every week to 10 days. If no one inside your organization has the time to do this, get with a good PR firm and bring them on board to communicate your voice.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The Perfect Press Release Versus Getting The News Out On Time
Issuing a press release is about more than communicating your news in a clearly written fashion. It's also about timing.
This is particularly important in product publicity when you are issuing a release in the pursuit of editorial coverage. Most product or service announcements are not big news. Unless you're Microsoft, your biggest hurdle will be convincing the media that your news is worth editorial space.
It's important for your press release to be clear. All the facts should be correct. The release should be straight-forward and not sound like an ad.
Yet one of the most important parts of issuing a press release is frequently overlooked. That's timing.
So write the release and move it through your internal review process quickly. Don't let it get stuck in an internal bottleneck.
No matter how well-written it is, it's only useful if you actually send it out to the media. If it's held inside so long that your news gets stale, it won't matter if your prose is Pulitzer Prize winning when you finally get around to releasing it. You won't get coverage and no one will see it.
So resist the temptation to polish and polish that release. If the facts are correct and the writing is clear, just get it out.
This is particularly important in product publicity when you are issuing a release in the pursuit of editorial coverage. Most product or service announcements are not big news. Unless you're Microsoft, your biggest hurdle will be convincing the media that your news is worth editorial space.
It's important for your press release to be clear. All the facts should be correct. The release should be straight-forward and not sound like an ad.
Yet one of the most important parts of issuing a press release is frequently overlooked. That's timing.
So write the release and move it through your internal review process quickly. Don't let it get stuck in an internal bottleneck.
No matter how well-written it is, it's only useful if you actually send it out to the media. If it's held inside so long that your news gets stale, it won't matter if your prose is Pulitzer Prize winning when you finally get around to releasing it. You won't get coverage and no one will see it.
So resist the temptation to polish and polish that release. If the facts are correct and the writing is clear, just get it out.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Check Your Facts Before You Boast About Client News
There's nothing more embarrassing than boasting about something to the media, only to have to take back the boast. It's even worse if you've bragged about a client's award or recognition, gotten publicity for that, and then been notified your facts are wrong.
Whether it's an ethical choice or an honest mistake, providing the media with incorrect news undermines the PR profession.
When the facts are uncovered, the media will think you tried to fool them, so it affects your credibility as a publicist. Sure, reporters should check their facts. But in these days of media cut-backs, maybe some decided to rely on you -- their (formerly) trusted source -- to give them the right info. They won't make that mistake again.
If you notified the client of the award, the client probably took your word for it and basked in the happy glow of recognition. But once it's discovered you subjected the client to a public correction, the client's confidence in you diminishes.
We all make mistakes in life, but for publicists those mistakes can often be, well, very public. And the consequences can far outweigh the “wonderful” editorial attention that the incorrect information secured.
So check your facts before you rush to capture that publicity. Because in both the short and long run, the only publicity that really helps your client is the publicity that's based on truth.
Whether it's an ethical choice or an honest mistake, providing the media with incorrect news undermines the PR profession.
When the facts are uncovered, the media will think you tried to fool them, so it affects your credibility as a publicist. Sure, reporters should check their facts. But in these days of media cut-backs, maybe some decided to rely on you -- their (formerly) trusted source -- to give them the right info. They won't make that mistake again.
If you notified the client of the award, the client probably took your word for it and basked in the happy glow of recognition. But once it's discovered you subjected the client to a public correction, the client's confidence in you diminishes.
We all make mistakes in life, but for publicists those mistakes can often be, well, very public. And the consequences can far outweigh the “wonderful” editorial attention that the incorrect information secured.
So check your facts before you rush to capture that publicity. Because in both the short and long run, the only publicity that really helps your client is the publicity that's based on truth.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Working With The Media: They're Doing a Job Just Like You
If you want to get good publicity, respect the media.
That means answering their phone calls and acknowledging their inquiries. You can't have a “relationship” with the media if it's all one-sided. Someday, you'll want to make a press announcement that will cast your company in a good light. But don't expect great coverage if you've got a reputation for snubbing the media or treating them unprofessionally.
Like any relationship, media relations is a two-way street. There will be times when they ask you questions you don't want to answer. Before you rush to “no comment,” consider crafting a reply that shows you cared enough about their inquiry to actually think about it.
That doesn't mean you have to give away the store. “Acknowledging” a reporters inquiry is not the same as responding to it. You don't need to provide a direct response to the question at hand. But relationships begin with interaction and respect for each other, so step back and think about how you will respond.
Remember, the media is doing a job just like you. You might feel they are adversarial when they are being inquisitive. You could feel their approach is confrontational when they see themselves as aggressively pursuing a story. But you don't have to choose between fighting or taking flight with a “no comment.” You can interact with the media in an intelligent way that will build you some capital with them for when you need them to help you get a story out.
If you don't know how to do this, get with a good PR firm and get some advice and counsel and some media training fast. You'll be glad you did.
That means answering their phone calls and acknowledging their inquiries. You can't have a “relationship” with the media if it's all one-sided. Someday, you'll want to make a press announcement that will cast your company in a good light. But don't expect great coverage if you've got a reputation for snubbing the media or treating them unprofessionally.
Like any relationship, media relations is a two-way street. There will be times when they ask you questions you don't want to answer. Before you rush to “no comment,” consider crafting a reply that shows you cared enough about their inquiry to actually think about it.
That doesn't mean you have to give away the store. “Acknowledging” a reporters inquiry is not the same as responding to it. You don't need to provide a direct response to the question at hand. But relationships begin with interaction and respect for each other, so step back and think about how you will respond.
Remember, the media is doing a job just like you. You might feel they are adversarial when they are being inquisitive. You could feel their approach is confrontational when they see themselves as aggressively pursuing a story. But you don't have to choose between fighting or taking flight with a “no comment.” You can interact with the media in an intelligent way that will build you some capital with them for when you need them to help you get a story out.
If you don't know how to do this, get with a good PR firm and get some advice and counsel and some media training fast. You'll be glad you did.
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