Sasha Baron Cohen Grabs the Spotlight with Only a Beard, a Uniform, 2 Pretty ‘Security Guards’, and the ‘Ashes’ of Kim Il Jung.

Every year the American Academy Awards attracts tens of millions of viewers, no matter how boring the 3+ hour television event might be.  In 2012, the ceremony itself may have been even more irrelevant than usual, featuring movies that hardly anybody saw and hosted by an aging Billy Crystal most of whose jokes were as creaky as the ceremony itself.

But, never mind, because the real story of the  Oscars in 2012 was the brilliant Newsjacking of the event by Sasha Baron Cohen who grabbed zillions of dollars of free publicity for his upcoming movie, The Dictator (which will never win an Oscar, but who cares?).

Comic Genius Becomes PR Genius, Too

Cohen displayed not just comic genius, but PR genius well. He may not have read David Meerman Scott’s great book, Newsjacking, but he could well have been a case study. The basic concept is that, in these days of 24-hour news cycles and real-time public relations, marketing pros can  newsjack an event  by finding a way to do something that is highly newsworthy and is somehow connected to that event.

Thus, Sacha Baron Cohen made a huge stink about the Academy not permitting him to show up on the Red Carpet in full Dictator Regalia.  In fact, at one point, and they withdrew his invitation to attend the  Oscar ceremony at all. That goofy fight became newsworthy all by itself with an amazing amount of coverage that made the Academy  seem completely humorless. Finally, they caved in and permitted  the comic to appear on the red carpet as the make-believe Dictator.

Then, the big Red Carpet story: the Dictator, ever so carelessly, managed to spill the ‘ashes’ of the late North Korean dictator, Kim Il Jung,  all over the dinner jacket of host, Ryan Seacrest.  The entire incident lasted only about 3 minutes, But it may linger in Oscar infamy for eons.

Most observers miss the point when they ask whether this was a really funny thing to do–or simply a very rude maneuver. Funny or rude is beside the point. Newsjacking is the entire point.

As I write this, the morning after the Oscars, the news footage I’ve seen both online and on TV is all about Sasha Baron Cohen’s Dictator persona making ashes out of the Academy Awards. There is relatively little about the Oscar winners, their acceptance speeches, and the ceremony itself.

Sasha Baron Cohen is an exceptionally funny guy. Even better, for us content marketers, he is a Newsjacking genius.

Of course, it’s probably obvious but this blog post is my best attempt at doing Oscar-related Newsjacking myself.  Thanks, Sasha for giving me the opportunity.

If, by some miracle, you have not seen the memorable video of his Read Carpet, antics check it out below:

Excellent Advice from PR Guru, Joan Stewart

Written by Joan Stewart

If your online pressroom looks anything like mine did about two hours ago, it’s time to drag out the dust mask, the Shop-Vac® and maybe even a garbage dumpster.

I found so much outdated information and ancient publicity photos in the pressrooms at my website and at thePressRoom247 site that I almost didn’t recognize myself! And then it dawned on me that the current photo at this blog is about a decade old. That, too, is being replaced.

Here’s a list of some of things to look for in you rown pressroom, including some not-so-obvious things that might escape your attention.

Read the full article: Have an online pressroom you can be proud of—update it!.

8 Ways to Extend Your Print or eNewsletter’s Reach Far Beyond Its Core Subscribers

When you publish a monthly print or electronic newsletter that targets an important audience segment,  you probably invest heavily in generating the content that will make this newsletter relevant and valuable to its readers.  That is obviously critical.  But you can do much more to make that newsletter and its content work harder for your organization. How? Easy. Think outside the newsletter.

After all, the newsletter has a relatively finite reach, even online.  Think beyond this single content product.  You can dramatically increase the impact of your content marketing by thoughtful repurposing of the information and resources you developed in order to create the newsletter itself.

Here are 8 ways to extend the reach of your content far beyond the circulation of that print publication.  None of these require significant incremental expense. But they will consistently deliver dramatic increases in the reach of your content to prospective customers—and the impact it has on them.

1. Be certain that each newsletter story links to a dedicated page on your website or blog. You want your readers to find their way easily to your online home so they can discover lots more about your company, its products, and its people.  Your hyperlinked newsletter articles make the natural content connection.  In addition, try to link to more related stories on your site or blog from the original article.

2. Record audio and video of interviews for your newsletter for later repurposing. Post videos of interviews to YouTube and other targeted video portals specific to your industry. Upload audio to your website and blog.  Research podcast directories that may be relevant to your industry. Many of us would rather watch or listen to critical content.

3. Develop a news release schedule before your newsletter comes out. Target three or four key topics that affect your customers and the industry (based on the newsletter content). The release link should take them to the newsletter subscription page. Consider offering a free whitepaper or report as an incentive.

4. Discuss the newsletter and its content on your business blog. Post some of the key findings/issues. If you don’t have a blog, it’s high time you started one to connect to your customers.

5. Send out news releases through a keyword-optimized service such as PRWeb. Make sure that they really are newsworthy. You’ll be surprised at your reach beyond your static newsletter readership. You’ll be picked up in the blogosphere and even by traditional reporters who are always looking for news stories.
Remember, news releases are for much more than getting press; they are for building key links and for helping bloggers and influencers find your site. Industry bloggers will be key to extending the reach and impact of your newsletter.

5. Continue the news release program after your newsletter is released, pushing the audience to  videos, an eBook, or key articles.  Your newsletter content can still be the foundation for newsworthy stories weeks or sometimes months after it hits the virtual street.

6. Be sure to make RSS feeds available for your newsletter and for all of your web content. This is an easy and free way of syndicating your news stories that will extend your newsletter subscriber base dramatically.

7. Be sure each article integrates social media sharing capabilities so that enthusiastic readers can tell your stories to their colleagues and friends on Facebook and Twitter.  If you’re lucky, a great article may go viral and be spread across the web by enthusiasts who value and want to share your content.

8. Provide something remarkable and different on your website or blog for download. This does two things:
1) continues the conversation with your current customers
2) gives you information on prospects so you can begin a conversation with them.
Something remarkable may be a free eBook about the 10 trends in your industry, or a free white paper on a new, cutting-edge technology. Eliminate the sales pitch. Seek only to educate at this point.

Don’t settle for a lonely newsletter. Go above and beyond to get the content marketing results you need.

It’s all about Newsjacking:  The Science of Latching onto a Hot News Story in Near Real-Time, and Making It All about You.

David Meerman Scott is once again the thought leader in helping us get more news coverage than we ever thought possible, whether we are Solopreneur or billion-dollar multinational.

His new book, perfectly titled, Newsjacking: How to Inject your Ideas into a Breaking News Story and Generate Tons of Media Coverage, teaches us how to make as much news as the biggest newsmakers in our individual arenas.

David opens his book with the example of Rick Perry’s surprise announcement of his run for the presidency simultaneous with the Iowa straw polls. He became the top news story and eclipsed coverage of any of the other candidates who had worked so hard to do well in Iowa. It was a perfect Newsjacking that took full advantage of our 24 hour a day news cycle and the never-ending demand for hot news stories.  Iowa was suddenly boring. Rick Perry was suddenly hot.

David teaches all of us how to become successful Newsjackers whatever our organization’s size or situation.

A number of current realities make Newsjacking possible and powerful:

• We live in a real-time news world with thousands of global news outlets from traditional newspapers to niche bloggers with real-time Twitter feeds helping to accelerate the pace of news transmission.
• At the same time, reporters are stretched to the limit, thanks to cutbacks in staffing that are exacerbated by the demands of their bosses to report right now about hot stories.
• This means that reporters are desperate to crank out great, timely stories with the least possible effort.
• The Newsjacking opportunity comes at what David refers to as the second paragraph of a typical news story. The second paragraph goes beyond the basic news details and gives meaning and color to the story. This is where a local firefighting brigade saved the bacon of reporters in the UK by turning a thin story about Kate Winslet and her rescue of Richard Branson’s mother into a fun and fascinating story. The typical second paragraph of stories to follow offered wonderful publicity to those local firefighters. More on this later.
• It is now relatively easy to track news in real time thanks to  RSS feeds and Twitter streams that are targeted to your business, your industry or your area of expertise. Thus, 24 hours a day, you have the opportunity to spot a story that is right for Newsjacking. You can be the first to jump on it and to move that story in your direction.

Here’s how Kate Winslet came to the rescue, not only of that fortunate elderly woman, but of the UK press corps. The local fire brigade immediately sensed an opportunity for worldwide publicity by connecting their organization to the famous actress. So, in a story posted on their website, they offered her the chance to train with them:

The brigade, which has over 300 women firefighters, is inviting Kate to learn how crews deal with fires and also how people can prevent fires from happening in the first place. On the proposed visit, Kate would visit the brigades training center, meet trainees and experience the role of a modern firefighter. This would include operational duties such as trying out firefighter breathing apparatus and climbing a ladder pitched against the tower block.

For a brief time, this made the fire brigade as famous as Kate Winslet. But, most importantly, it allows them to get out the message about the importance of fire safety.

Saving the best–or possibly the worst–for last, it turns out that Larry Flynt is an expert Newsjacker. He pounces on the news of the moment with incredible speed. Thus, when Congressman Anthony Wiener found himself out of a job for reasons that might seem appropriate in a Larry Flynt kind of way, the infamous publisher of Hustler offered Wiener a job. That job offer grabbed more than a day’s worth of news for Larry Flynt and his publishing empire. It made for an irresistible second paragraph for news stories in print, online, and on TV.

You don’t have to be big to be good at Newsjacking. But you have to be fast, smart, sensible, and creative. David tells you exactly how.

I’m just hoping that this blog post may achieve a bit of Newsjacking itself, what with the mention of newsmakers Kate Winslet, Rick Perry, and Larry Flynt.

Be sure to go to Amazon.com and get a copy of David’s new book, which, incidentally is available only in a digital version. It’s short, to the point, practical, and as always, entertaining.

Learn What Not to Do from One Very Boring News Release

Press releases still pack a punch for marketers.

With content rich releases, smart marketers engage not only the press, but thousands of customers as well. But, ineffective press releases benefit neither a company nor its customers.

As with so many things, it’s probably easier to explain what’s important in a press release than it is to execute effectively. Fortunately, it’s much more common sense than it is rocket science.

Effective press releases incorporate core content marketing concepts:

• Understand your customers’ information needs
• Create content that responds precisely to those information needs
• Explain how you can solve their problems whether personal or professional
• Make that content immediately engaging with a strong, benefit-laden
  • headline
  • subhead
  • first paragraph
• Be certain that the lead-off content is all about the customer and not all about your company.
• When it’s time to talk about your company, make sure your unique benefits shine through.

Much of this may seem obvious. But it’s surprising how many marketing professionals seem to get it wrong. This makes for an awful lot of ineffective press releases that sit around mostly unread, cluttering the Internet.

Lessons to Learn from a Snooze-Inducing Press Release

The good news is that we can learn from both great press releases–those that are not quite so great. In the latter category, see if you can figure out what you might take away from the following, real-life news release headline:

BDD Corporation Plans to Utilize Twitter Research 

Unfortunately, this headline gives us almost no reason to continue reading further. And, it doesn’t get much better as the press release proceeds.

Unless we already know the company, we cannot even guess at how they might use Twitter research to our benefit. The headline does not explain how they will use Twitter research nor why they are using it.

Following the headline, we get a quote which essentially serves as a subhead. But, we are still left hanging in terms of precisely how a prospective customer might benefit:

Twitter has announced the release of a new "viral research" technique. BDD Marketing and Management plan to incorporate these techniques into future SEO marketing strategies.

Although we learn that "viral" and "SEO marketing" are somehow involved, we still don’t really know how this new tool will solve the marketing problems of a potential customer.

In the first paragraph that follows, we get a bit more information, learning that "The new form of online research is a new social search platform used to research trends and feeds of twitter accounts all over the world."  Okay. But, how exactly would a customer put this research tool to work?

The next paragraph essentially narrates the story of the company that created the tool, which it says is aimed at "marketing professionals and business owners… And that it "will allow users to be able to gather information from a unique 1% of their potential customers."  What does that mean: “1% of their potential customers?”

It’s not until the third paragraph that we learn that it will enable business owners to better understand their target audiences and shape marketing, events, and social media practices around the likes and dislikes of users.

It Takes Way Too Long to Tell Customers Very Little

We still don’t know exactly what makes this new tool uniquely important. After all, isn’t all research designed to let us know our customers better? We need specificity. We want an example of a unique, powerful insight that was gleaned from this tool. We want a client company to tell us  precisely how they benefited.

Oddly, after these first several paragraphs the press release veers into talking about a completely different research tool that has absolutely no connection to the headline of the press release. It appears to be designed to reinforce the devotion of BDD to leading edge research tools. That’s good. But, it’s much more about the company than the customer.

The Final Paragraph That Provides BDD’s Company Information Leaves Us Hanging, Too

We learn only that "BDD Marketing and Management is a full-service company. Founded on a deep value system and backed by a highly motivated staff, BDD is a company with a fully customizable menu of business options to fit every need."

Yes, but what exactly do they do? What makes them unique? What sort of full-service company are they? Do they offer absolutely every kind of customizable business option for every need?

BDD probably has a strong set of core capabilities and has done great work for its customers. Unfortunately, this press release pretty much leaves us guessing… Guessing about how we would benefit from the new research tool… And guessing about what makes this company uniquely valuable to solving our marketing needs.

A Missed PR Opportunity That Great Content Would Have Solved

We don’t really know why the headlined research tool would deliver a unique benefit to a business customer. Sadly, there is probably a great story buried somewhere about the new research tool that would have engaged all of us who are desperate to really understand our customers.  All of us, would have devoured that story from start to finish.

Even small companies can make a news splash by emulating these best practices on PR Web

The iPad is the new computing superstar with 2 million units sold in 2 months. As a result, plenty of small companies are benefiting from the apps they have developed for the new tablet computer. Within this new environment, startups can thrive by creating unique and usable software applications that enable iPad users to be more productive.

Todo from Appigo is one such app. It’s a very intuitive application that helps users manage to-do lists, tasks, and projects on their iPad. Because the iPad is hot news, great apps are potentially newsworthy, too. Unfortunately, there are plenty of competitive choices even at this early date.

How, then, can this one small player stand out from the crowd?

As a critical component of their content marketing strategy, the company behind Todo, Appigo,  issued a news release  that makes it very easy to find and to learn about  the company and the product. This is great for users who are looking for information, but it is also a lifesaver for reporters with too much to do and too little time to do it . 

They chose PR Web, which is an affordable new release service offering a lot of handholding for small companies who are new to the PR game.  In addition, it offers broad distribution across the web for every release.

Why This News Release Is so Effective

• Their headline and subhead make it obvious why we should care about this news release and includes keywords(bold type below) for easy findability :
  
  Appigo Raises the Bar for Beautiful iPad Apps by Launching Todo for iPad
  Appigo Todo for iPad Takes Advantage of the iPad’s Large Screen by Presenting a Planner-like Interface for Managing To-do Lists and Tasks. Todo for iPad is Now Available on the iPad App Store at a Special Introductory Price.
  
• They integrate those obvious but important key words such as iPad,to do, task, and Appigo throughout the release so that Google and other search engines—as well as users and reporters–can find the release easily.
• The news release does an excellent job of explaining what Todo does and why we should care. And, it takes only 557 words to do it.
• For potential customers , it tells us exactly where we can buy this App.
• They provide contact information for a real live human being with his phone number and e-mail address.
• They include 5 HTML tags that provide links to external sources. All of those external links are very appealing to Google.
• They highlight a terrific callout quote which sums up the Todo experience– and this quote is hyperlinked to the company website:
  "Holding Todo for iPad in your hand just as you would a daily planner is an incredible experience that gives you motivation to be productive."
• They provide plenty of images that will be available for industry publications or bloggers to use in enhancing their articles. This includes an appealing logo icon and multiple screenshots.
• They offer a window to the company website so you can see what’s available there and can then click to go directly to the site.
• They provide a link to a media kit for reporters and bloggers
• They provide links to printer friendly versions, PDF version, and a Reader version.
• They offer a “Share this” link so that you can spread the word via e-mail, Facebook, Twitteror Google Buzz, among others.

Appigo is a small company, but it’s thinking big about the huge iPad opportunity. Its effective use of a PR Web press release puts it in the same league as much larger organizations.  Did it work? Well, in a search today for “iPad to-do list,” the Appigo App came in 5 of the top ten results on page one. Not bad for a little guy.

P.S. It is a terrific App, one of my iPad favorites.

Yes, you can apply the best of traditional public relations practices to the new world of social media

Guest post from Kathleen Taylor, APR, President of the Southwest Florida chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association offers 4 top takeaways from their January 2010 Social Media Cafe.   Her report from the seminar illustrates that social media is beginning to permeate PR even in a relatively small market such as the Naples/Ft. Myers Fl area.

By Kathleen Taylor, APR

"The wisdom’s in the room. Make a concerted effort to learn from those around you," said Butch Ward from Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, FL, as he spoke with a crowd of public relations professionals at the January 2010 Social Media Café.  Butch and three fellow experts shared new ways of including social media tactics in our public relations practices.

The Poynter Institute describes itself as “a school dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists and media leaders.” The Institute’s interest in how PR or “business communication” professionals practice exemplifies the social media requirement  to reach beyond the way we’ve always done things. As Butch reminded the audience, we are all learning together as we explore the new  social media sandbox. Fortunately for all of us, not everything is new and unfamiliar.

In fact, as we expand our minds to embrace new technology and new methods, the best of traditional public relations and marketing principles still apply.  Moreover, even new elements such as business blogging don’t need to be intimidating.

Here are 4 useful tips from the Social Media Café seminar that will make even reluctant marketing professionals comfortable about  jumping on board the social media train before it has left the station:

1. Research, planning, implementation, and evaluation: These fundamentals still apply to social media.

Don’t be tempted by the deceptive simplicity of going social. Some companies jump right in with little or no knowledge of why they want to be there. Don’t abandon the traditional wisdom of defining goals and calculating the plan. Before diving in, consider what you want to talk about and which social media connection can be the most beneficial. Are your customers already participating on this platform? Do you want to build your brand in a different market? Not all Social media sites serve the same purpose, and many are industry-specific. Companies will typically benefit more from a social media venture that fits them strategically. Social media is continuously evolving, and it can serve a multitude of purposes for a company; just don’t let the extent of your reasoning be “because everyone else is doing it.”

2. Blog posts don’t need to be long or fancy to be useful and popular. Just know your subject matter, and give people what they need to know.

Your business blog can provide timely and valuable insights to your customers about your industry, on current events, and on key market trends. Don’t be intimidated because plain and simple writing will work just fine when combined with the authenticity and transparency your customers demand. Your business will benefit from a blog because you give customers reasons to keep coming back. Providing a detailed, updated communications with your audience makes your company  both more approachable and more valuable to customers. Equally important is the fact that regular, relevant blog activity that attracts and keeps a regular following can boost your Google Web site ranking.

3. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million!

Practically from the moment the moving picture was invented, audiences were captivated. In recent years, YouTube has captured our attention with millions of users count on it for news, entertainment and seemingly countless cute kitty home movies (Doubt me? I dare you to search for “cute kitties” on YouTube.). Research by eMarketer shows that there is a HUGE audience watching online video. Now, it’s your turn to put video to work in attracting that vast universe. From promotional videos, how-tos, and testimonials to commercials and interviews with company officials, you’ll find dozens of opportunities to get your customers to pay much more attention to what you have to say (Here are 2 recent posts the may be helpful as you explore the possibilities: 10 Ways to Win with Online Video and 6 Secrets to Making Online Video Work for Small Business )

4. Talk about ethical decision making within a social media context before a crisis presents itself.

Pretending something will never become a problem is a bit like triple-dog daring Murphy’s Law.  Your limited time is better spent considering sticky social media situations in advance than to find yourself in a crisis without a plan.
A case in point: As both professional and personal participation grows in social media networking, there are ethical concerns on both the part of the employee and the company when it comes to social media and the freedom it allows. If unfavorable commentary about your company were broadcast through an employee’s personal site, would his or her job be at risk? Are employees already aware of the expectations? Have a plan. Be proactive and have these conversations about social media ethics with your employees and partners now.

Contributing presenters to the Florida Public Relations Association’s Social Media Café on January 22, 2010 at the Royal Palm Yacht Club in Fort Myers, FL included: Butch Ward of Poynter Institute, Michelle Catin of rbb Public Relations, Chris Griffith of Keller Williams Elite Realty, and Michelle K. Gardner of John Scott Daily Florida Institute of Government at the University of Central Florida. You can read more about the presentations at the blog: http://www.fpraswflchapter.blogspot.com/

More on guest blogger, Kathleen Taylor:

Kathleen Taylor, APR is the president of the Southwest Florida chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association. She currently works as a public relations consultant for a variety of clients ranging from real estate to healthcare. When she’s not penning public relations prose at
her computer, she’s discovered that logging miles in her running shoes provides great cardio and generates great ideas. You can follow Kathleen on Twitter @KatTayls, and learn more about her profession background at http://www.LinkedIn.com/in/taylorkathleen.

Great Advice from Singapore Blogger and Coach Celestine Chua on Kick Starting Your Business

We all tend to go overboard with any important trend. We get so excited about what’s brand-new that we forget about the tried and true. So it is with inbound marketing vs. outbound marketing.

Celestine reminds us that outbound marketing done right, particularly in the form of smart public relations can make a measurable and almost immediate positive difference. 

The concept behind inbound marketing is that you engage in a lot of information creation activities that will pull in folks who are interested in what you have to say. Business blogs and participation in social media such as Twitter and Facebook enable you to offer content that prospects volunteer to consume.

Obviously, I believe in that. Witness the existence of Content Marketing Today and the blog post you’re currently reading. But, as Celestine emphasizes, that’s only the first part of the equation that should also include smart outbound marketing.

Traditionally, outbound marketing was about advertising, trade shows, and public relations.  Big companies have a decided edge because of their huge budgets and their access to high profile media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times.

Today, even very small organizations can conduct effective outbound marketing campaigns by focusing on public relations. Celestine Chua brought this all home in a recent guest post on ProBlogger.com, titled: How To Get Featured By the Press (Repeatedly) Even If Your Blog is New. Celestine is based in Singapore and had previously worked in a Fortune 100 company. She abandoned that safe career to start a coaching practice which she markets via a combination of inbound and outbound marketing.

Although her blog does a terrific job of proving her expertise as a personal coach, her outbound marketing efforts focused on savvy public relations made all the difference in accelerating the growth of her practice. As she says, "If I were to look at the trigger point for my results today, it was the first media coverage which helped put me on the map. The amazing thing is, none of these came about due to any personal relationships or media contacts. Media coverage is something that you can get, whether you are a newbie blogger or a seasoned veteran."

When she writes about getting featured by the press as a brand-new blogger, she offers sound, timeless marketing advice which illustrates that some things in the marketing universe remain essentially unchanged.

Here are my top takeaways from her blog post:

• Getting traditional press coverage makes you distinctive from hordes of other bloggers and exposes you to a broader audience who may not read blogs regularly
• Traditional press coverage gives you credibility that is critical when you’re just starting out.
• Create an absolutely enticing news story because reporters are always on the lookout for great stories. (She even offers techniques for brainstorming great ideas in a 25 Brainstorming Techniques article)
• Create a press release that encapsulates your unique and newsworthy story.
• Use a ready, fire, aim strategy to get your story out to as many relevant channels as you can find including print, radio, TV and online.
• As soon as you are alerted to an upcoming story, publicize it among your entire extended network.

Smart outbound marketing builds your blog impact fast

I love the idea of adapting the best of traditional outbound marketing techniques to today’s online realities. You must have a business blog as your starting point. Normally, it will take a minimum of several months for your blog to have a positive impact on your business. You can accelerate that positive impact by using the be savvy outbound marketing approach that Celestine recommends.

Click to read her entire article: How To Get Featured By the Press (Repeatedly) Even If Your Blog is New. Then get started on an outbound marketing campaign that will reenergize all of your inbound marketing efforts.

How a small PR firm built an abbondonza of buzz for a Florida client with a house to sell.

Big ideas can trump big bucks.  This is especially true in the new Internet-powered world of public relations. 

Savvy marketers with minimal budgets can get pervasive press coverage that would have been impossible five or 10 years ago.  Just ask Tina Haisman, Southwest Florida PR professional, who was able to generate an astonishing amount of TV, radio, and print coverage far beyond Florida borders. 

Tina’s challenge was to help a Southwest Florida homeowner that needed to sell his multimillion dollar mansion in a very tough real estate market.  The homeowner knew that he needed to reach well beyond his local market for likely buyers of his luxurious home.  So, he cooked up the idea of a $1 million coupon that would be offered to anyone who bought his house.

She began with a traditional public relations approach of assembling a list of a hundred or so media contacts that might be open to writing about the unique coupon idea, particularly in the area of real estate.  She would then plan to e-mail reporters and follow-up with phone calls.  For decades, some variation of this proven approach has worked well to get news coverage.  But, without a lot of time, a big staff, and a big-budget, she could expect good, but limited success.

Instead, motivated by the client’s reiterated push for’ buzz’, Tina decided to make a big bet on a social media press release approach via PR Web.  This enabled Tina and her client to reach and influence a global audience with minimum effort and maximum impact.

She created a persuasive news release that was optimized for social media exposure. The release included:

• a brief summary at the top that highlighted key points and keywords
• an embedded YouTube video which offered a house tour
• a photo of the house
• a hyperlink to a dedicated webpage for the house itself
• an attached file of the actual $1 million coupon
• multiple options to print, blog, and share the release
• a hyperlink to the million dollar coupon webpage
• a host of social media bookmarks for sharing
• phone and e-mail contact info for Tina

All of these elements add genuine value to the PR Web news release, but the power of the editorial appeal derives from the big idea: the $1 million coupon exemplifies the need for marketers to be really creative to help their clients sell products and services. In other words, the press release was not about a house for sale.  It was about a wonderfully creative marketing idea that happened to be perfectly in tune with a challenging American economy

Here is how Tina put it in the summary of the release:

The downturn in the real estate market has inspired some creative thinking. A Fort Myers, Fla. couple, ready to sell their $10 million dream home, thought of an inventive way to attract a buyer to their property. They created a $1 million coupon and placed it in local and national newspapers. The couple hopes this creative real estate marketing idea will help attract a buyer for the home.

Tina noted that the realtor invested in advertising in appropriately targeted, high profile publications such as the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.  Their thinking was that, apart from their intrinsic merits, these targeted ads would underscore the seriousness of their marketing effort.  Even though they did get press coverage from some of these ads, Tina emphasizes that the overwhelming impact came from the SEO-optimized PR Web release.

The effectiveness of this new approach hit home with Tina when she realized that her client was getting extensive media coverage from reporters who had no need to call her to cover the story.  The information and links she had provided on the PR Web release was comprehensive enough so that they had exactly what they needed to do their job.  That timesaving element is increasingly important for reporters who are having to work harder than ever in a challenging media environment. 

Of course, Tina saves time and effort, to not only did she not have to make hundreds of outreach phone calls, but she did not have to field incoming phone calls in order to generate the press coverage and the ensuing buzz she sought for her client.

Thus, a big idea nicely articulated in a well-structured social media release generated global coverage that even big-time PR shops would envy. 

The cost of the PR Web release: $360.  The public relations pay off: priceless.

If you are looking to build buzz with big ideas, I suggest you get in touch with Tina Haisman.  She has become an ardent advocate and successful practitioner of the new Internet-centric public relations. 

Jump Start Your Online Public Relations for Free

They call it public relations for a reason.  Although PR methodology has focused primarily on getting the traditional media to write about your company or your client’s company, the goal has always been to influence ‘the public’, that is those members of the population that you want to impact positively.

Thanks to the infinite reach of the Internet, you have the capability to extend that influence dramatically.  But, you need to change your approach and your toolkit as part of a 21st century PR strategy.

If your primary public relations strategy still amounts to sending press releases to a finite number of media contacts, you fail to take advantage of the Internet.  You are not reaching the new influencers, to use Paul Gillen’s term.

You need to do do more than reach those influencers. You need to take advantage of the emerging power of social media by creating a new kind of release to reach a much broader audience.  We have written previously about Shift Communications’ template that offers a useful template on which to create your news content: Social Media Release Template Makes It Easier to Get Social.

Now, another powerful tool has emerged: PitchEngine, which lets you create and share social media releases for free.

As they describe it:

With PitchEngine, users can easily create and share Social Media Releases (SMRs). Unlike the rigid, printed press release of old, SMRs offer both creator and reader far more flexibility. Users can incorporate embedded video, images, powerpoints and more into a hosted “microsite” or SMR, that can easily be shared via the social web using apps like Facebook, Twitter and more. A dynamic blend of traditional PR and a more progressive, conversational method, the SMR opens doors and engages readers. Those readers include not just media, but investors and consumers (friends, fans and followers) alike.

If you think this social media stuff and tools like PitchEngine are a passing fad, here are some impressive stats on their social media release tool:

• More than 3500 brands have created thousands of releases since October 2008.
• There were more than 100,000 visits (70,000 unique visitors) to PitchEngine in February 2009
• Of nearly 5,000 users on PitchEngine, 67% have returned to create more than one SMR
• From the largest PR agencies in the world to the best boutique and smaller firms, PitchEngine is used by a diverse mix of in-house PR pros, agency reps and other communications professionals.
• What brands are benefiting from PitchEngine? Here are a few of the more recognizable companies: American Red Cross, Anheuser-Busch, Albertson’s, Bailey’s, Carl’s Jr., Dell, Dove, Harley-Davidson, Matchbox, Mattel, MySpace, Overstock.com, Puma, Shure, Xerox, Zappos.com

New Tools are Great, But You Still Need to Make Your Content Really Findable

Even if you are sending your news release to a wider audience by using a great online PR tools such as PitchEngine, you are still making a mistake if you don’t optimize your release for the search engines. Be sure to keep these essential content marketing elements in mind as you craft your social media release—and your broader strategy:

• Use a pithy descriptive headline with important keywords and repeat those keywords in your lead.  And don’t use jargon!
• Link keywords to relevant landing pages on your site–that is where many of those keywords will be found.
• Don’t think of your release is a “media relations tool.”  Think of it as a mini web page that covers the news item or topic about which you are writing.
• You release should act as a portal to more information on the topic.
• If you have audio or video content be sure to include them with your release.

In the end, social media is still all about content that is relevant and compelling.  Bells and whistles don’t substitute for substance.  Don’t let the social media tail wag the content marketing dog.  But, do put leading edge tools like PitchEngine to work in becoming a social media PR powerhouse.