Posts Tagged ‘PR Tips’
My good friend Aliza Sherman has a great post over on Web Worker Daily about the evolution of the blogger relations model.
The model of “blogger relations” is one that is constantly evolving. I think that both sides are learning what works best for them.
Ideally, the relationship is symbiotic. We pitch, they write. Our clients are happy, their audience is happy.
I think that by bringing up alternative ways to engage bloggers shows a couple of issues at work. First is the blogger vs. journalist argument. Sponsored posts and such don’t work for the bloggers that are considered journalists. Being mindful of that, there are still creative ways to engage. Take the “media tour” of old. Instead of setting up in a metro daily’s conference room, we are bringing clients to coffee shops, neighborhood haunts and home offices to chat with this new era of influencer.
But there’s still room for the “traditional” model. Working with people who blog as part of a news reporting organization (news paper, online media etc…) The goal is to drive coverage for our clients while providing elements that are genuinely “newsworthy.” (what passes for newsworthy is another discussion) We can do so by engaging in a genuine conversation with our pub targets. My advice? I think a solid model looks something like this if you’re able to do it:
- Obviously knowing your target is job one. Make sure they’re appropriate. If you have doubts, imagine what they’ll feel.
- The difference between “please write about this” and “I would love to hear more about what you’re working on and how this can fit in” is huge.
- Keep the relationship professional. This is hard. We know when our reporters get married, get fired or get scooped. But I think it’s important to keep the focus on the client and what your outreach brings to the table.
- Be brief. Be right. Be gone. Keep your outreach focused and to the point.
So, what do you think? How is this model changing and how are we changing with it?
Tags: blogger, ethics, friends, Pitching, PR Tips
We all do it. We sit down to make a press list for a project. We start by putting our friends and family on the list then we set out looking for “influencers.” But how do you know who they are?
In the new era of blogs and social media, our influencers no longer sit behind the desk at a major metro daily or behind an anchor desk. So, what makes an influencer in today’s media landscape? Simple: An influencer is somebody who people listen to.
What’s worth more to your client, a mention on the business page of a newspaper with a large circulation and possible syndication or mentions on the blogs, twitter accounts and facebook profiles of several lifestyle bloggers that frequently do product reviews and have a robust community?
The task for you as a PR person is to find the right influencers and get your client in front of them.
Tags: influencer, PR Tips, social media, Tips
Unique is a powerful world. Which is why you should only use it if something truly is unique.
If you find yourself typing “fairly unique,” take a deep breath, hit the delete key 13 times and try again. Same goes with “very unique,” “truly unique” or “quite unique.”
Unless the product really is unique. In that case, simply leave it at unique. It’s a powerful word by itself.
Tags: PR, PR Tips, unique
I’m of the opinion that two ways to approach a major conference or tradeshow exists.
All. Or nothing.
During shows such as Web 2.0 Expo or CES or SXSW, so many people are clamoring for attention you either need to completely stand out from the crowd or risk getting passed over. So, if you’re planning on making an announcement at a show, make it worth your while. And, the reporters, analysts and bloggers you’re looking to have cover you.
Otherwise, spend your efforts building relationships and connections. Then, you can reach out to those relationships after the show and make an announcement then.
Tags: best practices, business, PR Tips, relationships
Originally posted on the Etelos blog, but I’ve added some extra commentary here.
Do your customers and prospects trust your blogs? New research from Forrester says they don’t.
Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff recently released a report that had this interesting tidbit, amongst others:
Consumers trust company blogs less than any other channel.
This result comes from a survey wedid in Q2 of 2008. Have a look at the data yourself. Not only do blogs rank below newspapers and portals, they rank below wikis, direct mail, company
email, and message board posts. Only 16% of online consumers who read corporate blogs say they trust them. If you’re a corporate blogger or somebody who advises companies, you need to take this into account.
I’d like to know if you trust what we say here on these pages. we strive to create an open discussion on cloud computing, enterprise software and Web app distribution, amongst other topics.
Last year, Etelos was named as one of Inside CRM’s top 20 corporate blogs because we have made an effort to make sure every post is not a promotional spin piece for Etelos.
More to the story
There’s more to this story, though. In the original post, Bernoff lists other sources that people trust more than corporate blogs.
This graph is from Forrester and explains the break down in what sources people trust.
“Email from people you know” at the top is no surprise, but to see items such as wikis and yellow pages ranked higher is interesting. Most yellow pages services are sponsored listings — ads.
Quite frankly, I’m more willing to put faith in a quality, open and honest blog post than in an ad.
What I see in the general trend of trusted sources is that newer sources of energy are decidedly at the bottom of the list, while established or older relationships trend toward the top.
Earning trust
In his summary blog post, Bernoff advises that an open discourse is essential to establishing trust. Basically, what that means is that trust is earned. For a smaller company in a specialized industry such as we are, this trust is earned first in a small circle of companies.
So, how can companies earn trust? Here’s a couple of ways:
- Don’t just blog about the positives. Perfect software doesn’t exist, especially if yours is wearing a Beta tag.
- Link out, link early and link often. I feel that referring to others enhances your credibility.
- Let your content speak to your expertise. If you are truly innovative, your content will say so.
- Convers with your readers. Invite comments, respond to comments and post comments on others blogs.
So, my challenge to you is to earn some trust. Let me know what steps you’re doing to earn that trust.
Tags: conversation, marketing, Participate, PR Tips
I’ve bounced around on a couple of topics on this blog. But one of the most common cries for help/lashing out in anger I see around PR is over the pitch. I’m not sure how many PR people have actually been pitched before, but it can be quite annoying at times.
So, I want to offer my perspective on pitching. I used to be a reporter and, while I wasn’t on an TechCrunch or ReadWriteWeb scale, I did have a lot of other work to do and the pitches would frustrate me. That being said, I’ve come up with my Three S’s of Pitching: sincere, succinct and scalable.
Sincere
I talked about being genuine recently and sincerity goes hand in hand with that. You are asking a busy reporter to take the time to talk to/cover/link to your client. Provide that person some legitimate reason why you believe this is important. This is about believing in the brands/clients/products you represent. Here are some tips on sincerity:
- Avoid hype language. If you claim to be a leader, attribute the source.
- Be humble. Acknowledge the blogger’s position and that you appreciate any time they might be able to give.
- Be newsworthy. In journalism, it’s called the news hook. What is different or unique or special about this news or pitch that makes it newsworthy?
- Diction. The words you choose carry great weight. Only one product can be unique. It is not fairly unique.
- Show don’t tell. Remember that old axiom? It’s so applicable when pitching. Give details to support your claim and make sure they’re accurate.
Succinct
By keeping your messages short and to the point, you’ll endear yourself to, well, anybody really. When I was in college, I invented a word — “concisification.” A verb exists as well — “concisify.” The general premise is to take what you’ve written and rewrite it in half the space.
Simple enough, right? But to quote Mark Twain, “If I had more time, I’d write a shorter letter.” And it’s true. So how do you concisify something?
- Active, not passive. Avoid passive voice like the plague. That is all.
- Dead construction. This is a tricky one. Phrases such as “There is…” or “There are…” rob you of space. Instead of “There is new features…” Simply state “New features…”
- Be assertive. Phrases such as “This product could very well be the next big thing” shows weakness and is not compelling. “This product is the next big thing.” Is tighter, more active and easier to read.
- Avoid excessive similes and metaphors. Overusing these literary tools is like using a jack hammer to remove a tooth. Sure, it may work, but it can be quite painful.
Scalable
Let’s face it, we’re busy too. The expectation is that every pitch sent is a perfect, unique display of your PR prowess. But how realistic is this? The product pitch is essential and needs to be deployed at the ready.
So, a good pitch is scalable and can be sent out to different contacts but still be effective. I think that really, this is as simple as having a Word or Google Doc with the generic text in it. But deploy it from there. Don’t copy/paste from an email or use the forward feature. Mistakes can happen. Other tips on making your pitch scalable:
- Micro pitch it. Use social media to spread the word.
- Force it viral. Have your client send out a brief email to its contact base and ask colleagues/partners to post to Twitter and other networks.
- Incorporate the sincerity and succinctness described above.
So, there you have the three S’s of pitching. What methods do you use? What are some successful tactics you’ve used in the past?
Tags: PR Tips, Scalable, Sincere, Succince