Merriam-Webster defines “reputation” as:

“overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general”

Nowadays that reputation is increasingly informed by what people see online. Use of the yellow pages is going down. Google is way up. People ask for opinions on Twitter before they would pick up the phone to get their best friend’s opinion.

So while you used to invest resources to make sure your business cards, stationery and signage reflected your image and good reputation, now you must use turn your attention to your online reputation as well. Little things online speak loud and clear about the quality and character of your business.

Below are 5 little-known factors that affect your online reputation:

1. Company Website

If your company doesn’t have a website, it’s as good as non-existent. But it takes more than slapping on a website to form a good online reputation. Your website must look nice, of course, and be readable and all that. But it also needs to have updated content. The contact information should be clearly visible. Visitors should see the people and faces behind the company. Anonymous websites give off a fly-by-night aura.

And forget the static company website that’s the online version of your brochure. Nowadays, people expect companies to provide useful information. This enhances your reputation as an authority in your field. And makes prospects know you care about them. This is what a blog is good for.

2. Social Networking Profiles

Aside from your website, your social networking profiles also reflect on your online reputation. First off, look at the user name you’ve chosen. If it’s not your company name or your personal name, make sure it’s not something silly or nonsensical. And then there’s the issue of your avatar. In some cases you don’t have a choice but to use your company logo. Otherwise, avoid anything confusing or vulgar.

Lastly, pick your friends. The people you follow on Twitter, your LinkedIn connections, your Facebook friends, and the Facebook pages you follow all reflect on you. Choose them wisely.

3. Social Networking Updates

This may be obvious, but it’s too important to leave out of this list. What you tweet about or post on LinkedIn, Facebook and Google+ all affect your reputation. You have to be especially mindful if you’ve synchronized your different social networks together. For example, you may forget that your Twitter tweets are automatically published on your LinkedIn profile. Then you absentmindedly tweet, “Beer starts flowing in an hour!” That would be a huge turn off to your professional network on Twitter.

You may have also linked your Twitter account with your YouTube account. If this is the case, you’ll automatically tweet every time you upload and favorite a YouTube video. Make sure your YouTube activities are relevant to your Twitter followers. Or unlink your accounts.

Be purposeful about your social network presence, and make sure each of your updates are aligned with your goals.

4. Search Engine Ranking

How you rank for your top keywords also affects your online reputation. If you’re not in the top 10 of the search engine results page (SERP), you’re pretty much not in the big leagues.

Another important SERP to look at is the type of web pages that come up when you search for your company name and/or the names of your executives. If one of them is a blog post with the title, “Acme’s Blue Widget Sucks – Don’t Buy!” then that will affect your online reputation.

5. Comments in Blogs and Forums

Online comments made by your company executives and employees on blogs and forums also affect your reputation. I’ve seen people leave snarky comments, or even pick a fight online. This doesn’t look good, even when there’s a good reason for it. These comments never read in a good way. And, remember, these are web properties you have no control over. So you couldn’t go back and delete them afterwards. They may even rank well in SERPs.

This doesn’t mean you should restrict employees from participating in online communities. But do remind them to think twice, three times, or more, before publishing anything when they’re angry or upset.

How’s your online reputation?

Looking at the factors above, how’s your online reputation doing? Are there areas where you can do better? How can yo use social networks to improve your reputation?

Tell me about your Aha’s and action points below. Or connect with me on Twitter or Facebook.

Image by lululemon athletica

Related posts:

1. Stand Out and Get Liked Online In past social media workshops I’ve taught, the most popular...
2. Using Social Media to Enhance your Next Event One of the services that my PR company, Cross Border...
3. Making a Case for YouTube Chances are if you do your own PR, you already...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s good to learn from other people’s mistakes — so we don’t end up making them ourselves! In today’s guest post, Rachel Hyun Kim writes about 2012′s worst social media failures, and what we can learn from them. Take notes!

Social media is a constantly evolving process, with no formula set for a perfect campaign. While cheap, far-reaching, and sharable, social media is not without its potential downfalls. Unfortunately, many individuals and companies are learning this the hard way. Take a tip from the following failures, and make sure that your company learns from the mistakes of the following examples:

McDonald’s #McDStories

In mid-January, McDonalds launched a Twitter campaign involved the hashtag #McDStories, asking users to post nostalgic stories on Happy Meals. However, this campaign quickly took a whole different meaning, as users would use the hashtag to share horror experiences and shock tales. From poor work conditions to appalling food quality, McDonald’s campaign turned negative attention back to itself.

The Takeaway:

Social media campaigns always contain a measure of risk, where perception from users cannot be controlled. McDonald’s suffered from this, with the hijacking of their hashtag campaign. While companies, to some degree, can attempt to anticipate reaction from customers, at times it is simply impossible. In general, companies need to prepare contingency plans, and have a strategy for when social media fails.

Woody Harrelson’s AMA

On February 3, 2012, Woody Harrelson hosted a Reddit AMA, where users can ask questions to individuals who have a unique story or occupation. While AMAs are generally used to promote thoughtful dialogue and discussion, Harrelson’s AMA took a different approach. Reddit users quickly got the impression that the movie star was simply using the site for marketing purposes, and lashed out. Immense backlash was fired against Harrelson, his publicists and his upcoming movie, and Harrelson became infamous in Reddit history.

The Takeaway:

The main reason why this campaign failed so spectacularly is because of Harrelson’s failure to understand his audience. Reddit, a social news website, possesses a dedicated audience that is sensitive towards marketing attempts.  With AMA threads, users expect an honest dialogue, providing an open forum between the host and the audience. When using a social media platform, it is vital that you carefully understand the community and how they work.

Chris Brown’s Post-Grammy Tweets

One of the winners of the 2012 Grammys was R&B singer Chris Brown, who won an award for Best R&B album. After the Grammys, Chris Brown celebrated his victory on Twitter, sending out tweets to his followers. But instead of thanking them for their support, he instead focused his updates towards his haters, bashing them with disparaging remarks and F-bombs. Given the singer’s already shaky reputation, these tweets have further solidified the controversy around him.

The Takeaway:

Given the shareable nature of social media, public perception and reputation can change at the drop of a hat. A single tweet can quickly spread to others, whether it is good or bad. By posting such remarks, Chris Brown turns fans against him and have them commenting on his temperamental nature. While Chris Brown has recently stated that the tweets were made by one of his entourage, the negative effects of the online outbursts still remain.

Toyota’s #CamryEffect Campaign

During the Superbowl, Toyota planned a major Twitter campaign meant to promote the Camry. Creating a number of Twitter accounts labeled @CamryEffect1 through @CamryEffect9, Toyota intended to engage users by directly tweeting them. However, this had the opposite effect: users accused Toyota of bombarding and spamming them with unsolicited messages. Though Toyota quickly suspended the accounts, this campaign still resonates as an example of a failed, large-scale endeavor.

The Takeaway:

In Toyota’s case, mass spamming was not the main problem, though it definitely added to their woes. Instead, it was the content itself that caused the uproar. In order to engage users, tweets need to be interesting and intriguing, motivating users to retweet the message. However, the content used in the #CamryEffect campaign gave a self-serving and promotional impression The bland, spammed messages and poor timing became a recipe for disaster for the major automobile company.

What lessons have you learned from these social media fiascos, that you will apply in your own social media and PR efforts? Do you know of any other bombs that we can learn about?

Share them here.

Rachel Hyun Kim is a writer for Resource Nation, an online resource that gives advice such as B2B lead generation to small businesses and entrepreneurs. Rachel has written on a variety of topics, ranging from VoIP phone systems to background checks.

photo credit: Shaylor

Related posts:

1. How to Do Social Media PR in 2012 Social media has become the new arena for PR. And...
2. Making a Case for YouTube Chances are if you do your own PR, you already...
3. Using Social Media to Enhance your Next Event One of the services that my PR company, Cross Border...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

In today’s guest post, Juliette Schmerler lists seven commonly missed opportunities for exposure, both online and offline. Does this list inspire you to try a new marketing platform?

There are undoubtedly a number of marketing methods that your business is NOT using at the moment to improve your visibility with potential customers. Unfortunately, too many businesses feel that if they have a website, they have done enough to make themselves visible. The truth is, today’s businesses need to make use of many methods in order to make it easy for their customers to connect with them.

Here are just a few methods which are commonly overlooked, but can bring a lot more exposure to your company:

Email Newsletters
Email newsletters allow you to regularly communicate with your customers. Newsletters can be a great relationship builder as you can inform your customers of everything from product and service changes to industry news or some great tips to benefit them. If you continue to provide them with quality information, you will build trust and remain actively in their thoughts when they are considering a purchase. Writing and sending a regularly published email newsletter is one of the best ways to establish and maintain this contact. Just be sure to give valuable information and avoid being overly “salesy”.

LinkedIn
By creating a profile on LinkedIn, you (as the owner) and/or your business will most certainly increase your visibility. LinkedIn is a popular social networking site, organized in ‘connections’. A LinkedIn profile allows you to showcase your expertise as the company owner, as well as create a company profile outlining your products and/or services. You can begin to connect with other professionals and expand your network substantially. Invite your customers and prospects to connect with you through LinkedIn and be sure to participate in the ongoing conversations taking place in various groups.

Vehicle Decals
Branding your business by creating a uniform feel across your website, business cards, and sales material is a great start and where most businesses end when it comes to branding. However, putting a decal or sign on your vehicle is another great way to increase visibility and get noticed. This is one of the quintessential guerilla marketing methods, and is incredibly under-used. As an owner of a business, you need to be marketing constantly and always looking for new ways to capture new prospects. What is more captivating than a well-designed decal or sign on your vehicle, clearly identifying your brand? You are driving all over to meetings and errands anyway. You may as well get some marketing use out of it.

Facebook Business Page
With the surge in popularity of social network sites such as Facebook, there is no longer any excuse for not having a business page. Facebook users are one of the largest and most active social groups on the web today. Most users will access their accounts numerous times throughout the day to view their news feed. Creating a Facebook Business Page gives you one more place to inform both current and potential customers about your products and services. With the very viral SHARE option on Facebook, users can easily help spread your information to their friends quickly, giving any great content the ability to go viral in a very short period of time. Invite people to connect with you, be active, and respond to questions and posts from Fans. You may want to set aside a few minutes each day to add new posts and information and respond throughout the day to customer questions. Doing so will greatly add to your overall reputation and increase visibility tremendously.

Mobile Websites
The sales of smart phones, tablets, and other mobile internet connected devices are growing tremendously. In a few years, it is estimated that there may even be more internet users on mobile devices than on laptops or PCs. As a business owner, you can take advantage of these trends by creating a mobile website or making sure that your current website is mobile friendly. Many sites may look great on a desktop or laptop, but look incredibly bad when accessed from a the smaller screen of a mobile device. In fact, some cannot even be accessed at all. Most consumers are now on the go and their smartphone is their only link to the internet. What happens when a customer is out and about and wants to find a good Italian restaurant or a great shoe store nearby? She is going to pull out her mobile phone and do a search. If you do not have a properly formatted site, you will lose that consumer and the sale will go to your competitor.

Video Marketing
A large portion of current internet traffic is video. After 5 pm, video represents more than 50% of all internet traffic and this trend is not slowing down. People are consuming more and more video content because it is instant and easy. Creating even a simple video for your business can help bring visibility in this market. If you are already creating content for a newsletter or blog, you are half way there. You can easily convert your current content to video, add some background music and distribute the same message to a new, and very active, audience. Not feeling savvy enough to create this type of media yourself? Outsource the project to a marketing firm who is proficient in creating such content and get results without the need for the tech ability.

Google Places
Take advantage of Google’s free “Places” services. By listing your business here, you will be able to be found when your prospective customers search for local results. In fact, Google is becoming more and more ‘local’ oriented, and actually prefers to give folks targeted results. Best of all this listing is totally free! You can sign up quickly with just a few steps and dramatically increase your local visibility.

These are just a few of the ways your businesses can increase its visibility. Higher visibility means more prospects turn into customers, repeat customers and even fans.

Juliette Schmerler is the founder and Creative Director of Sparktank Creative, a boutique design agency that helps businesses reach their ideal clients with powerful branding, print and online tools. Learn more at:  www.sparktankcreative.com

Related posts:

1. 10 Ways to Leverage a Company Win I talked previously about the different ways you can repurpose...
2. 14 Ways to Get Liked on Facebook By now there is no doubting the power of Facebook....
3. 10 Elements of A Social Media Policy for Your Company Your business needs a social media policy. Let me illustrate...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Lady Gaga is a celebrity phenomenon. She rose to stardom on the wings of social media and has achieved so much in little time compared to her predecessors. Consider this:

• she has over 20 million Twitter followers
• almost 50 million people have liked her Facebook page
• she has won 5 Grammy Awards, among many other music awards
• in 2011, Forbes named her the #1 most powerful celebrity and #7 on its list of most powerful women
• she is estimated to have earned over US$90 million as of August 2011

If that’s not enough, the University of South Carolina has created a course, “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame.”

Clearly, we can learn a thing or two from someone who has accomplished so much. What can Lady Gaga teach us about getting PR in a social media-driven world?

7 PR Tips You Can Learn From Lady Gaga

1. Start with a good product

Lady Gaga is not the greatest singer who ever lived. Her songs are not the best ever composed. But there’s no denying her talent.

She is classically trained in piano, and has played lead roles in school plays throughout childhood. She also writes her own music, designs her clothes, and masterminds her marketing.

PR Lesson:

It’s much harder for PR to succeed if the product is poor to begin with. But start with a good product, a product that customers would actually pay for and there’s no telling where you can go.

2. Stand out from the competition

From her meat dress to explicit videos, Lady Gaga is not afraid to shock and stir controversy. As we’ve said before, controversy is always newsworthy fuel for PR.

PR Lesson:

Don’t be afraid to ruffle feathers if it means being true to your brand.

3. Have a message and speak it boldly

Lady Gaga’s music and fashion choices all say the same message: Be yourself, accept who you are, including your weirdest quirks. This consistent message has resonated with her audience and turned them into wildly loyal “monsters”.

PR Lesson:

Know what you, your brand, and your product stand for, and shout it from the mountaintops.

4. Give up control

Unlike other artists, Lady Gaga allows everyone to post her music all over the Internet without asserting her copyright. As her music earnings show, this wide online piracy hasn’t hurt her earnings at all.

PR Lesson:

Once you create content and unleash it to the world, you often cannot control who uses that content. This is not always a bad thing – by others spreading your content and your message far and wide – you might reach your sweet spot of paying customers, much faster.

5. Make your own news

Perez Hilton, one of the entertainment media who first took notice of Lady Gaga, says she caught his attention through a video she made herself, independently of her record label.

PR Lesson:

Don’t rely on traditional media gatekeepers and producers to publish content about you. The tools are available today for anyone to create their own content. Keep your content platforms — blog, YouTube channel, Facebook page, etc — fresh with new updates and relevant content. Time and time again, I see that it can take just one “tastemaker” or “influencer” to make a brand’s marketing content go viral (which can then translate to sales).

6. Reach new audiences through partnerships

Famous as she is, Lady Gaga willingly shares the limelight with the likes of Tony Bennett, Elton John, Cher, and Beyonce. No doubt these collaborations helped Lady Gaga reach new audiences and make new fans out of them.

PR Lesson:

Reach out to businesses that complement yours, so you can widen your audience reach. While you may be set about who your target customers are, partnerships allow you to tap into audiences you’ve never thought of, who would buy your product or service – if they just knew about you.

7. Persevere

We tend to think of success stories as happening overnight, without realizing all the time and hard work it took for the success to happen. Few know, for example, that Lady Gaga started out playing in small lounges in NYC.

PR Lesson:

Don’t get discouraged if at first you don’t see results from your PR efforts. The seeds you plant now, especially in social media, will bear fruit eventually, and for many years to come. That said, it’s essential to keep track of what does work and keep doing more of it.

What Did I Miss?

These are only some of the PR lessons we can learn from Lady Gaga. I’m sure there are many more.

What other lessons do you think can we learn from Lady Gaga to help us improve our PR? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Or let me know on Twitter or Facebook.

Image by Domain Barnyard

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Today we have a guest post from Karen Southall Watts, who tells us to be courageous and ask ourselves the toughest questions about our business. Doing so may not be pleasant but, trust me, you’ll be glad you did.

You’re tired or cranky. The office seems overly noisy but not productive. Something seems off, but you aren’t sure what.

It happens to all entrepreneurs—the time comes to look in the mirror and ask some tough questions.

Don’t shy away. Just face yourself and you can move on to greater success.

How are my finances—really?

Sometimes the thrill of running the business overshadows the reality of the balance sheet. As you move through your business every day, the pressure to get things done, or the temptation to do something new and interesting, can distract you from the essential bottom line: Businesses need to make a profit.

When customers aren’t coming in and bills aren’t getting paid it is simply human nature to ignore the situation and hope things will get better. Resist this urge. Being busy is not an excuse to skip the regular and careful review of your accounts. If you aren’t making money it might be time to revisit your business plan and strategies.

Can I take criticism or absorb advice?

One of my personal guilty pleasures is watching “Tabatha Takes Over” on television. Tabatha Coffee, a famous hair stylist and salon owner, evaluates, renovates and resuscitates struggling businesses, while we get to watch. It never ceases to amaze me that so many owners, who have asked for her help, refuse to listen to the expert advice they are getting—for free.

What I find even more amazing are entrepreneurs who pay for expert help from accountants, publicists, consultants and others, who also ignore advice.

Successful entrepreneurs must be fast and flexible. You must be willing to act on solid expert advice as well as the feedback from your clients or customers. If your reaction to constructive criticism is making excuses or getting defensive you are missing out on opportunity.

Should I still be wearing all these hats?

During the start-up phase it’s common for entrepreneurs to do everything from presentations to investors to taking out the garbage. As success begins to kick in the time comes to delegate.

The same happens every time you expand. The same issues around delegation pop up again and again, even for those of us who know better.

Are you tired all the time? Are you spending time doing tasks far outside your true talent “sweet spot”? Have you said, “If I don’t do it myself, it won’t get done”? Be honest. Your focus should be on the core mission of the business. Failing to delegate or micromanaging after you hand off a task will drain your energy.

What’s my next step, and why am I not doing it right now?

I can’t tell you how many coaching conversations begin with the phrase “I know I should…” Entrepreneurs by nature are innovative, creative and dedicated. Often there’s only a moment between the big AH HA for a new product, service or strategy and excited execution.

Then sometimes fear gets in the way. It can happen slowly; you simply don’t do the next step. You have a vague sort of stuck feeling. The business is okay, but in your heart you know it could be much better.  Do whatever you need to get unstuck: join a mastermind group, hire a coach, call a colleague, have a staff retreat. Just do it.

Take a long, hard look in the mirror. Ask the tough questions and take action, and the next time you glance at your reflection you will see a happier and more content and successful business owner.

Karen Southall Watts is an entrepreneurship and management coach who focuses on practical and effective solutions for professionals. Karen offers workshops and one-on-one coaching. She is the author of the ebook, Sex is Good for Business: A Workbook for Couples in Business Together. Follow Karen on Twitter or find her at www.karensouthallwatts.com. Karen also teaches Business Ethics and writing at the community college level.

Image by cali4beach

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Our biggest challenge in PR is getting our stories published in the news. But to get in the news, we must first be “newsworthy.”

Unless your business is related to politics or celebrities, chances are you need to work at being newsworthy. Don’t despair, even the most mundane of businesses can be compelling enough to land the news.

What does it mean to be newsworthy anyway?

7 Ways To Be Newsworthy

If you observe what gets published in newspapers, magazines and blogs, or talked about on the radio and TV, you’ll notice they have at least one of the following characteristics:

1. New

That’s why they’re called the “news” in the first place; they’re about things that are new. They’re happening right now. They’re happening for the first time. It’s novel, it’s fresh.

Action Point

• Look for what’s new in your business or in the activities you’ve participated in lately.

• Implement business-related activities that are different from what your competitors are doing, such as sponsoring a study (and then release the findings), participating in a charitable event, winning an award.

2. High-impact

An event becomes a news story, because it affects many people (since we’re all tied to our phones, think of anything Apple or Blackberry does) or affects a few people in a big way (cure for a type of cancer found). Something that has a limited effect so far (soft launch for a new product or service) — but can be scaled up significantly — is also newsworthy

Action Point

• How has your product/service/program affected your customers? Turn your answers into story ideas.

• Ask customers if any of them have discovered an unexpected but desirable result from using your product/service/program.

• Keep monitoring your customers to mine for indicators of impact (e.g., 10,000 downloads for an app, 1000th customer)

3. Close to home

People are naturally interested in things that happen in places or to people they’re familiar with. This is why it’s usually easier for us to get coverage in local media than outlets that are regional or national.

Action Point

• Monitor local media and bloggers, and keep an eye out for media opportunities.

• Think of what aspects of your business would be interesting to a local audience, even if it’s not necessarily compelling to someone outside your geographical location (e.g., hometown lad makes big with start-up business)

4. Celebrity

When something happens to someone famous, it’s news. Celebrity “sightings” wearing or using your product can mean an instant fan base for you, and immediate sales as your product becomes a “must-have” item.

Action Point

• Consider getting a celebrity spokesperson to represent your product or brand (this often involves working with their stylist if your product is fashion oriented or working with a firm specializing in celebrity gifting)

• Tap local or community celebrities to participate in your live events or other activities

5. Controversial

Controversy is newsworthy. To be controversial, you must be open to conflict, disagreement, and tension.

Action Point

• If there’s a generally accepted notion in your market or industry that you disagree with, speak up about it. But do so with grace and diplomacy. In other words, speak your mind without picking a fight

6. Interesting

Some news items may not have any of the characteristics on this list, other than the fact that they’re just plain interesting. These are usually stories that evoke strong emotions from the audience: anything from amusement, to fear, to anger. Absurdities and human interest stories usually fall under this category of news.

Action Point

• Regularly scan your industry and environment for elements that may raise eyebrows. How do they relate to your business?
• When you tell the story of your business or how your product came to be, watch your listener’s reactions. What captivates them the most? Play that up and possibly make a media pitch out of it.

7. Extreme

Whatever is the best, the biggest, the fastest, the most, the only, the first… makes the news.

Action Point

• What is the USP of your product/service/program? Use that as the starting point for a story idea.

• Ask your customers: What does your product do best? What is it most useful for? Ask permission to quote them.

Use the list above to identify story ideas to pitch to journalists. A good exercise is to sit down with a team once a month, go through the list, and brainstorm as many story ideas as you can.

Read, watch, listen to media, including social media, to get a good idea of what journalists find newsworthy. Soon mining your business for what’s newsworthy will become second nature to you.

Which of these newsworthy elements has landed you a media story in the past? Share your experience in the comments below. Or let me know via Twitter or Facebook.

photo credit: nicolaitan

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

So you’ve written a very easy to read and keyword optimized SEO press release. You get it all ready to send out and upload to your website so you can start raking in the dough, but you hesitate. Suddenly it occurs to you that you have no idea how to actually track this press release’s level of success.

How many eyeballs will the press release reach? How effective will your keyword placement be? Did you anchor your links properly for optimum SEO? So many questions, and they all make a huge difference to your company’s well-being. So how to track how well your SEO press release does?

Search Rank

The easiest way to tell just how great your SEO press release is doing is by how far up you’ve moved in your search ranking! If you started out buried on page four and suddenly find your website listed on page two, then you can rest assured your SEO press release is working, barring any extenuating circumstances.

Keep in mind this might not happen all at once, and not for every single web crawler. All use different algorithms to search the Internet and may provide different results. As a result, you’ll want to check each search engine to see where you rank. Over time this will change, hopefully for the better.

If there is little to no result, you may want to go back to the drawing board with your SEO press release. Again don’t expect everything to happen all at once, but if days and weeks go by and your site has gone nowhere, give it another shot.

Trackers

If you’d rather not spend half your day looking at multiple search engines, then you may want to give an SEO tracker a go. These automatically crawl around the web looking to see where your site ranks, and can even let you know when other sites and bloggers mention you.

They range from the inexpensive, like Sheer SEO, to the free yet a little more complicated, like Google Analytics. The more expensive ones are naturally going to be more in-depth and headache free, and most will do everything you need without you lifting a finger.

Remember when I mentioned looking at the different search engines to see where you are? Technically, that’s almost impossible to do by yourself, as there are over 700 search engines. You’d literally do nothing all day long if you tried to do that! However, it’s important to recognize that three search engines (Google, Bing, and Yahoo!) comprise more than 95% of all search traffic. Focus on these engines and don’t get distracted by the others.

Also, some higher end tracking software can suggest related keywords to use in the future to increase your page rank. This can give you a better idea how to get to that coveted “page 1,” which can often make a huge difference in how easily potential new customers find you.

This guest post is by Mickie Kennedy, the founder of eReleases – home of affordable, next generation press release distribution. Mickie also publishes PR Fuel, a PR-centric blog that showcases advice and articles on all things social media, PR publicity, and online marketing.

Related posts:

1. How is an SEO Press Release Different Than a Regular Press Release Today we have a guest post by Mickie Kennedy of...
2. How to Write an SEO Press Release In these Internet fueled times, nearly everyone has to evolve....
3. 7 Press Release Mistakes PR Newbies Make Even though the public relations industry is changing fast, some...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

In today’s guest post, PR professional Laura Ward takes us back to basics by explaining the key PR tools to consider and how to choose the right ones.

So you’ve decided to add public relations to your marketing mix. Or, you’re considering it. Either way, fantastic!  Congratulations on making (or, getting ready to make) a very smart business decision.

Public relations helps build brands, generate awareness and visibility, and drive bottom line results. However, simply realizing you need and want public relations doesn’t make developing and executing the right plan any less intimidating or overwhelming. PR is not for the faint of heart. Nor is it for the lazy.

Most times, upon answering questions about what they do for a living, PR professionals are the proud recipients of responses such as, “Oh, that’s nice. So, you write press releases.”

“Among a gazillion other things,” the PR professional thinks without verbally offering anything other than, “Yes, that’s definitely part of my job,” while mustering a polite smile.

Public relations is about much more than just press releases. Basically, PR is a tool kit. The. Ultimate. Tool kit.  Its tools are called tactics. Like a drill and a screwdriver, some tactics are used together. Other times, the only one you need is a hammer. It depends upon the project, how it needs to be structured, and what it needs to accomplish.

Whether you want to build, repair, or maintain your business, PR can help. But, how do you choose the right tools for the job?

First, you need to answer a few questions.

Who is your target audience? Identify key audience segments as well as their age ranges and geographic locations (local, regional, national, global).
What do you want to tell these people?  Indicate whether you are selling a product/service, raising money for charity, working to change perceptions, educate the public, or simply get noticed.
What media (traditional, online, and social) deliver news and information to your audience?  What newspapers, magazines, blogs do they read?  What television programs do they watch?

Next, you need to know your options.  Public relations tactics, or tools in the tool kit, include (but are definitely not limited to):

• Traditional media relations
• Online media relations
• Social media relations
• Byline articles
• Op Ed pieces
• Letters to the editor
• Blogging
• Trend pitches
• Community relations
• Events

Finally, you need to understand how each tool works.

Media Relations – Whether traditional, online, or social, media relations involves the development of a media list inclusive of the most appropriate editors, producers, reporters, Facebook pages, and Twitter handles for your organization’s interactions followed by thoughtful and timely communication/engagement with those on the media list. Successful media relations initiatives can elevate a brand via expert spokesperson placement, feature articles, and prominent social media presence.

Byline Articles – Often ghostwritten, byline articles appear in magazines and newspapers and tend to fit topically/thematically with content dictated by a publication’s editorial calendar.

Op Ed Pieces/Letters to the Editor – When a brand, business, or organization has a position or opinion to communicate about a particular subject/issue, it is often wise to craft and submit for publication an op ed article or letter to the editor.

Blogging/Vlogging – If a brand can make a commitment to posting a new blog and/or video at least once per week, this tactic can prove extremely successful in helping the brand gain traction online by driving web site traffic and building social media buzz.

Trend pitches – Most businesses live and breathe trends, whether setting them or contributing to them. Organizational leaders are automatically experts on those trends and can distinguish their brands by highlighting existing trends in new ways and predicting and introducing future trends.

Community relations – Some of the strongest and most valuable relationships a brand can establish and maintain are those with the communities in which its offices, retail locations, etc. are based. Whether through college scholarship programs or regular donations to local charities or other programs, brands can build reputations as good citizens by giving back to their communities. These good works can and should be publicized.

Events – From press conferences and media tours to fundraisers and community activities that include local celebrities, events of any size can reinforce brand awareness and identity through experiential relationships with various audience segments.

In most cases, the volume of the messages brands communicate is ultimately controlled by two things: budget and resources. Fortunately, public relations tactics can, and most often do, effectively maximize dollars for the greatest possible impact.  Dedicating resources, either internally or externally (or both) is paramount, provided those assigned to development and implementation of PR programs are capable of multi-tasking and meeting deadlines, but are not expected to multi-job (e.g., juggle PR, administrative, and financial duties).

Truth be told, most businesses and organizations can stand to benefit from utilizing a carefully mapped out strategic combination of nearly all the aforementioned PR tactics. The more tools plucked from the kit and successfully manipulated to work in concert with one another and speak to target audiences, the louder and more penetrable the messages and the greater their overall impact.

Laura Ward is the award-winning public relations professional behind WardComm Public Relations. She thrives on utilizing the written word, whether via press releases, by-lined articles, newsletters, websites, or social media; creating and executing public relations campaigns; fostering relationships with the media; planning events; multi-tasking and meeting tight deadlines. Follow Laura on Twitter.

photo credit: turtlemom4bacon

Related posts:

1. 109 Ways to Make Your Business Irresistible to the Media This post was first published in Copyblogger.com. My friend Patrick...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

In this post, you’ll find an excerpt of the fourth and final installment of PR Newswire’s ebook, “Unlocking Social Media for PR.” In case you missed them, you’ll find the earlier parts below:

Part 1: Wetting Your Feet in the Pool of Social Media

Part 2: The Evolved Practice of Journalism and Earned Media Landscape

Part 3: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora & ProfNet Connect: A Deeper Dive

In this part of the book, you will read about Maria Perez’s experience in tweeting as a brand. Author Sarah Skerik then summarizes her top tips for using key social media platforms:  Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You’ll definitely find a few gems you can implement right away.

Here is the table of contents for Part 4 of “Unlocking Social Media for PR”:

Riding the Social Media Journey

The final part (part four) in this eBook series takes a closer look at the social media journey of Maria Perez in her role as the voice of @ProfNet, Maria shares her experiences and lessons learned as she carefully built a brand on Twitter – and mastered the difference between professional and personal tweeting. The eBook concludes with the author’s, Sarah Skerik’s, thoughtful recap and key takeaways from her ongoing journey through social media.

Chapter 11

10 Tips for Tweeting as a Brand……………………………………………………………………………. 4

Closing

Lessons Learned from My Social Network Journey – So Far……………………………. 7

Click here to sign up for this final part of “Unlocking Social Media for PR” — it’s free!

Related posts:

1. Unlocking Social Media for PR: Part 3 It’s time for Part 3 of PR Newswire’s ebook, “Unlocking...
2. Unlocking Social Media for PR PR Newswire recently released an ebook, “Unlocking Social Media for...
3. Unlocking Social Media for PR: Part 2 Today we continue our series on “Unlocking Social Media for...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

It’s time for Part 3 of PR Newswire’s ebook, “Unlocking Social Media for PR.”

Here are the links to the previous parts of this series:

Part 1:  Wetting Your Feet in the Pool of Social Media

Part 2:  The Evolved Practice of Journalism and Earned Media Landscape

In Part 3, author Sarah Skerik dives into strategies for using specific social networks for PR: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora, and discussion groups and forums. These chapters contain the nuts-and-bolts of the ebook.

Here’s the table of contents from Part 3 of “Unlocking Social Media for PR”:

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Quora & ProfNet Connect: A deeper dive

Part three (of four) in this eBook series delves a bit deeper into specific social networks and the different approaches necessary for each. Learn how to cultivate and interact with an audience on Facebook, craft an effective tweet and maximize exposure on Twitter, establish company pages and uncover opportunities on LinkedIn and how to strategically involve yourself in the savvy discussions on Quora and other forums.

Chapter 6
Using Facebook for Public Relations …………………………………………………………………….. 4

Chapter 7
Using Twitter for Public Relations………………………………………………………………………… 9

Chapter 8
Using LinkedIn for Public Relations ………………………………………………………………………. 15

Chapter 9
Using Quora for Public Relations.…………………………………………………………………………. 19

Chapter 10
Discussion Groups and Forums: Virtual Focus Groups for  Wired Communicators ………………………………….. 22

Sign up for Part 3 of “Unlocking Social Media for PR” here.

Next Tuesday, December 27, we’ll take a peek into the fourth and last part of the series. See you then!

Related posts:

1. Unlocking Social Media for PR: Part 2 Today we continue our series on “Unlocking Social Media for...
2. Unlocking Social Media for PR PR Newswire recently released an ebook, “Unlocking Social Media for...
3. 10 Elements of A Social Media Policy for Your Company Your business needs a social media policy. Let me illustrate...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.