Public Relations (PR) and Marketing - Their Global Relevance Online and Off

5 Easy Ways To Jump Start Your Online Marketing Strategy

2012-10-18T21:14:00.001-04:00

Sifting through a plethora of marketing strategies can be taxing even on the best of marketers. Small business owners and start-ups might find this tedious and distracting. Nevertheless online marketing, like offline marketing is important for doing business. It therefore requires concise ideas on techniques as well as careful planning on how to implement them for maximum results.

As the saying goes: Work Smarter Not Harder.

Here are 5 Easy and Effective Ways to Start Your Online Marketing For Your Business

1. HootSuite, TweetDeck, etc...
Make things a whole lot easier on yourself by organizing your social media campaigns on a single user interface. TweetDeck is a free social media management platform that can be used to manage only Facebook and Twitter accounts. It is fairly easy to use.
HootSuite offers a free one month trial for using theirs and a monthly fee of $9.99 thereafter. Hootsuite is especially good if you are managing a large campaign with several social media accounts or have multiple users managing these campaigns.

2. Let Someone Else Do It
Create the outlines for your contents and hire writers, website programmers and graphic designers to complete these tasks for you. Check on the uniqueness of written content using Copyscape and ensure that they are properly optimized for search engines. You can find talented professionals on platforms such as Odesk, Elance, Twitter, LinkedIn, PeoplePerHour among others. The most affordable ones are usually from the Caribbean, India or the Philippines.

3. Re-channel Traffic
Since you already know your niche, use Facebook to find their usual hangouts. Search for other top fan pages that cater to the audiences you are looking for and make an offer to their fans there. You can do this by contacting the fan page owners and make irresistible deals such as offering free stuff to their "fans" in turn for their support. You would then drive traffic to your offers which you could use to either build a mailing list, increase traffic to your website or likes on your own page.

4. Translate Everything
Almost everything is being localized these days. And so not just to "keep up with the Jones" you too should translate all your campaigns into different languages. Your websites, articles, videos, and posts should be able to be found in different languages for an international audiences. Facebook recently announced that would be relying heavily on localization to increase their advertising revenue - and so should you. For starters you can target languages with a large

5. Use Your Mobile Devices
Mobile Marketing is growing at a really fast pace. Currently there are billions of mobile users worldwide and the industry is expected to double by 2015. Yet very few businesses are using mobile marketing in their online campaign. Now is just time for you to make use of low competition and high levels of traffic.
Get professionally created Apps and mobile websites at a reasonable cost and in very little time. Manage them through Instagram, QR Codes, SEM and many other strategies. A professional marketing team can easily do all this for you.

As with everything else, there are hard and easy ways to do things. These are some of the quick, easy and very effective ways to get started. There are of course others and we'd love if you'd share them with us. Also like our page on FB and tweet us up @Saandrear.

See you on the next post.

How To Prepare Your Media Kit The Modern Way

2012-10-18T16:34:00.000-04:00

A media kit (press kit) is the missing link between your business and the public. It provides much needed information about you, your business, your overall purpose and how they affect the wider society.

Nowadays, media kits have transcended into the online world to be known as media pages. Although different in their formats, they essentially serve the same purpose. Media pages (or media rooms or press rooms) are specific webpages on a website that allow interested persons to quickly go through the page and get the information they need about the company or individual and their product and services (P/S).

Here Are The Essential Contents Of a Media Kit or Media Page:

- Informational Company Brochure
There is no need for limitations here. Brochures can be done electronically i.e. on CDs or flash drives and included in the physical media kit. Many companies still find it useful to prepare their brochures on printed material. However, the best approach would be to use a method that makes it easier on a busy journalist to read your information and write about it.
Regardless of the means by which it is created, the brochures should have all the details about the company's history, managers, product, missions and goals.
On a website, the brochures may be a downloadable PDF file, in a light-box or a link to another page with all the details about the company.

- Product/Services Brochure
This is written information outlining specific details on the P/S that the company offers. The emphasis here is on details such at the benefits and values that the commodity offers customers as well as the features of it. How it works, etc...

- Sales Sheets
Also know as a One Sheet or Sales Note it contains compelling information about the P/S and is sent to the prospects stating why they should purchase from you. Written on a single sheet of paper it covers general information such as about the company or individual; details on the benefits and features of the P/S as well as the company's promotional strategies.

- Cover letter
This is an introductory letter giving a general idea of what's inside the rest of the media kit and its purposes.

- FAQs
This section provides ready done answers to questions that customers have or are likely to ask. It is a
remarkable piece of customer service tool.

- Biographies
Naturally it wouldn't be practical to include all the employees in this... but the biography section should have relevant information on all the key persons within the company i.e. there education, professional experience, history with the company etc.

- Interviews and Media Coverage
Any interviews, press releases, news items and reports that were made about the company should be presented in this section. Within the media kit, the information can the actual articles themselves. Links should be provided on the media page.

- Testimonials
All written, audio or video testimonials should be provided as well. They can be displayed in a similar fashion as the interviews and media coverages.

5 Things You Should Master in Public Relations

2012-10-15T15:05:00.000-04:00

A business needs a good public relations (PR) professional to get the word out about its products, services and goodwill to the public. A form of mass media advertising, public relations targets particular audiences through a broad and general approach. To effectively capitalize on these efforts, there are a few aspects to public relations that should be mastered:

- Know How to Influence Your Audience
This skill is useful in every area of business. When doing a public relations campaign, being able to influence your audience to take specific actions is absolutely critical. It comes however through connecting with the masses and building a favorable relationship.Transparency on the part of the represented company or individual is a must in this regard.

- Develop A Good Rapport With Persons In The Media
Knowing how to network and build a strong professional relationship with journalist and other media professionals will help to support your efforts in public relations. Therefore, public relations relies heavily on who knows you rather than who you know. This should provide you with some useful means of gaining access to your audience.

- Master The Art of Writing and Speaking To a Public Audience
Since these will be the only means to communicate with the media and your audience, knowing how to use them constructively and concisely is critical. Knowing also how to gauge your content and approach to achieve specific purposes or communicate with targeted audience is also important. Being having an insight on the mindset of the audience will help in effective communication.

- Always Be Aware of Current Trends In Media
This will go a long way in reaching your audience. Therefore, if there are new social media techniques to gain the attention of your audience for eg., then this must be identified and immediately implemented. If a more targeted approach is required, then careful consideration must be given to the methods used in the PR strategies.

-Be Multifunctional
There are various disciplines within public relations. It includes, crisis management PR, medical education, mainstream product marketing PR, planning and financial PR among others. However, while a good professional will specialize in an area, they should also be capable of wearing more than one hat... or at least be able to adjust easily into the other discipline. For eg, a mainstream PR marketer would also be able cover areas of lifestyle PR. This will help to grow professionally and benefit the organization as well.

Is TagLikeMe The Answer To Our Search Engine Prayers?

2012-10-09T13:24:00.001-04:00

An insider told me recently: "They aren't even advertising it yet..." Nevertheless, TagLikeMe is creating quite a stir among the few who do know about it.

TagLikeMe is among the latest innovations that fuses the three major search engines (Yahoo!, Bing, Google) into one user interface. It displays the results of your search from these search engines to which you can add tags and then store the information by dragging and dropping it into your personal account.
You can create this account on the site. To some degree this just like or even better than bookmarking, because now you can organize the tagged information according to similarity and relevance.
Let's say you are working on a project. You simply do your research with the three major search engines simultaneously. Then you collect that information and categorize them in tagged folders in your personal account on the site.

Now here's the part that blows your mind about TagLikeMe, you can share your tagged project with its images, written content, videos you name it to the entire world at your leisure. Persons who are looking for information via similar tags will find your project in an instant.
They can even add content to your project if you wish to allow this. Or you can share your information with your selected few and work with them in a productive collaboration. Researchers will find TagLikeMe very useful as now it easier to work in an online team to find information and store it all in one place at a go.

So in a nutshell, TagLikeMe is more than just a 3-in-1 search engine, its a research and project management platform; it's a social media site; it gets you where you want to go online by providing easy access to information. You can even use it on smartphones and iPad. Geez, I wonder what they'll do next to make the lives of internet gurus that much easier.

What do you guys think about this though? Send me your ideas - I'd love to hear it and see you on the next post...

Are Signs Showing Google+ To Be The Next Big Thing In Content Marketing Platforms?

2012-10-06T14:28:00.001-04:00

There's Ezinearticles.com, Goarticles.com, Articlecity.com and a host of other free article submission sites. Yet could Google plus (G+) soon be ranked at the top of that list? Google +(plus), which was first launched on June 28, 2011, is an integration of social media features with your personal email, your Youtube account, and the Google search engine.
Features to this web platform include
- Hangout for video streaming and chatting
- Circles to which you can add "friends" and share information
- Messenger for instant messaging among smartphone users
- Google Pages which allows businesses and other organizations to create profile to post content, much like Facebook pages
- Google Events allows persons to add events and invite persons accordingly.
- Google + Creative Kit (Picassa) which allows persons to edit and share images and pictures easily

Developers are working around the clock on a number of other useful features to be incorporated into the Google + web application for an even greater user experience.

So we know that Google is the number one search engine there is. We also know that social networking platforms are relatively popular - almost every person has an account with one network or the other. Now as Google plus is putting some steam in their campaign engine to become a major player on the social media field, we can deduce from these facts that inevitably this will be a successful feat.

But the feature that causes Google + to be a more formidable web application platform is this very fact:

Contents of whatever form that are posted through the Google Plus (g+) platform, are ranked fairly high, fairly quickly.

Blogger allows a full integration of your blog profile with your Google plus account. This way, contents from your blog can be directly posted on Google plus and get ranked at an alarming pace.

With trends leaning towards an increase popularity for Google Plus, businesses can enhance their marketing through this medium.

How to Press Release Your Business or Personal Image

2012-08-18T15:05:00.001-04:00

Before we attempt to write a press release, we first have to define what it is.

What is a Press Release?

This is an officially written report on news worthy events about an organization or individual. It is written in the third person and in an objective manner. Press releases are prepared by public relations professionals, who compile factual information about the individual/organization and submit them to relevant media houses or they may include them in media kits or on media pages. The journalists then transform such information into headline news contents. While adhering to the facts, press releases tend to present the objectives of the organization or the individual in a rather positive light.

Online press releases are submitted directly to PR sites such as 1888 Press Release and PR Wire. This method eliminates the need for third party journalism. Therefore the press release may reach its intended audience more quickly.

Press releases however, are not for purposes of biography although it may include some background details about the individual or organization. They should also avoid being likened to advertisements by their audiences. Instead they should relate specific circumstances with objectively presented details.

Press Releasing Your Business/Individual Image

When writing your press releases, you must ensure that your headlines capture the attention of its audience. They should let readers know rather quickly, that their contents will convey useful and important information relevant to them. Your press releases should therefore inform readers about "who?" did "what?", "when?" and "where?". Provide factual and relevant details in support of this information.

* Try to do this within the first paragraph of the press release.

Add more information such as timelines for events, trademark acknowledgments, how the event affects others, their involvement, opinions and other factors relating to the events within the second and third paragraphs. This will add credibility to your content. Providing direct quotations from relevant experts should also effectively achieve this.

Your press release should contain an average of 500 words spanning across 4 paragraphs, minimum. This should also include a summary of all the aforementioned information.

Additionally, your press releases must contain background information about the featured individual or company and ways to obtain further information from an informed source - in case this becomes necessary. Therefore include website links, telephone number, email addresses among others for direct contacts to relevant persons.

Having followed these steps, you may end your press releases with these three pound signs - ### - and submit them.
Kindly leave your comments below. We'd love to have your feedback on this article and hope it was of benefit to you. Follow us on Twitter @Saandrear and like our page on Facebook. See you at our next post.

The Dynamics Of Precision Marketing

2012-07-31T13:02:00.010-04:00

Marketing is going through a period of transition. It is no longer acceptable to simply create marketing strategies that are heard by all yet inspire only a few. That will only produce mediocre if any results at all.

There needs to be a more strategic approach which focuses on conciseness and relevancy to its audience now more than ever.

That means specifically targeted marketing strategies.

Almost one to one.

By this, prospects are made to feel as though a product or service was customized exclusively to their needs.

Some will say that this has been the trademark of marketing all along.

And while this is true it may not have been the main emphasis of their campaign.

Once upon a time, marketers would focus on creating artful campaigns. They placed greater emphasis on aesthetics and eye catching ads while the relevancy of the products became second best.

Did they know if prospects needed the products or services they promoted at all? Were they even concerned?

Changing trends in the way customers buy have given rise to Precision Marketing.

Simply because customers are demanding more. They are no longer in the business of being wooed by catchy advertisements.
Clear evidence of this is seen in the decline of effectiveness with banner advertisements in online marketing and billboard ads in offline marketing strategies - as beautiful as they are. Customers care nothing about these methods and have skillfully developed ways of tuning them out.
Ultimately, they need to be convinced of the value of products or services. How will your product benefit them?

Precision Marketing adds relevancy to a product or service in relation to its customers. The values and needs of customers are first measured and fulfilled through strategic methods - as individualized as possible. Therefore, carefully revised marketing research are conducted constantly. Market research is not only carried out at the initial phase of the marketing strategy, but it also forms an integral part of the process - from beginning to end. The customers' thoughts and patterns of behavior are scientifically studied while the results are analyzed and used as guides throughout the marketing activities.

The results are more evident in the level of client retentions that precision marketing has managed to achieve.

Did you find this post informative? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Give us some feedback in the comments section below. Also like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @Saandrear and add us to your circle on Google. See you on the next post.

How To Create A Responsive Email Marketing List

2012-07-27T13:35:00.007-04:00

As long as there is the world wide web, there will always be emails. They go hand in hand. Emails remain one of the most effective electronic means of communication in our modern world - with expected sustainability.

That said, the question remains: How do you create an emailing list of active subscribers? Subscribers with whom you can build a meaningful relationship? Leads who trust you and respect your judgements enough to purchase your products?

One scientifically tested method is content marketing. This method can be done in several ways not forsaking the provision of useful information to your audience.

NB: To find targeted leads your articles and posts must be properly optimized for search engines. Therefore, finding the right keywords and phrases in connection to your intended audience is essential.

Provide answers to the queries of your audiences.

Then distribute these answers through various media such as:

Forum postings. Posting useful information with a signature file containing your contact information in forums is an almost guarantee way to build a network of subscribers and leads for your business. See Cumbrowski.com for a list of active forums.

Writing articles and submitting them to article websites is another successful way to build your email marketing lists. Similarly, you can also create informative videos and images and submit them to video blasting sites such as tubemogul.com. You may opt to do podcasting as well.

Providing guest blogging services is an opportunity for your views to be read on other blogs. Other bloggers may also take turns in doing the same for your blogs as well.

Offer some great incentives to your audience on the landing pages of your even greater products and services. No one turns their back on a free and useful offer. Give away free interactive eBooks upon every sign up to your mailing list. Provide a series of advice and tips on how to deal with issues your leads care about. This can be either in monthly, weekly or bi-weekly newsletters. You could also offer invitations to events, promotions and discounts on products or services to your audience.

For best results, use this method as an enhancement to your to social media marketing or search engine marketing (paid advertisements such as pay-per-click, cost-per-click, cost-per-lead, cost-per-action, solo or banner advertisements).
You can also include in all your advertising tactics, a personalized barcode which links to your mailing list.

Set up an auto-responder to manage your sources of leads. There are many free and paid ones to chose from. Mailchimp seems to be the most popular. However, you may use InfusionSoft, Silverpop, Constant Contact, Aweber and a host of others.

3 1/2 Sales TechniquesTo Close The Deal

2012-07-26T10:03:00.014-04:00

Here comes the new sales guy...

... and if he masters the following standards, chances are high that he'll make some sales :)

Because he:
1. Planned his approach according to his prospects. He doesn't go around speaking and writing in general terms to just about anyone with the hopes that someday, someone will buy. He knows exactly who his targeted prospects are and crafts a personalized approach to them. He did his research, knows what they want, how they think, feel and live. They are his priority and they know it. But they never feel stalked nor does he rudely pry into their personal business.

2. Knows his alphabet: AIDA. He gets their Attention fast, raises their Interest, evokes a Desire for what he has to offer - all the benefits in the world and causes them to Act on his very sweet deals. He's intelligent and wastes no time. No sir!

3. Is an effective communicator who avoids ambiguity. 'Articulate' is the word of everyday in sales. Being an excellent communicator is critical in the need to influence others. Our sales guy masters this and should confirm some commitments to his offer just from his way with words - possibly without the need for follow ups.

1/2. Actively takes the time to master all of the above. He consistently does the necessary research, training and implementation. When he does, he watches his revenue skyrocket. The other half lies with his prospects to fulfill their part in becoming his satisfied customers.

How Multi-level-Marketing Improves Your Overall Marketing Strategies Easier

2012-07-25T14:30:00.007-04:00

It's a great time to be a marketer these days.

But even if you're not a marketer, you're still in luck. Because when you do need one, you can rest assure that they know exactly what they're doing to get you those great return on investments for your business.

I say this because, there are so many awesome strategies and programs out there that it's seems much harder not to reap success. Think about it. There are tried and proven techniques that are just at the fingertips of anyone who wants to know. You pretty much have to actively avoid getting this information in order not to benefit.

Mack Michaels has created one such program called Millionaire Society. It offers simple and sustainable marketing support for persons who wish to establish an internet presence to use. Jonathan Budd and Ray Edwards are among the other "great scientist?" marketers that have tested the waters of multilevel marketing and show us exactly how to do so easily.

As a marketer, it wasn't easy for me when I first entered this business. Putting it bluntly, all my textbook knowledge and strategies in marketing had very little to do with the real world. Because the real world is a dynamic place and the way people communicate has changed drastically over the years. True marketers must adapt to these changes...

Thankfully, I found upbeat multi-level marketing techniques that were current and even charted the course for the future of marketing so we get an idea of what to expect later on in the game. 'Pricelessly' awesome training, I must confess....

These programs taught me not necessarily to do MLM, but to apply these techniques to other areas such as public relations, and offline marketing for my business.

Let's look at again at Millionaire Society by Mack Michaels for example. This program shows you how to market your business with an almost 100% accuracy at reaching your target with guaranteed effectiveness. This under-priced deal provides useful on point training on how to not only use platforms such as facebook advertising apps, or how to use technology such as capture pages to funnel your niche, but shows you how to master the influence you have on your audience. Precisely what we need in today's business industry!

Therefore, multilevel marketing is not only applicable to online marketing but its methods can be modified to suit offline marketing campaigns as well. With the power to influence the actions of others, there is an almost guaranteed income through these means.

The Genius Marketer's Mindset

2012-03-31T14:58:00.084-04:00

With focused minds, they plans.

True marketer always have a plan. This is the backbone of their purpose. Through a maze of tedious research and testing, they finalize their marketing strategies.

To sustain themselves they feast on resilience; set in the mind of goal achievements.

Setbacks are welcomed moments of recuperation. In no time they return to the field.

Play on.

By then, strategies are revised.

Market tests are constant.

Results are analyzed.

Plans are implemented.

Giving up gets ruled out - sorry.

Integrity is on the line. Because they believe in the things they stand for.

"They gave up?!.. why did they ever begin in the first place?"

Marketers avoid these questions being asked of them.

Much more than saving integrity, marketer's focus on letting you.

You have a problem; they know the solution.

Skillfully, they incorporate this knowledge with their free-flowing fountain of creativity. It's their pleasure. And so they help you find solutions - problem solved.

With marketers there is no room for confusion.

Not at all.

Marketers know the good they do for the world and confidently deliver that good.

Knowledge is power.

That's why they freely share all you need to know about useful products and services - all for the benefit of you.

We'd love to hear your views on marketers. Are their integrity still in tact? Please feel free to leave your comments and share your ideas on what the mindset of a genius marketer is or should be.
Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @Saandrear and add us to your Google Group. See you on the next post.

Incentivized Marketing - Another Key Promotional Technique

2012-03-28T15:57:00.020-04:00

Have you ever heard the term "Incentivized Marketing"? Possibly - if you are a marketer. To others, it may be known only as "freebies".

Despite its reasonable level of effectiveness, it remains a fairly under-rated marketing method in some areas of business. But offering incentivized products is one of the most effective techniques marketers can use to fill their conferences and promotional events.

What Is Incentivized Marketing?
Incentivized products are offered to persons as payments for patronizing a marketers efforts.
For example, invited guests are offered free incentives such as tickets, vouchers, packages, items among other things, simply for attending the promotional event. This is a win-win situation for all persons involved. This incentive serves to thank your guest for their visit as well as to transform them into loyal customers.

Other Methods Of Incentive
Incentive marketing has developed from a simple method of signing up for a freebie to an industry of free deals for promotions. Major companies such as Gratis Internet have used the option of offering free iPods among other gadgets to win numerous customers for their clients. Creating contests have also become a major part of this industry.

The Other Aspects of Incentive Marketing
Incentive marketing also has its challenges. With so many businesses and leisure events wanting to get ahead, many have used deceptive means in their attempts to entice customers. They offer pricey overly inflated gift items and freebies which they know they can not afford to capitalize on. Such practices leave the customers feeling scammed. It may also lead to the demise of this marketing method and damage the reputation of the company.

Nevertheless, incentive marketing has earned millions of dollars in revenues for many businesses worldwide - while the receivers of such freebies are also left feeling satisfied.

Therefore as it goes in business, you have to be creative to remain on top. Incentivized marketing is another dynamic way to do this.

3 Things To Master in Marketing

2011-11-07T11:57:00.126-05:00

As competition increases daily in business, marketers must constantly pressed for new ideas of getting their products or services to stand out. With providing customer value at the core of each marketing technique, there are several tweaks to doing this effectively. However, there are some basic principles (ground rules) that must be mastered as an online/offline marketer.

1. How to conduct an on-point Market Research
This step must never be overshadowed, overlooked or side stepped. Marketing research is the most vital aspect within a marketing campaign and thus should be conducted throughout the entire campaign. In other words, it's a continuous process that analyses the needs, want and demand for a product as well as the behavior and mindset of their consumer. These vary from person to culture and thus changes constantly. Therefore careful market research will identify these glitches and allow marketers to adjust their campaigns accordingly.

2. Be fully competent in their chosen marketing techniques
Marketers should be aware of most if not all the perks in advertising. Still, they must intimately know how to do those that will achieve the most in their marketing campaigns. Therefore, if their audience responds well to guerrilla marketing, they should know how to maximize on this technique to attain the highest results.

3. Being an effective communicator
A great marketer will know how to appealingly convey ideas orally and in writing. Yet saying all the right things to the wrong persons or at the wrong time will work against all efforts. The type of audience must therefore be considered when they are being addressed and the right tone and method of delivery is selected accordingly. Answering: how, what, what, when, where and to whom will make all the difference in achieving success in marketing

What You Should Know About PR ~ Marketing ~ Sales

2011-10-31T19:17:00.004-04:00

At the core of every successful business, whether online or offline, lie these powerful engines for sustainability: Marketing, Public Relations and Sales.

But the curious questions I would ask are:

1. "Is there a difference among them?"

2. "What real effects should they have on business?"

As the techniques of all three disciplines advance with the passing of time, their lines of differences become increasingly obscure. However, here are the definitions of each.

Marketing is founded on the principle of ensuring that the needs and wants of customers are satisfied in exchange for revenues. It is the initial process that a business uses in raising awareness and confidence in its own brands over its competitors. By placing efforts into understanding, creating, communicating and offering real value through products and services to consumers, a business is assured of heightened profits and by extension, achieving its organizational goals. This is true for both online and offline marketing strategies and includes large or small enterprises as well as profit and non-profit organizations.

Public relations seeks to establish a favorable bond between an organization or individual person and the public. Through press releases, product publicity, corporate links, conducting public services, lobbying among others, the organization attempts to build good corporate relationships with its wider society so as to stave off rumors, unfavorable stories and events. Without a favorable public image, individuals and organizations would have difficulty marketing and selling their products or services.

Sales, as it is often said, take place when a product has already been produced while marketing starts long before it is produced. In other words, it is the closing stage of delivering satisfaction to the consumer through direct selling of a product or service. By way of interpersonal interaction with the consumers, sales techniques are guided by this saying "features tell, benefits sell." Therefore, the benefits of the product is highlighted through various means such as cold calls/telemarketing, one-on-one meetings, and in-depth networking.

All these methods are closely related. In fact, we could even conclude that sales and marketing are so closely related that they cannot exist one without the other. Public relations is even being used as the initial phase of marketing. Press releases submitted online are being written with SEO content for their targeted audiences. Therefore there are differences among them. Yet each may need the support of the other to have any real effect.

Did you find this blog post useful? I'd love to have your feedback. Kindly leave your comments and ideas below. You can also follow me on twitter @Saandrear or Facebook (Neue Medien). Looking forward to hearing from you!

Is Public Relations the Wicked Witch That Died?

2011-10-30T22:45:00.001-04:00

Ding dong, the Wicked Witch is dead
She's gone where the goblins go
Below, below, below....
Adapted from The Wizard of OZ

"Spinners." This is another term used to describe Public relations professionals. Well they may very well be called "wicked witches' as "spinning" is by no means a good thing as it relates to providing information to the public.
- It conveys the ideas of lying and manipulating information given to the public.
- To deliberately offer misleading data to an audience so as to suit whatever agenda they serve.
This could in fact place the public at a disadvantage.

Notwithstanding this fact, is the widely held view that public relations is a rather outdated form of organizational representation. In other words, it simply does not fit into modern realms of marketing strategies and communication. Words such as 'obsolete' and 'archaic' have even been associated with the profession.

Coincidentally, it is Halloween and these can be scary thoughts - both to the active public relations professionals and the organization or individual they represent.

But are there any real reasons for concern?

Truth be told, public relations does have to do with providing information to the public on behalf of the organization or individual which they represent... and yes, they do so in the most favorable light they can find.
But are they allowed to just spin away information according to their liking?

Not according to the Code of Ethics and Conducts for public relations professionals. These codes must be strictly adhered to. Additionally, they are held accountable for any misrepresenting information that they may impart or they may suffer severe consequences accordingly.

Ultimately, it is not in the best interest of the public relations professional to publicize misleading information. It damages their integrity and that of their organization.

Doctors, lawyers, chartered accountants are among the long list of professionals who have and still use public relations as an initial step towards introducing themselves to their "public." In fact, public relations has played an integral role in establishing their image as an expert within their respective discipline.

So why would such a useful technique for publicity be regarded as archaic?

Well, also known as Free Marketing, public relations was primarily done by issuing press releases; submitting media kits to the traditional offline media or direct communications with journalists and holding press conferences.

However, with the passage of time and continuous advancement in technology, these methods are now seemingly being replaced by online media.

Radio, newspaper and television are thought to be losing their effectiveness in conveying information and communication in comparison to the Internet. The focus of their audience has shifted. Therefore, public relations has lost its relevance due to this shift.

But is this really so?

According to Charles Darwin:
"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."

A valid statement when related to public relations. Because much in line with the development of information technology is the development of public relations and its means of communication.

Now through the use of websites such as 1888 Press Release, PRWeb.org among many others, the possibility for public relations professionals to continue with publicity tactics to a wider audience is much greater online.
Even the old traditional media themselves have developed a profound presence online thereby, adding to the opportunities of public relations.

Further to this, public relations professionals are also using social and network media platforms to boost their campaigns. By doing so, there is a greater latitude for two way communications between PR professionals and their audience. Customers and clients can now relate to professionals on a more direct and open platform.

So in the same way that modes of communication are expected to advance, so too will public relations.

This helpful technique will live on....

I'd love to have your feedback on this article. Kindly leave your comments and ideas below. You can also follow me on twitter @saandrear and Facebook (Neue Medien).

3 Proven Ways to Build Quality E-mailing Lists

2011-10-26T13:59:00.202-04:00

Anyone interested in online sales and marketing should know that having an email list of subscribers, is vital to the expansion of his/her business. An emailing list of subscribers has been scientifically proven to yield results when selling products and services or maintaining contact with his audience.
More good news - E-mail marketing has been and will be continue to be, a vital aspect of successful Internet marketing.
Almost everyone who uses the internet has an email address (I possibly have 10 of them). It still remains the number one method of communication. Seemingly, it is on a path of continuous growth as more persons nowadays are corresponding electronically than otherwise. While being careful of laws such as CAN-SPAM Act, marketers will find that incorporating email marketing into their strategies will be of tremendous value to their overall success.

How To Build An Emailing List
There are several approaches to building an emailing lists. 3 such proven methods includes:

1. Creating Useful and Interesting Content for Submission
It doesn't matter if you do this yourself or outsource it to an experienced professional - ensure that the content of your articles, videos or images are useful to their audience.
Content should be optimized for search engines so that their intended audience will find them easily during their search. Articles may then be submitted to article sites such as GoArticles.com or EzineArticles. Using services, such as Vimeo or video blasters such as TubeMogul.com, should help to have your video contents distributed all over the internet quickly. A picture tells a thousand words, therefore you could also collect images on a blog and distribute them on sites such as Pinterest.com, StumbleUpon.com among others.
Your content should:
- Help your audience to learn something new or revamped.
- Enhance their personal growth.
- Satisfy any wants, greed or lust and help them justify that want
- Be supportive and understanding. Letting them know that you understand them. Should they have a problem, your content will direct them to their solutions.
Be sure to remind your audience to subscribe to your blog and subscribe to your emailing list for more interesting content.

2. Offer Freebies
You may offer whatever you think is useful to your audience. This could be in the form of an eBook, training tutorials, lucrative contests and quizzes, webinars or an email series which offers solutions to a problem.
By submitting your eBooks to online publishers with the rights to re-publish - Private Label Rights (PLR), you will be able to quickly build a loyal list of subscribers. Your eBooks will contain links to your emailing list and affiliate products to which subscribers can now sign up.

Designing simply E-courses (written or audio) and submitting them to online publishers and Ezines sites will increase the number of persons on your emailing list. Publishers will ensure this by mailing them to their list. Subscribers to their list may also sign up for your course via a link within those e-courses.
Come up with some dynamic contests or quizzes and collaborate with other publishers on these efforts - similar to e-course publishing. Create one domain link for each contest and have subscribers sign up for your email list in order to enter the contests.
Other invaluable complimentary items you can offer in order to build your list: Advertising your free webinars in classifieds or solo Ezine ads; giving away invitations to trade shows; sending post cards to offline users are among the ways you could achieve this.

3. Guest Blogging and Forums
Making guest appearances on other blogs and/ leaving comments on forums relevant to your niche, may also increase the number of subscribers to your list. Visit sites such as tumblr.com for relevant blogs to your niche. You could also find forums that fits your niche at www.cumbrowski.com.

*Although not mandatory, adding an auto-responder to cache your subscribers is a very convenient way of managing your emailing campaigns. There are various free or paid auto-responding services available. A personal favorite of mine is Mailchimp.com.

**Be sure to include a Call-To-Action, reminding your audience to subscribe to your blog and join your emailing list for more of your interesting content. Remember, ask and you shall receive.

*** We'd love to have your feedback on this post. Also share your ideas on how you build your emailing list. You can also follow us on Twitter @Saandrear or like our page on Facebook. See you on the next post.

What Is Public Relations?

2011-10-11T11:40:00.003-04:00

Public Relations Definitions
"What is Public Relations?" This question gets asked dozens of times daily. It is a simple question, yet it has developed several definitions with the passage of time. Essentially, Public Relations (PR) deals with publicizing the image, reputation, intentions or purposes of organizations, groups and individuals in the best possible way - regardless of the actuality of the situation. In other words, the primary objective of PR is this - the represented body or individual must be "viewed the best light.". Many persons equate such tactics to merely spinning information. This is, of course, not exactly so. It is simply putting the best out there.

Other Definitions:
- Public Relations can also be defined as managing the understanding and communications between organizations/individuals and the wider society through various media. It bridges the gap between the two thereby ensuring mutual adaptability and agreement.
- Public Relations measures public perception of and attitude towards the organization/individual and seeks ways to secure their trust and acceptance. It examines the programs and policies of the respective organization and highlights their benefits and goodwill to the public.

Due to the various sectors of societies worldwide having a need for effective publicity tactics, public relations has developed into diverse areas of specialization and functions.

These include:
- Marketing and Advertising PR
- Government PR, Financial PR
-Consumer PR (not to be confused with marketing)
-Industry PR

Along with specific PR strategies such as issuing media kits to online and/ offline media, they heavily rely on information technologies (IT) to get their messages across.

In all circumstances, PR professionals are expected to abide by Code of Ethics set in place to regulate their activities and eliminate possibilities of misinformation to the general public.

We'd love to hear your views on this post. Did the definitions on Public Relations work for you? Please feel free to leave your comments and share your ideas on below.
Also like us on Facebook; follow us on Twitter @Saandrear and add us to your Google Group. See you on the next post.

Copywrite Right For a Great PR/Marketing Campaign

2011-10-09T04:30:00.003-04:00

Copy-writing still remains an old misunderstood term that is even being done incorrectly till this day.
NOT to be mistaken with copyright - copywrite conveys the act of writing promotional materials for the purpose of advertising a product or service to specific niches. These "copies", are sales letters, various types of advertisements, new letters and brochures. If well written, they will do more than inform, persuade, influence and captivate an audience's attention - they will call the reader into action.

Copywriters are categorized into areas of specialization, namely SEO copywriters mainly for websites; in-house copywriters, freelance copywriters, sales and advertising copywriter or agency copywriters. It all depends on the skill of the copywriter.

How To Copywrite

Whatever its form, copy-writing requires strategic techniques and well planned concepts in relation to its purposes. Good copywriters know that this requires these basic elements:

- Great Headline - Now My Attention Is All Yours

The single most important thing in any copy-written material is its headline. If this headline does not intrigue the reader at first glance, most likely the rest of the copy will not be read. A lot of effort must be placed on creating eye catching, interesting and convincing headlines. Additionally, the headline should provide a summation of or hint at the overall content, product or person that it is about. This is also considered as your USP (unique selling proposition)!
Attention must be paid to the sub-headings throughout the copy. If your readers are intrigued by your main headline then the other headlines throughout the copy must also live up to this standard.

- Well Written Body Of Content With Convincing Details

Writer's block can be somewhat of a nuisance. However, 'brainstorming' and 'mind-mapping' are effective techniques that can help to combat this problem when copy-writing. Mind-mapping in particular, involves writing a single word or key word down and relating other words and phrases to this word by linking it with lines, thereby creating a visual thesaurus/diagram. Writers should do these techniques extensively so as to generate several useful words and phrases. It is also recommended to write the first draft solely for the purpose of "getting all ideas out on paper". Absolutely no editing should be done at this point. By the way, make sure to get everything that needs to be said about that USP on that first draft.
Having done this, copywriters can now place emphasis on correcting and proofreading their material. The focus can now be shifted to the style, structure and grammar of the content.

* SEO writers should not only ensure that sufficient key words are in place (1% density), but also that the contents are coherently written and flow.

It is also imperative for copywriters to bear in mind the target market for their content. As such, copywriters need to have a full understanding of who they are writing for and the reasons why such persons would want to read their copies. The copies should therefore, be worth the readers while and satisfy their needs.

- Test Your Copy For Effectiveness

While the copy may not have wheels, we could still take it for a test drive. By doing this, copywriters will learn how effective the copy is and the changes, if any, that should be made to it. In the instance of sales copy online, the copy can be sent via emails to several hundred recipients to evaluate the overall response they will get. Changes should then be made - preferably one by one - according to what works from what does not. If it's a good copy, stick with it until it no longer is.

Paying attention to these details, your public relations and marketing strategies will benefit greatly from this. The copies and contents will generate the attention they deserve and more than likely, your goals will be met much sooner.

Did you find this post informative? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Give us some feedback in the comments section below.
Also like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @Saandrear and add us to your circle on Google. See you on the next post.

Marketing and PR Online (Pt 2) - In Web 2.0 Style!

2011-09-28T21:53:00.000-04:00

"All Web 2.0 (Social Media/Network Platforms) are equal, but some Web 2.0 are more equal than others." - adapted from the book Animal Farm. With so many of them to choose from, the decision of which ones to use can be overwhelming. But this isn't an inconceivable task - providing that we have clearly defined the real purposes of using Social Media as it relates to our businesses and meeting our goals. Only then, should we even think about implementing any kind of Web 2.0 applications - just to avoid wasting our time, so to speak. Having said that, the task that now remains is to identify the most appropriate and effective Web 2.0 applications to our PR strategy. This should be easy, however Marketers and Public relations professionals must inform themselves about all available options.

Web 2.0 applications can easily be categorized according to how they are used - their functions per se. Currently, there are several such applications which may be either business oriented (B2B) while other categories are more suited for customers (C2C) and the regular layman: companies will benefit greatly from knowing these differences in order to maximize their online marketing and public relations efforts.

Categories of Web 2.0 platforms

Photo courtesy of Felipe Ibáñez Guzmán (c)

Business to Business (B2B) Applications
These are efficient when businesses desire to collaborate and share confidential information among themselves. Applications such as Salesforce, Microsoft Sharepoint, Microsoft Dynamics, Sugar CMP among many others would be ideal in this regard. Interestingly, there are also those web 2.0 platforms (Internal Business Web 2.0) that are used exclusively for internal communication among employees within an organization.

Business to Client (B2C) Applications
Essentially the title of this speaks for itself. Such platforms enhance the way a business will relate to its consumers in a more direct and interactive manner. Currently, platforms such as Blogging Apps, Wiki sites, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Forums allows plenty of latitude in this regard. Although less popular, there are many more Web 2.0 Apps such as SocialWok, Chatter, CloudContacts, pbwiki, pingg and a myriad of others.

Client to Business (C2B) Applications
This can be considered as the opposite model to the B2C model. In the B2C concept, it is the business that provides goods and services while the consumers who have created the demand, utilizes these products. C2B allows the client to offer products and services to businesses as in the case of Google Adsense. Affliation platforms and programs offered by sites such as ClickBank, Commission Junction or even Amazon are also varieties of this model. Platforms which offer online surveys such as Survey Scout, Opinio, Survey Monkey are also classic examples of C2B Web 2.0 Applications along with Open Source developers for example as in the case with Linux.

Client to Client (C2C) Applications
These are undoubtedly the most common forms of Web 2.0 platforms there. Of course with so many of them on the market, some will be more popular than others. Essentially, they allow direct interaction and social networking online among persons on a massive scale. Again blogging platforms, Wiki websites and forums find themselves within this category. C2C Web 2.0 platforms also allow persons to indulge in multimedia and document sharing among themselves as in the case with Podcasting, Youtube, Flickr, Google Docs and ShareSlide.

When implemented into PR and marketing strategies, the appropriate Web 2.0 or Social Network platforms will enhance the online experience of your business and thereby increase its revenues. Public relations professionals and Marketers should therefore craft their efforts around using these media efficiently.

Marketing and PR Online (Pt 1) - Techniques That Will Highly Rank Your Websites

2011-09-24T13:03:00.000-04:00

Failure should never be an option. Unfortunately for many online public relations (PR) and marketing strategies, this is the harsh reality. This is not necessarily due to a lack of efforts, but more on the basis of improper techniques and limited "Know how". Having a meaningful presence on the Internet goes far beyond merely having websites and social media accounts, it is about taking the right measures to market those websites and social media accounts and make them count.

Websites are the best way to publicise ones image and purpose to the world at any one time. But along with creating the website, it is important to manage how the website will be ranked in the search engines. Of course, a high rank is the ultimate goal, but to achieve this there are several things that MUST be taken into consideration:

What the Spider-bot wants, It Gets!

Upon understanding how search engines operate, website must be constructed accordingly. When a "search" is conducted, the first thing that is looked upon is the home page of that website. The "spiders" or crawlers robots within the search engine therefore go over this page of the website to identify the information it seeks. However, if the homepage (and this must be emphasised) does not contain these sought out information, the website will neither be ranked nor appear in the search engine results. The inclusion of images and graphics are therefore advised to be very minimal on the home page of website as the search engine robots will NOT extract information from these. However, where this is unavoidable, include as many of the key phrases as possible on the page or link it to a website or blog that does have key word rich content to further enhance the online PR and Marketing strategy.

What are you saying with SEO?

The single most important aspect to a website is its WRITTEN CONTENT. Since this is the criteria that search engines use to measure its relevance within a search, it therefore follows that websites that possess "Keywords and Phrases rich" contents should receive high rankings. Achieving such key word rich contents, is done through the process of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Primarily, this entails providing information on the website (mainly the Home page), that are "rich" with the key words and phrases that the crawlers robots will identify as relevant to that particular search. However, this must be meticulously done through careful research for such words and phrases that are being sought by search engine user yet possess minimum competition from other websites. The information containing these key words and phrases must then be logically presented on the website. Keyword search platforms such as Google Adwords Keyword Tool will assist with this process and thereby provide any Public Relations or Marketing campaign online with its best chances to succeed.

Back-linking offers such great support

Having keyword rich contents on the website is the primary and most essential step to success. However, along with this, the websites need to have quality back links to other relating websites in order to be validated. The higher the ranks of these back links the better the chances are of the websites receiving priority by the search engines. Again careful research must be done to identify the best back links for the website. Importantly too, are the number and quality of back links received from other websites.

Yes, we've been SiteMapped and Indexed - You Can Find Us

The website must also be SiteMapped and Indexed. Fortunately however, the process of getting indexed within a search engine directory is automatic (can be done manually),providing that all the other procedures are done correctly. SiteMaps are files (best placed in the root directory of the website), that inform the search engines about all the other pages on a website. They provide details about the content of each website page, which makes them more accessible and identifiable within the search directories. Thus, having Sitemaps on any website would make it easier to be located by the search engine.

Stay on Track

Further tools should be implemented in the process of website management when conducting online Marketing and Public Relations. These include tracking and ranking devices that monitors the positions of the websites Online i.e. its flow of traffic and the other activities that are done on it. This would therefore assist its manager with identifying what features and information are functional and the things that should be adjusted in order to improve its success rate.

PING! - Just Love That Sound - Generates Traffic From All Around

Pinging the websites are also useful ways to generate traffic and increase page ranking. This is a simple process of notifying the search engine index about any updated information that has been added to the websites. It is easily done by uploading the URL to websites that offers this service and helps the website to stay current and relevant in search results. There are various free Ping sites available on the Internet. In addition to this, persons also have the option of adding RSS Feeds Apps to their websites and thus generate even more repeat visits to the site. By this method, persons who have subscribed for the RSS Feed, are instantly alerted about new information that has been added to the website.

What is SEM?

Along with those other key methods, implementing Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is a vital way gain exposure for websites. Although it also encompasses SEO, it implements methods such as pay-per-click advertising, Google Adsense or other paid advertising features to advance the websites position in search engine results (SERP).

By applying these techniques to managing websites in Public Relations and Marketing Strategies online, the websites should be on their way to being better positioned in the search engine results.

Thanks for reading and your feedbacks are welcomed.

Public Relations (PR) Methods of the Past, Present and Onwards

2011-09-21T18:13:00.000-04:00

Changes have always been good - in most cases anyway. This is even more evident in the new age of communication, particularly as it pertains to Public Relations and Marketing. Public Relations (PR), as the name may suggest, are methods used by organizations, groups, government bodies, and individuals to communicate and relay their purposes and goals to stakeholders. In times gone by, this was done through the issuing of Press and News Releases; media kits being sent to press; holding press conferences; printing brochures, newsletters and annual reports; or simply corresponding directly with the mass media. Today, while still implementing mainstream industrial media (radio and television broadcast, newspapers, magazines), corporations have also begun to place a more in-depth focus on those methods within the "online world". With the emergence of Social Media/Network Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Blogs (video and written), or Podcasting, organization are seemingly becoming more reliant on these methods in order to remain relevant and competitive within the global market.

Offline PR vs Online PR

The modern age of communication has placed a new spin on the modes and means of Public Relations and Marketing. Press Releases, media or news releases, including video releases, that were once conducted by issuing copies of information about the respective organization to journalists via direct mailing, fax or e-mailing are now being replaced. Even the appearances of spokespersons before an audience of media personnels are slowly but surely being made redundant. Realizing the shift of "advertising opportunity" focus, organizations are now finding it fundamentally important to develop content-rich websites and create Social Media/Network (SM) accounts with the hopes of reaching both their targeted as well as wider audiences in a more direct and interactive manner. With a current estimation of over 2 billion Internet user worldwide (this figure is expected to increase exponentially, due to the globalization of economies and the transformation of job markets worldwide), companies are now opting to publicize their efforts through means such as issuing Press Releases online. Websites such as PressReleaser.org, Express Press Release Distribution, Press Release Point, PRWeb among various others are ideal in this regard. Such websites even provide you with templates and formats on how this is to be properly and effectively done.

As any informed Internet Marketer would confess, blogging has now become the most essential way to share ideas about specific concepts and engage the readers in meaningful discussions online. Media platforms such as Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr have easily facilitated this method. Similar to this, are the presence of topic forums on websites. Social Networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook (created by Mark Zuckerberg and his computer programming colleagues within the dorm rooms at Harvard, it now boasts over 750 million active users), and Podcast, have become essential tools to further enhance the capacities to broadcast and correspond with persons on a one on one basis while still reaching out on a much greater scale. News platforms such as LiveJournal, Digg, Reddit and a plethora of even more targeted ones such as fashionburner.com, are vast, user-friendly networks that will allow organizations to instantly relay information of public interest to the world. Youtube by the way (since 2005), has boasted the indomitable ability to provide everyone an equal opportunity to become a self-made "movie star" overnight. Each day millions of tweets are shared, videos are created, words are written, posted and viewed by millions around the world. Even the creation of high-powered personalized websites using Content Management Systems (Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, phpBB), are as easy as 1-2-3. Well maybe not that easy but....

Resulting from the emergence of Social Network/Media platforms, the roles and functions of many PR professionals and Marketers may have begun to adapt and transform into new forms of professions. Truth be told, PR disciplines such as Financial Public Relations; Industry Relations; Crisis Public Relations ; Advertiser and Marketers are all still relevant to individual organizations. However, with downward trends in traditional forms of broadcasting and media, emphasis is being placed on methods of how to successfully survive among billions in the online world. Companies are either outsourcing their PR and Marketing portfolios to agents who specialize in Internet Marketing and Social Media Management or are facilitating access to training in the dynamics of effective online strategies to their employees. Owing, of course, to the realization that content is key, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is just one of various techniques that are being taught as a means for staying afloat in these "torrential Internet waters", and the success of any Internet campaign and marketing strategy relies heavily on mastering this.

Where do we go from here?

Change is constant and much so for the better. Therefore, while organizations may find usefulness in older forms of PR and Marketing strategies, they are now realizing that their survival and competitiveness now lie in the hands of mastering the ways of the online world. Globalization dictates this. In any case, various user friendly platforms and techniques are readily available to individuals and organizations alike, to enhance any online networking strategy and in publicizing their "goodwill" on a vast, equal and open Internet playing field.

Detailed examinations of Internet Marketing concepts and techniques will follow in subsequent posts.