Blogs, Wikis, social networking, online forums, podcasts – social media all. How do you make sense of these PR tools? A little confusing perhaps?  

Wikipedia describes Social Media as:“Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies include: blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing, and voice over IP, to name a few. Examples of social media applications are Google Groups (reference, social networking), Wikipedia (reference), MySpace (social networking), Facebook (social networking), Youmeo (social network aggregation), Last.fm (personal music), YouTube (social networking and video sharing), Avatars United (social networking), Second Life (virtual reality), Flickr (photo sharing), Twitter (social networking and microblogging) and other microblogs such as Jaiku and Pownce. Many of these social media services can be integrated via social network aggregation platforms like Mybloglog and Plaxo.” 

The secret to making good use of these is…drum roll please…getting started. We have to get past the “paralysis of the analysis” and get in the game. Large companies with big budgets are hiring full time staff to manage nothing but social media. Small companies, where executives wear many hats, are starting small and growing. Time and resources are the main barriers that scale down grand plans in these new Web 2.0 public relations media.  

Tip: Let’s take one element common across most social media – it is 2 way communications. We can join the conversation; we don’t have to start it. We can comment on other’s blogs, respond to online articles in daily newspapers, post listings on others online directories, post articles on other’s wikis. Put a link back to your website in the comment and you have just created another way for someone to find you on the Internet.  

When you know an article mentioning your company is about to go live online, make sure your fans (suppliers, channel partners, top customers) know about it and suggest they comment online to the writer. Most major publications now allow for such comments. In this way you can further assure that the article is caste in the most positive light possible. Encourage good comment content and suggest areas they may comment on without putting the words in their mouth. That’s good public relations and can have positive SEO benefits. 

Here’s a good article about social media recently published in Utah Business.  

Let us know what you think.

This week, PilmerPR’s public relations work for ElectraTherm was submitted for a possible award from a major PR association. We think our chances are good, but are humble enough to know that there is a lot of great PR work going on out there by our peers and competitors.  

We like our chances because PilmerPR has done a two year deep dive into the world of Green PR, Corporate Social Responsibility, Cleantech, and Environmental Sustainability. We know how to avoid greenwashing and have turned down offers to represent companies who appear to be more “show than go”, more marketing hype than Green. ElectraTherm is the real deal. Their award winning product converts waste heat from industrial sources into electricity without any other fuel and without any emissions. Cool! This is not some “Back to the Future” Flux Capacitor thing coming in fifty years. The ElectraTherm Green Machine is in commercial power production at SMU, home of one of countries leading Geothermal Labs in the U.S., and that’s not a coincidence. 

So far, and we’re just getting started, PilmerPR has garnered 26 feature articles and a feature on Free to Be Green on Dallas Channel 33 , reaching more than 36.8 million individuals, and accumulating approximately $1,127,700 in alternative advertising value. The SEO portion of our public relations plan yielded 10,000 website hits in a two week period. Here’s what the client says about our work: 

“ElectraTherm’s requirements for driving awareness about our new products to key publics have been exceeded by PilmerPR. The press relations campaign driven by PilmerPR around the launch of our new ElectraTherm Green Machine has brought new top tier investors and customers to our door. It has created a foundation for building major press momentum going forward. PilmerPR has assisted greatly in driving publicity that has moved the needle for our strategic objectives.” Bill Olson – Vice President, Business Development at ElectraTherm 

Back in November 1970, Oregon’s Highway Division tried to dispose of a 45-foot-long whale carcass by blowing it up using a half-ton of dynamite. Since all area beaches are under the jurisdiction of the state Parks and Recreation Department, responsibility for disposing of the carcass fell upon the Oregon Department of Transportation. Needless to say, the plan went amiss when pieces went soaring through the air toward curious onlookers and created one of the most memorable stories ever reported in area newspapers, radio and television.

Although this would be one incident ODOT would love to have put behind them, the more than 30-year-old story was recently brought back into existence by video of the event flung into cyberspace and appearing on subscriber electronic bulletin boards nationwide. The quick dissemination of information over the Internet triggered an influx of calls to ODOT’s public affairs department from curious reporters in Oregon, San Francisco, Washington D.C. and even from The Wall Street Journal. It was amazing that people were calling about a story that was nearly a half century old.

It’s a challenging juxtaposition for any company to take on, trying to effectively communicate what they do and not just what they say. With the globalization of the Internet and the growing domination of online news over print and broadcast media, these new forms of content delivery are driving infinite possibilities of how public relations professionals can deliver messaging to specific audiences.

We all need to keep in mind that over 57% of Internet users report they watch video online and share what they find with others. Considering that these are not only direct customers and prospects, but also journalists, it is now our job as professionals to stay ahead of these technological innovations by combining social media and public relations. It’s time to join with peers from all age groups in order to improve our communications strategies for tackling these issues and become proactive, rather than reactive to the changes brought about by advances in 21^st Century technology.

Looking back years later, Oregon’s “exploding whale” story is now the #5 web video of all time with over 350 million views. Paul Linnman, the 1970’s feature reporter noted, “It might be concluded that should a whale ever be washed ashore in Lane County again, those in charge will not only remember what to do, they’ll certainly remember what not to do.”

This past weekend I was excited to support my son’s first go at the Salt Lake City Marathon. He was pleased with the outcome as part of his long term objective to run a full marathon later this year. To prepare, he sought advice from successful runners, invested in great shoes, and trained for months. The positive outcome was predictable and satisfying as you can see from the smile on his face.  

That same smile has appeared on the face of clients following PilmerPR counsel regarding “sustained” public relations strategies. While some new startups think to dominate their category with a single press announcement, clients like Certiport, Seastone, AdvancedMD among others have seen repeated excellent press coverage of their news due to long term commitment to turn of the PR volume. Whether working on Eco PR or SEO PR, the principle of Endurance is the same. 

Something to think about if you want your company to dominate.

As a marketer and public relations professional over the past decade, I’ve watched the Internet play an increasing role in corporate marketing strategies. When the World Wide Web and HTML had its coming out party around 1994, I created my first web page and learned what the slow, dial up Web of the day couldn’t do. In contrast, Web 2.0 media have now increased the importance of integrating the Internet into all marketing and PR. Blogs are an excellent example of this.  

In our own business, a 2007 redesign and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of the PilmerPR website has increased our monthly web traffic seven fold and increased the number of RFP’s coming to our door. The second most visited page on our website is our self hosted Blog. Although self hosting a Blog may not avail one of certain visibility advantages of other hosted sites, the SEO benefits of attaching your Blog to your company website increases Link Backs to the website, hence improving organic search engine rankings for your company.  

Of course the content must be compelling and helpful if you want return visitors.  Give me a call and I’ll share other ideas to make sure your Blog drives traffic to your website, including key word optimization. 

As PR professionals, our ultimate goal is to get press coverage for our clients.  But not all press hits are created equally.  A truly successful PR campaign will result in a variety of hits in both small and large publications that cross all types of media.  The key is finding the most targeted publications, and then pitching the right editors.Depending on the company and their goals, the press list should have a minimum of three categories. 

• Vertical Trade Press
• Local Press
• Business Press

Remember, in each of these categories you should include social media, print and online publications, and broadcast media.  Then, once you’ve got a comprehensive press list to work from, you can pitch your client’s story.  For a more detailed look at building a comprehensive press list, click here to download more secrets to Building a Comprehensive Press List.

Editors take just a minute or two to read your business news pitch.   They may only read the headline, or if you’re lucky, they’ll get through a few sentences.  If you have compelling news written clearly and succinctly, they may even read a few paragraphs. 

The February issue of PR Tactics featured an article on brevity written by the PR Maven, Margo Mateas.   The article stresses the importance of grabbing the editor’s attention and conveying your point quickly.   

So remember, keep it short and sweet.  If your pitch is more than a few paragraphs, cut it down.  And when writing a press release, keep the most important information at the top.  Also, keep this PR strategy in mind when planning your entire campaign.  A PR campaign formed around a simple, newsworthy idea is most likely to get noticed.

The Race for 2008 is uncovering an excellent case study in using social media in SEO public relations campaigns.  Political campaigns use advertising, public relations and marketing tactics to garner support across the nation.  This year, every candidate has utilized social media as part of a coordinated campaign.   And although the candidates spend millions of dollars, some of these tactics can be recreated by a small business hoping to reach their target audience through social media.

Here are just a few examples:

CNN joined with YouTube to broadcast presidential debates, reaching a whole new generation of voters who frequent YouTube but may not have otherwise gotten involved in the early race for the White House.  This format was specifically chosen to appeal to younger voters and early results show the younger generation is heading to the polls in droves.

From Mitt Romney to Hillary Clinton, many of the presidential candidates started a blog.  This format allows them to be more personal, post pictures and provide short insights into life on the campaign trail.

MySpace launched a U.S. political campaign site, and each candidate participated by creating a MySpace page.  John McCain’s MySpace page boasts 44,822 “friends,” or individuals who have chosen to read and participate on his page.

Barack Obama’s campaign recently announced they raised an impressive $32 million in January.  But a staggering portion of that money was raised online – $28 million.

Last week I moderated a UVEF panel discussion on “Online Viral Marketing & Public Relations in Web 2.0 Time.” I was fortunate to bring some of the brightest marketing minds in Utah to the table for a large crowd at the Novell campus in Provo.

NextPage VP of Marketing Cydni Tetro shared some compelling statistics on consumer online buying behavior. She challenged entrepreneurs to ask some tough questions before developing Internet strategies. What’s the market? What’s the objective? She spoke about the power of podcasts and other media to “create conversations” and meet the demand for interactive customer experience. She mentioned an incredible story about how a social media speech given in Europe by noted blogger Robert Scoble  appeared online around the world in five minutes. Dave Bascom, president and CEO of SEO.com, told attendees customers now communicate across the world to gain product/service information. Getting in front of people when they are looking for accurate information is critical. Dave shared tips on how to improve Internet Search Engine Rankings for products and services. Serial entrepreneur Paul Allen shared his excitement about social networking’s access to millions of potential users cost effectively. He said there are 26 social networks with over 10 million users.  Paul founded World Vital Records (Family Link). Family Link launched a Facebook Platform application called “We’re Related” and recruited one million users in 29 days. George Wright, VP of Sales and Marketing for Blendtec shared his thoughts on how he has attracted 70 million viewers of their “Will It Blend” online viral marketing campaign on You Tube. Listen…

Web 2.0 media, social media, viral media, podcasting, blogging are all rapidly becoming familiar to savvy marketers and PR professionals. As part of a well thought out customized PR package these outlets coupled with effective SEO PR are vital to business success. Some time back Jack Herrington published an extensive list of ideas for becoming better podcasters. I’ve summarized what I feel are the best of the best suggestions for your perusal.  

Prepare, But Don’t Script  - Preparation is the key to a great podcast. Good podcasters prepare some level of notes for the show in advance to remind them of the topics they want to cover and specific information about each topic. Let’s face it, putting on a pair of headphones and listening to your own voice as you record a podcast is not something that comes naturally to most people. The more you can do to eliminate the uncertainty and stress, the better. I recommend against completely scripting your podcast. A personal podcast having a script that you follow completely will end up sounding stiff. The one exception is audio theatre, where a script is essential because it’s an on-air play that requires choreography between the players. 

Reduce Noise – The world is a lot noisier than we realize. The brain filters out a lot of the noise to allow you to concentrate on the more important sounds. Microphones have no such filter, and you will find that your recordings will have a very accurate rendering (and annoying) of the noise in your environment. Environmental noise is the most common form of noise in recordings. This noise usually comes from air conditioners, fans, fluorescent lighting, and refrigerators. Power off as much as you can. If that doesn’t do it, you can try recording in a closet with lots of clothes.  

Slow Down and Relax – Talking too quickly is a very common mistake. If your podcasting routine is to practice your podcast a couple of times before recording it for release, then you need to watch your pacing. As you get more comfortable with the content, you may find yourself speeding up your pace and you will need to keep an eye on that as you record. Give yourself enough time to slow down and to try enough times to get the podcast to where you want it. 

Detail, Detail, Detail - Audio is a uniquely intimate medium. You are talking directly to each person and they are experiencing your podcast on an individual level. Television is a passive medium; the images and sounds are presented to you as a package. You just sit back and watch. Audio, on the other hand, is an active medium. As you hear a story you create an image in your head of what the speaker is talking about. This is called the theatre of the mind. To draw the listener into the story requires detail. It’s a blue house. It smells like cinnamon bread from the scented candles. It’s an old house and the floorboards squeak. As you read this you are painting an image in your mind; the same types of images that your listeners paint as they hear your show. It’s the details that create an engaging show.