Web marketing moves fast. Just when you think you have mastered one art, a newer one comes along. The secret is to be one of the first in your industry to use new ways to communicate with potential buyers. According to David Meerman Scott in his book, The News Rules of Marketing and PR, “Some of the very first blogs are still the most popular in their niches-the authors are rewarded for their foresight with popularity.”
So I have jumped face first into Facebook, blogs, podcasts and online media rooms. I am even considering Twitter. What I do not understand is Second Life. “Second Life is a 3-D online world entirely built and owned by its residents,” according to Scott. More than a million users would disagree with me. Sure it is a fun pastime, but can is really be useful for marketing?
Companies are having press conferences in Second Life. Suzanne Vega did a live concert. Reporters cover events and people that exist in Second Life. These people are interesting, but who do you market to? The avatar or the real person? I know I should experiment with social networking sites, but I do not understand the importance of Second Life from a marketing/pr perspective.
Maybe I am not drinking the Kool-Aid.
Maybe I’ll be proved wrong.
It is everywhere, and we all hate it.
The Web has made it possible for people in our industry to communicate directly with reporters. Using databases and search engines you can easily find the email addresses of reporters.
The problem lies in that PR professionals are sending journalists junk in the form press releases. Guess what, nontargeted pitches are spam. Sending spam is not a good way to get reporters to pay attention to you. Do you read emails from people you do not know?
Instead of the shot-gun message approach, why not try blogging? When you blog, and hopefully connect it to your really impressive media room or Web site, reporters actually find you using search engines!
Not enough for you? Then find out if the reporter has a blog. Comment on it. Better yet, track back to it. Develop a relationship with the reporter. Find out what they are interested in. Then send a pitch to match his/her needs.
We all know that when your company has big news, you write a press releases, but have you ever thought: why are we waiting?
According to David Meerman Scott in his book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR, “The rule of thumb is: write about pretty much anything that your organization is doing.”
This includes a new take on an old problem, when you win an award, publish a write paper, add a product feature, win a new customer, serve a unique market place, have interesting information to share or have a CEO speaking at a conference. You get the point.
Scott suggests you make an editorial calendar for news releases based on what your clients/buyers need to know. Your company looks busy when you have a regular and active editorial calendar that includes a series of news releases.
Scott warns, “When people go to your online media room and find a lack of news releases, they often assume that you are not moving forward or that you have nothing to contribute to the industry.”
Please do not bother with a releases on what you and your colleagues had for lunch. Remember, “Content is king.”
“Editors and Publishers obsess over readership, and so should you.”
I have been reading David Meerman Scott’s book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR. I can not count the number of times I have read, “Individuals don’t go to the Web looking for advertising; they are on a quest for content,” or “content is king.” But it did not have any impact on me until I read the line about editors and publishers.Â
That brings me to my next point: Everyone has a different learning style. Therefore, it is worth having your message is different formats. This applies to Web sites too. Some people prefer text. Others prefer audio or video. And it is almost always a good idea to include pictures.
Remember, on your site you should have content designed for your buyers. It is a good idea to have different types of content, but you must make sure all material, “conforms to a defined tone that you’ve established from the start.” This develops a site’s personality, and the Web site’s personality should match the organization.
Scott said, “A Web site can evoke a familiar and trusted voice, just like that of a friend on the other end of an e-mail exchange.” I do not know if I would go to that extreme, but I would agree it can become a trusted site and help close the sell.
No kidding, that really is a word. You can Google it! It was created by David Meerman Scott in his book The New Rules for Marketing and PR. He used it in chapter 12, How to Write for Your Buyers. Gobbledygook is all those meaningless adjectives that are frequently overused in news releases.
Some of these words or phrases are next generation, marketing leading, easy to use, groundbreaking, robust, world class, cutting edge and user friendly. I agree with Scott. When I read these phrases I stop paying attention, become easily bored, dismiss this article as clutter and wonder, what does that mean and how is that going to help me?
Scott said, “Avoid the insular jargon of your company and your industry. Instead, write for your buyers.” The rule is when you communicate, always start with your buyers, not with your product. You have to remember that even a news release or blog is a step in the communication process.Â
Scott said, “Talk to your audience as you might talk to a relative you don’t see too often-be friendly and familiar but also respectful.” Also to be successful, use real-world language to help convince your customer that you can solve their problem. He said, “Your buyers want [your information] in their own words, and then they want proof.”
For a while when I thought of good Web content, I thought of pleasing colors, great layouts and loads of creativity. I always thought Web content needed to grab attention. I was wrong. You see, when someone finds a Web site, they already have paid attention. That brings me to a statement: Content is king. This phrase is used a lot by David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR.
Chapter 11 of his book is, Online Thought Leadership to Brand Your Organization as a Trusted Resource. He begins with the fact that content brands a company as a trusted resource.
But it goes much further than this. Scott believes that companies should, “think like one of your buyer personas. The content that you create will be a solution to those people’s problems and will not mention your company or products at all!”
Part of me did not understand this, and I am studying PR. I imagine this will really confuse marketers. But Scott explains it is not about the message. Instead it is about being insightful. If marketers stop shouting their message to anyone who listens and start participating in discussions, they may develop Web content that delivers thought leadership.
And everyone wants to do business with the thought leader. Duh!
I am currently reading David Meerman Scott’s, New Rules for Marketing and PR. He writes a lot about websites and how they can or should benefit your organization. He writes the key for a successful website is to understand who your audience. This information allows you to add content that meets the consumers needs, wants and desires.
He writes this is the little “fairy dust” that makes your Web site extra special or just right. Fairy Dust? Is that not a silly term?
Scott raves on the National Resources Defense Council’s Web site. I decided to check it out. I love it. It is clean. It is not distracting. It is easy to navigate. It is not over-whelming. I love it. Is it extra special and sprinkled with fairy dust? I do not believe so, but with it’s smooth clean lines it is just right.
I think that is what Scott is talking about. Fairy Dust is not glitz and glamour like I expected. It is going to a Web site and leaving feeling impressed and more knowledgeable. If that is what he is writing about, fairy dust may not be the best term. But then what is the best term? It is not like you can see it, point it out, label it or even see it. There is no one formula that works everytime. Each Web site is and should be different. There is no one success.
When a Web site is just rightit is a kind of magic. Maybe fairy dust is not such a silly term after all.
I have been writing on my blog BlairWhitney for a couple months now. My professor estimates 1,000 other people (students, practitioners, journalist and companies) are currently blogging about public relations. Some people even wear multiple hats and blog for numerous sites. Many sites are successful and have comments posted daily. An example is Foward Blog; created by a fellow Auburn University graduate. I urge you to give it a look.
I am currently reading David Meerman Scott’s book, The New Rules for Marketing and PR. He devotes an entire chapter to blogging. After reading the chapter I decide to visit Scott’s own blog, Web Ink Now.
I am impressed with his latest article on flight attendants being paid commission to interrupt flights. It was not his style of writing or content that impressed me, but his use of pictures, outside links and plenty of examples. His style of writing was informal and fun to read, but the additional stuff built credibility.
I wanted to build on what I already learned from Scott’s book. I am happy to say my visit to Scott’s blog was a success. He said when you are pitching to people with multiple hats, you should say what you are pitching and which publication you are pitching. Not only do I agree, but I take it one step further. I only write for one blog at the moment, but I would appreciate the targeted pitches. No one likes to have time wasted, regardless how many hats you wear.
If press releases have never been exclusively for the press than why on earth were they ever called “press releases”? The press or media is excluded from the Public Relations Society of America definition, “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.”
David Meerman Scott is correct, the term “press releases” throws people off. I must ask, why is this term still in use? It is rare if I do not hear the inaccurate term on a daily basis. It is not just the students, constantly learning industry buzz words, who misuse the term. I see it in classrooms, text books, newspapers and even the Web.
According to Scott, the Web is supposed to be the one place where people are adapting to the new term “news releases.” The Web allows buyers to read news releases directly without having the media act as a mouthpiece or filter.
Goodbye press releases! Hello news releases! But that leaves me with one question. If we are suppose to throw press releases and and the A.P. Style Book out the window, how will consumers and buyers distinguish between news releases and all the misleading inaccurate “crap” available on the Web? If you blur the lines, does responsibility go down the drain?
When I started blogging for another class, I was less than thrilled. You could say I had a love/hate relationship with the Web. With the start of a new semester, I have had a change of heart. We are living in an online world, and I should embrace the new rules of marketing and public relations.
That is actually the title of a text book I am reading by David Meerman Scott. In the first chapter Scott explains the difference between the old and new rules. I used to view the Web as cold and impersonal. Now I realize the Web can help build relationships. The challenge is making sure an organization’s website is more than just one-way messages.
Scott caught my attention with, “When I arrive at a site, you don’t need to grab my attention; you already have it!” I never thought of it that way, but it is completely true. You see, the Web offers useful information the exact moment the consumer needs it. It is about informing and educating and less about one-way advertising.
Instead of disliking the web, I should rejoice in it. Now as a buyer I can communicate directly with the organization. Also blogs and consumer-driven social networking systems help with advice and testimonials. Smart companies will anticipate the buyer’s needs and provide content to meet them.
