Tag Archives: blog site

Blogging or Press Releases, which is better?

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With all the activity and “publicity” that business blogging has received this past year, pr clients, and publicity professionals are clamoring to get a blog site for themselves and companies. Is having a business blog the best choice or just a publicity campaign the way to go?

Good question, but there isn’t one answer. First you need to do some soul searching about what it is you arebusiness blogging, blog sites trying to achieve. If you are a pr client that has a product to launch, or a service to promote, then a publicity campaign is what you need. With that said, let’s back up a second. Keeping in mind that publicity press releases are good, an article is best. Look at your pr marketing strategies that you are developing. While you may not get an article in a publication, or it may be a few months before that reporter gets your article published, then consider incorporating a business blog site to further the exposure. The blog will also get you noticed sooner. And you have more control as to what can be said. Unlike an ad, you don’t want your business blog site to be all commercial. Keep to the facts, make it interesting and give some examples as to why this new product can improve things like a person’s lifestyle, or a company’s profits. Basically, make it productive, not a sales pitch.

This brings us back to creating a solid pr marketing strategy for your pr client, or company. Make sure that your pr marketing strategies include a well-planned publicity campaign. This should consist of a business blog, a promotional program, a series of press releases and an article that can be submitted to reporters, editors and publishers in your industry. I read an article called “Is your press release passive?” Other tips on good pr writing can be found at their main site. This touches on a few important issues in writing releases. This can also be a simple guide in writing your blog for that new product or service. business blogging, blog sites

So what have you learned in this blog? Hopefully that a business blog is as important as your publicity campaign. Ok, I need to now explain that just having a blog on the web doesn’t get you noticed. It requires a lot of backend marketing. A couple of years ago, a simple blog site was all you needed and it got a lot of attention. Today, you need to market your business blog site. That brings me to our company, Carson Marketing, Inc. We can market your business blog site. If you do not have a business blog, then we can help put your company into the blog sphere so that you get noticed. Give us a call. We’re just 10 numbers away at 949-477-9400 to making you a successful blogger.

Web Site Blogging

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Keep a daily blog and publicity will increase

If you are interested in getting more visible, then you need to add a blog site to your publicity campaign. It is true that most anyone in your company can probably write the blogs on a daily basis, but it is the use of the correct wording and use of keywords that make a business blog productive.

Not everyone can write a short novel, or a radio commercial, or a sales brochure. Each of these examples requires a different writing talent. A publicity pro can write successful press releases and articles for publication, but they might not be a good copywriter for brochures or ads.

But a good publicity writer can adapt easily to writing blogs than an advertising copywriter. Why? The reason is simple. Publicity writers are not writing text for people to buy, but rather to act upon. Therefore, their style is more informative in their writing. That’s what blogs (for business) are about. Getting the information in front of readers who will react more to a blog than an ad.

Knowing how to write a blog is only one aspect of a good blog site. Now you need to know how to use the site to gain traffic and visibility. This requires learning how to make links, use photos and inserting keywords into your text and in what order. Once you begin using blogs, it will open more opportunities for your company, or your pr clients.

So I again recommend that pr clients, publicity firms look into the serious positive effects that blog sites can offer.

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Why RSS Is A Great PR Tool

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Twelve reasons to use RSS


RSS is here and you need to make this tool part of your business plan. Why?

If you need to ask, then maybe your company or pr agency is not ready to become a leader in your industry.

But if you are considering the advantages, I’ll give you about twelve reasons how RSS, Blogging, or a Blog site can improve your image, and gain favorable pr AND increase sales. Now remember, that publicity or an ad campaign cannot close a sale, but it can bring traffic to your site, or to your office.

Reasons to get a blog started:

  • Because blogs are short articles, they are best read when you have a strong headline.  Create news type headlines and make the article a story…but short, about 300 words and not more than 750 words.
  • Tell pr clients, or customers about upcoming events through your blog
  • Choose a specific day that you just have your thoughts expressed. It can be about a competitors product, or about the industry in general. All from your point of view
  • It’s a great way to announce new products, or the addition of staff
  • Tell potential and current clients about unique sites that they can benefit from, show the links to these sites
  • Newsletters. You probably do one now, or have a lot of saved information that can be written easily in short articles. Share that information and become recognized as a company helping customers, or pr clients with problems that usually arise in your industry

Well, I only have time to give you six of the twelve. Need to know the rest. Contact me and I’ll share that and more with you.

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Use All The Internet Tools

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Publicity is everywhere


It’s time to continue the discussion about publicity being everywhere. The most active and productive place is the Internet.

Before we dive into this, keep in mind that traditional pr, such as publications (both newspaper, magazines), and broadcast media should be an on-going mix with your overall pr activities.

Clients tend to either keep the traditional methods and don’t explore the new media, or they drop all the reporters and publishers and only concentrate on the Internet news for press release distribution.

As I began saying earlier, you need to work within the powerful media of the Internet. One good suggestion is the RSS with a blog site.

I’ve mentioned this before, but pr clients tend to not fully appreciate the advantage of this new media. Because we use the Internet as a means of gathering information "quickly", clients feel that their blogsite should have "instant" success.

Remember that Kevin Costner movie…well, just because you build a blog site, not everyone will read it.

You need to market the site. When done correctly and with the right company, professional bloggers (yes they do exist) can make the site become highly ranked. And the company doing the work for you, if they are into RSS and Blogging can get your main web site listed high with the popular search engines like Google, Yahoo, MSN and Alta Vista.

There are lessons to be learned when building a blogsite. More importantly you need to have daily blogs. I cannot go into all the needed essentials to building a good business blogsite in this short blog lesson. So keep in mind to be successful in any industry, use all the marketing tools that exist. That may even mean a direct mail program if that’s what is needed to gain favorable publicity. When was the last time you had an open discussion with your pr director, or met with the publicity firm to review a plan? If it’s been over three months, then it’s time to call a meeting.

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Getting The Word Out

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Branding is important so is blogging

All companies are fighting for the same thing. An Identity.

Without this, you can’t be visible, you will have a difficult time selling a product or service, and it will be very difficult to stay in business.

Today’s competitive market (in all industries) is looking for better and more efficient methods to creating this identity.

The word "Branding" has become a popular term in our business language. This is what an identity is for a company. Although branding does encompass more than the traditional identity program. All businesses need to have a serious look as to how they are perceived by customers, competitors and the media.

When developing a branding program, you need to look at all aspects of the company. When you have placed a true branding program in place, you then need to get that image, brand into the marketplace.

Doing this can be done in several ways. I strongly recommend that companies include with their Publicity Campaign a business "blog site".

Blogging is more than a term; it is now part of our daily lives. Even more so in business.

A good blog site will consist of RSS feeds to attract news about your industry, and market. It will also be created in a fashion to reflect your image–BRAND. In addition it needs to be monitored and produced by a professional blog company that knows the "back end" of the marketing. Doing a blog is only one small part of blogging.

Writing and using links, images, keywords, phrases and many other unique techniques can be a very productive site to make a company gain visibility and brand recognition within 90 days.

So be careful before you just plunge into a blog site. Make sure you work with people who know the techniques of the business side. These are the people who can make things happen for you and your company.

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Where is Search Going

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Search Engines Build Momentum

Search engine marketing is not something that just happens by chance. It is an art, a science, and a lot of work.

Many clients think the old ways of adding meta tag descriptions, or key words and submissions to all the search engines will get results. Not true anymore.

The search engine (SE) battle to be the biggest and best is heating up again.

More companies are finally realizing they can build an ecommerce web site while maintaining a traditional storefront. With this attention, the SE’s are getting more sophisticated on how they list a web site.

I saw an article by Kevin Ryan titled "Search and the Brand". He mentioned a lot of interesting things, besides the awards stuff for this event.

For example, at the Advertising Week event, Mr. David Verklin, CEO of Carat Americans, pointed out a study that was completed in December of 2004 showed 92% of consumer electronics and other computer purchases. This is only one category. But it illustrates how consumers are using the net for more ease of purchasing. That means they will be using SE’s more often to find products, companies and places to make purchases.

HP saw their click volume increase 45% and the transactions increased 65%.

At this Advertising Week event, it was noted that keyword purchasing hit an all-time high as well. Some advertisers were now purchasing odd words, like "possum". Popular words such as "automobile" or "Honda Element’ are still expensive.

So what’s the other solution to fighting this marketing battle? Try "street smart marketing". By this I mean it’s time you have a plan that includes a blog site with back end tie-ins. Publicity should be part of that overall plan. Together, these become powerful marketing tools and can build a brand name within a few months.

How To Save Money On Advertising

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Effective Publicity programs

Clients are always looking for better ways to reach their target audience. And let’s not forget, at a lesser cost.

For example, we (as consumers) are constantly being sold to. Usually with direct mailers. That’s because advertisers believe by using direct mail they are reaching the specific audience and can tell them how great their product is. Many times, you receive an incentive if you react quickly to their program.

But stop and think for a minute. Direct mail is good, but it is also very costly. Postage is always increasing, as is the printing of postcards, letters, etc.

What is the alternate solution? Mix your ad program with a Publicity Campaign. Think of it, trying to reach 100,000 or 500,000 potential customers with a direct mailer is expensive. But you can reach these same people, and a lot more with a well planned publicity campaign. And that published article is more credible than a self-promo mailer.

A Publicity Campaign should include several elements. A press kit, a series of releases, an article for submission, and above all, a blog site.

Yes, today the RSS technology is making excellent inroads to the media, and your customer base. Whether you are selling B2B, or directly to consumers, a blog site should be part of your media mix.

When planned and executed properly, a publicity campaign can out perform a controlled media ad campaign. Plus you will be reaping the positive rewards from the media much longer than the dollars you paid for that magazine or broadcast ad.

Now is the time to get smarter and leaner, get a publicity campaign together. At worst it can only improve your image!

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