Tag Archives: pr plan

The Real Secret to Social Media Success

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Everyone is offering his or her “secret” how to become a successful social media genius. If you are looking for a quick fix solution, or a one-step process to solve your pr marketing strategy problems, then you are not going to like the “TRUTH”.social media and networking

 

The real secret to social media success is to start with a Plan. Yes, you need to plan your pr marketing strategy. Just like a road map, if you don’t have a solid plan, then you are doing a shotgun approach with your pr marketing strategy only to hope something will work. It will take time to build a good social media campaign. And it should not be alone; it should be part of your overall pr marketing strategy. That is another reason why companies fail.

 

Ford Motor Company has been one of the few major corporations to understand how to use social media. Many others are trying to follow their steps, but what they are missing is the plan that was set by Ford.

 

These are some of the real secrets to creating a successful social media campaign:

 

First, you need to realize that social media is NOT a marketing channel to push your message or products.

 

Second, you need to make social media engaging to your network of people.

 

Third, people will not respond until they build a trust with you and/or your company.

 

Fourth, it is not about the sale, but about developing relationships.

 

Fifth, you need to be active with people, where they frequent, sites they visit, etc.

 

Sixth, establish guideline. These are the guideline for your employees. You need to set how they should communicate about your company on their own blogs, twitter and facebook accounts. You cannot control what they say, but if your corporate culture is positive, then your employees’ communications will also be positive.

 

Social networks are growing and it is only becoming a path for what the future will be in terms of how we communicate. For example, there are many networks like “upcoming” and “SCRIB” besides Twitter and Facebook that your company should be involved with. Do you need help in getting a social network campaign to be part of your pr marketing strategy? If so, give George Carson, Carson Marketing, Inc., a call at 949-477-9400. It’s time to get serious and grow your company using these marketing efforts with your pr marketing strategy.

How To Write A Press Release For Publishing

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There can never be enough said about writing a good press release.

Most pr clients, pr agencies, and publicity professionals try to overwrite press releases. By that I mean, they want press release writingto produce dozens of press releases to justify their existence and their fees. Without a series of press releases, most publicity professionals, and pr agencies will not survive. I don’t believe in writing just to write for the sake of a retainer fee. It is best to have a solid pr plan that includes a lot of other publicity activities, but that’s another topic.

Let’s get into writing good press releases that will get published.

1- The trap most press releases fall into is no relevance. Too often they do not have information that relates to any specific industry, or the information is a sales pitch. Keep away for phrases such as “out-of-this-world”, “amazing”, “wild”, etc. When writing, try to see it through a journalistic view. How would a reporter, or editor react to your release?

2- What’s important to the consumer or market? Give factual information that will explain why your product or service will have to help the consumer, or improve a situation in the market. Write for your audience.

3- Provide all the necessary contact information. This should include all the people that an editor, or reporter can contact should they want more information, or to follow up.

4- The HEADLINE. Make sure it is not storytelling. It should create interest without being too creative

5- Main paragraph. This is important. It needs to quickly explain and tell– who–what–where–and why of your press release. Most editors will only read the first or second paragraph, so make sure all the important information is in this part.

6- Main body. Now you can further explain with support data about the product or service.

7- Summary. It is ok to repeat some of the information that you had in the first paragraph. Just don’t repeat every word. Always close with the name, address and phone number of the company the press release is about.

Finally, keep the press release short. Some publicity professionals feel they get paid for each word. So they tend to write 2 or 3 or more pages. If the information is that technical, or requires a lot of explaining, then create a short version to get the attention of an editor to contact you for further information. Remember, editors get thousands of releases and if you make it difficult to read, or too long to say what is important, your release becomes recycle paper. I suggest you keep a press release down to 400 and no more than 500 words. Fewer than 400 is best. If you need more help go to this site, which provides information on press release formatting:  http://www.press-release-writing.com/press-release-template.htm.

Is Your PR Plan Current?

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It is time to review the publicity program

Pr clients and publicity agencies are guilty of developing Publicity Plans for the year and forget to review the activity and analyze the results at least every quarter.

We live in a fast paced world surrounded by constant changes in economy, products, businesses and jobs. Keeping this thought, it is a good idea that you review every quarter the publicity activities that your PR Plan had outlined. Make a checklist to see if the goals and results are in line with the objectives you specified.

If you are working with a publicity agency, then call a meeting with them. Don’t call a surprise meeting; tell them in advance what the meeting is about. Let them know that you want to review the overall publicity program and compare the results. This is also true if you are doing publicity in-house. Give your pr staff time to document and collect what you need to make a clear evaluation.

A mistake companies make when implementing a pr campaign is the lack of patience. Because things are moving fast, we tend to feel that publicity runs at slow pace. Publicity is not something that happens overnight. Nor are the results. Unlike running an ad, which can be monitored and scheduled for print, a publicity campaign requires patience and planning. Working with the media and all the different editors, publishers and Internet pr services can be rewarding when the plan is given its due time to get the results.

After reviewing the results of the pr plan, discuss with the staff what needs to be changed in the PR Plan. Keep in mind to not make a 180-degree change, unless drastic changes occur in your industry or economy. Make changes that will best achieve the results you want. By keeping your focus on the original objectives will allow your plan to go in a positive direction to gain positive pr.

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