Does Your Publicity Campaign Include Tagging?

It’s not graffiti anymore, it’s pr

When you first hear or read the word TAGGING, you probably think of taggers who do graffiti on the walls. Well, think publicity and then think Internet, now you’re getting closer to tagging in today’s terms.
tagging and video publicity marketing
It is the linking of web sites. This old term is what describes how we use links to each other sites making search engines locate us faster.

It seems that this "linking" has been around in the earlier days of the Internet. Spammers were probably using this technique of marketing and when we were all hit hard with spam, search engines became more intelligent by counter acting their tactics.

You or your web designer, programmers often use tagging with your site. You have heard the words meta tags, keywords, right? Well, that is a form of tagging.

When a company wants to optimize your web site, this is one of the tagging areas that are often refined.

If you are in publicity and think this stuff is too deep in conversation and you don’t have an IT person, then use this handy tool for creating links. It is Yahoo’s Del.iclo.us. This is a tool bar that you can download from Yahoo’s site.

Tagging can help your publicity in many ways. For example, tagging can be done with pictures that are in your press release (which should be in your pressroom’s web site), or online video. Many sites have this available such as Yahoo 360, or Technorati’s blog that addresses tagging.

Publicity campaigns are no longer a list of releases or articles; it is your web site and making it SEO friendly with tagging, as well as other unique optimizing tricks. But that’s another subject.

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Is It Publicity or Marketing?

YouTube and Google

Google and YouTube purchase Google likes being in the news and takes a lot of chances. But that is one of their marketing strategies, to keep in front of the computer user public.

I have read many articles lately about the purchase of YouTube by Google. Some good, some are not.

One interesting viewpoint was by Bill Wise of Did-It, a search marketing agency.

He tells us that Google could have made a blunder in the $1.6 billion purchase. Bill gives three reasons for his theory:

  • YouTube is still young and in a market that has attracted a young audience and still hasn’t turned a profit
  • YouTube has only 65 employees compared to Google with 8,000 and MySpace with 300
  • Last is the legal issues that YouTube and Google are facing with copyright infringement

No matter your perspective, Google will win in the long run. It is possible that YouTube could be a short lived fad, or be taken over (in the market share) by Microsoft’s version (Soapbox), or other networks like CBS allowing downloads of shows and who knows, maybe videos. What Google is gaining is a lot of Publicity. You cannot pick up a publication, newspaper or watch TV, listen to radio without hearing something about this acquisition.

So the question remains, Is google creating a major publicity campaign around YouTube? If so, I think they will get back their investment just by the fact that many new people will now be attracted to YouTube and be exposed to the advertisers that Google hopes to reap the profits from. I’m also sure that Google learned it’s lesson with the failure of the ad venture, GooglePrint. Maybe they can apply the right marketing with this new venture.

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Getting a Solid Brand Identity

Where do you start?

building a brandIn order to build a successful branding program for a company name, or a product requires several steps. To begin, you need to make sure you have a plan in place.

Branding is more than plastering your name on ads, flyers, or on your web site. It is more than running a bunch of radio or TV spots. Yes, this will get your company noticed, but only for the period of the media schedule.

It starts within the company. It is the culture that is developed. Some people mix their branding with a company’s "mission statement", or their company philosophy. These are separate and need to remain separate. Building a brand takes time. Some company’s are impatient and cannot wait the few months it takes to gain recognition, so they spend a lot of money on various media to get the word out.

This will help jump start any branding campaign, but it is short lived. You need to have a consistent plan that is more than a one shot campaign. I could go on to explain this further, but it will only become a long blog. <a href="http://www.technorati.com/claim/uwjgsy8u4d" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>My point in writing this is to help pr clients realize that branding should be a very important part of your business plan and should be implemented in order to compete in today’s market.

If your company needs some guidance in developing a branding campaign, please give us a call. Our free consultation can show you how to incorporate a successful branding campaign into your company.

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How Can Optimizing Be Bad?

Know what you are doing first

optimizing web sitesEveryone who builds a web site claims to know optimizing. The same is true about those small startups saying they can get you listed at the top of SE’s (Search Engines). How is this relating to publicity? Because “Publicity is Everywhere!” If you direct the media to your site, but they forget the URL, they probably will type specific keywords in the SE to locate the web site.

Ok, first let me say not all these companies are out to make a fast buck. But it appears that most of them are selling software or just doing a blast listing to all the SE’s out there. How can these really help? Well, you won’t see any progress for weeks, maybe a couple of months at best. That’s how they get your money and then you just shake off that bad experience when nothing happens and your still listed 348 on Google, or Yahoo.

Web Site Optimization is more than placing a bunch of keywords into the HTML of your site. It isn’t the key phrase either. Because if you do this incorrectly, the search engines will pass you by!

The keywords you selected…how did you find them? If these are the most popular, then you are going to get zero traffic for a long time. Knowing which are the best keywords and what people are using is completely different. Plus, using multiple words can be even more productive and generate traffic. Ok, stop for a moment. Is traffic what you want? I hope not. Because I can get you thousands of people a month easily, but they won’t be qualified to purchase your products or services.

Qualified buyers are what you need. The number of visitors is important, if they are qualified. Keep that in perspective. We can give you the optimization to get listed at the top of Google, Yahoo and MSN among other search engines.

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Optimizing Press Releases and Web Sites

How to get productive in pr

blog site optimizingI am sure that the word "optimize" is overused, over said, and most likely is more than overdue. How can it be overdue? When it relates to publicity. Such things as press releases, or articles for the media all should be optimized for maximum exposure.

The Internet has re-born how we write press releases and how they are distributed. Just as know that a web site needs to be optimized, so do your press releases.

There are a lot of articles that help people learn what to do to optimize their web site. One for example by Yaro Stark gives his 10 tips for web site optimization.

Many of the same optimizing tips for web sites apply to press releases. Let’s look at a few of them:

  • Title Tags. Make sure your title has the important words that best describe your release.
  • Keyword density. Use your keywords and any phrases wisley, don’t repeat them too often. Your text should read clearly, not like a book on all your keywords.
  • Structure. Keep the structure simple. Unlike a hard copy, an Internet media release should follow the traditional rules for online publishing.
  • Links. Yes, with those allowing to use HTML, use links properly and that will help SEO’s find your site faster as well as the media.
  • Contact Info. Without this, the reporters cannot waste time locating the person to interview or ask questions. Make sure all contact information is easily noticed.

If you need more help with the web site or press release optimizing, give us a call. We can make things happen for you. Call us at: 949-477-9400.

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Social Tagging and Publicity

Publicity is everywhere series

The term "tagging" is now part of the Internet culture. No longer is it reserved for the graffiti on walls or buildings that we see everyday.

This type of tagging is more accepted. Just like the graffiti taggers are sending a message, the Internet tagging craze is how we title messages. It can become an excellent publicity and marketing tool when used correctly.

So how does this become publicity related? Publicity is everywhere.

Public Relations professionals should be more than aware that everything around us is connected to pr and pr clients. It is all communication. No matter the source or the media outlet used, when we communicate, we are expressing some type of publicity. Reporters are always looking for a story. Publicists are always looking for an angle. So why do so many pr professionals and pr clients close their eyes to new technology? Maybe because we have grown too lax by using the same marketing and publicity tools that we tend to not want to "learn" how to change these habits.

You cannot turn away and think that social networks like MySpace, Friendster, or YouTube are just fads. These social networks are changing the way we communicate. It is a new era that will mold the next movement with the Internet. PR Firms need to stay on-board to see how this form of communication affects the world of publicity.

It is important that we don’t ignore this fast moving network. It can be a publicity source for your pr clients or for your products.

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Web Marketing and Publicity

The do’s and don’ts

optimizing for publicityThe blog I wrote on "Publicity is your web site" is one of several parts to taking advantage of a web site as another pr tool.

An overstated word is "optimizing". Since I cannot think of a better word to describe this process, let’s start with these steps:

  • Optimize each page

Pr clients and businesses do not realize it, but some web marketing companies only optimize the Home Page and maybe one other page. You need to do all the pages.

  • Optimize your Page Titles and Content

In addition, look for keywords that are relevant to your company and industry. For example in the PressRoom page use words that are in the press releases or articles.

  • Create inbound links and label your images

This is a great place to have links to published press releases or articles about the company. Or place links to service organizations in your industry.

  • Your Website needs to be spider friendly

Search engines use spiders to read web sites. If the site contains flash, you need to address this in the html codes and modify them so spiders can see the code.

  • Keep the site fresh

Just like sending out new press releases, you need to keep the content fresh in the text (body). Every quarter have the content be updated, but don’t use a string of keywords, or phrases or hidden text, that will only make the spiders angry and get you on the "bad" list.

Having a good web site that can be found is good publicity. Why? Because when the editors, reporters or other media look at your site it will be easy for them to find you and the products you offer. Keep reminding yourself that "Publicity Is Everywhere".

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Are Your Publicity Clients Prospering?

PR Clients need to deliver more

I have written several blogs and articles about involving the publicity departments with the marketing departments. Well is finally catching on. But only in few situations, usually when a company cannot meet its sales goals.

publicity incentivesPublic relations firms need to step-up to their pr clients and request meetings with the marketing staff as well as the sales departments. Discussions about how each is handling their departments to increase sales will open conversations to work collectively. Competition is not going to get less, but more intense, no matter your industry.

We are seeing that end users (customers) are expecting more from manufacturers. For example, when you make a major purchase like an automobile, you expect more than the rebates. You may negotiate for free oil changes, or extra large tires, etc. When you buy furniture, or appliances, you expect the company to provide free shipping, or some other added incentive. One of our snack food clients will be offering an “instant rebate coupon” that is on the package. It is this type of quick gratification that customers are looking for.

At PowerPR, the company’s blog also had a comment about this. The blog titled "Publicity to a PublicCelebrate incentive that wants More". PowerPR’s clientele is mainly in the manufacturing industry, so they see this as a need for publicity people to get more creative with clients to help sell products. They refer to the extras as being “surprised”.

As professional publicity people we need to address issues like this in order to have clients gain more visible and favorable publicity. 

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Let Reporters Find You

Publicity 101

How many times have you or a pr client tried to contact a customer about an important issuekeeping the press informed only to realize they are out of town? Wasted time? Maybe. More than that is the frustration of not reaching that person.

Now imagine a reporter, editor, or publisher trying to contact you, but you were unavailable. Maybe you were at a trade show, or at a new business meeting, or in a seminar, or just traveling.

At first you would think, hey, they’ll leave a message. Not really. These are reporters who have deadlines to meet. They will pass you up and go to the next person on their list.

How do you avoid loosing the call? Simple, leave a voice message on your phone that says, "if you are a reporter or from the press, please call me at (leave a cell phone number), or leave your number and I’ll call back within a couple of hours.

Make sure that you check your office voice mail messages frequently. And if it is your cell phone that you give to the press, be sure to check that message box often as well.

Being available to the press for a story that you are pitching is extremely important. The media works on their time, not yours. Keeping this in mind should make your pr clients realize that positive publicity can only be accomplished when you make yourself available to the press.

What you should not do is send emails of your schedule to the media. That is a waste of time and the reporters are not your secretaries, so respect them and not bother these media people with nonsense emails.

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Keep the PR Program Active

Like an ad campaign, publicity needs consistency

So you ran a pr release last week, or was it last month? And maybe you had an article scheduled to be in a publication, but the editor, or reporter had to cancel, delaying the article for another month or two.

If this is how your publicity campaign sounds, then you need to rethink what you’re doing. It is up to your pr agency, or pr staff to continually develop press releases, pitch stories, or arrange for interviews. It is this on-going effort that makes any campaign: publicity or advertising, become effective and gain exposure. The positive results will follow when you have this concentrated effort in place.

Another pr company, PowerPR, has in his blog today a similar viewpoint about handling your publicity campaign. The title of his blog "Have you published a release lately" parallels my philosophy on publicity.

Whether you are a pr client looking for increased exposure, or work as a pr consultant, consistency and repetition is critical. Another good idea is to have a regular eNewsletter that is published and sent to the media. Don’t go wild sending them an eNewsletter every week, or even monthly. It should be sent just prior to submitting a release or pitching a story. The eNewsletter should also be of good information. It wouldn’t hurt to have a short preview about the product or service that will be presented to the media.

Keeping a flow of activity in your public relations program is how to help get recognition. This will also help build brand identity and awareness.

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