PR Integration – Traditional Media Relations & Digital PR

January 9, 2013 Leave a comment

digital-v-printAs the media world changes more and more traditional publications have gone on to become digital media outlets.  Countless new publications are starting up with only an online presence.  Too often people think of traditional magazines as being true publications and online outlets (unless they are the online arm of such traditional media outlets as the New York Times, Vogue, Men’s Health or People) as basically useless or low rent outlets.  In reality, many online media outlets can gain you more traction and exposure than traditional outlets.  Sure there are some sites and blogs that reach only a handful of people and that’s why you need to do your homework before contacting any media.  But when used judiciously, a targeted online approach can help position you in the marketplace, build your brand and (and this one is really important) get you noticed by some of the major traditional media outlets.

online-newsroomsWhereas traditional media offers validations and credibility, online media offers speed and reach; it is the online media and publications that can get your story up and add to your digital pr strategy as quickly as possible.  This was impossible a few short years ago, but now, via online PR, your story can quickly get out in front of the public.  Combine validation and legitimacy with speed, targeting and reach and you have what I call Integrative PR.

As I’ve written in the past, you don’t want to choose between traditional and online media, you want to meld the two to fully maximize your campaign and your exposure.  For example, we recently placed a client in a number of online publications.  All of the stories were positive and they helped us increase our client’s exposure.  The articles helped the client brand himself and more fully reach his target market.  That was great in and of itself, but we then were contacted by a writer from the New York Times, who read some of the pieces online and wanted to interview the client for a story in the Times.  So those articles were doubly effective, they not only reached new readers, but they positioned the client in a way that interested the mainstream media.

When it comes to launching a comprehensive PR or media relations campaign, the name of the game is PR Integration.  Sure millions of people are online and that number is only going to grow, but the offline or traditional media sill wields amazing impact.  TV, newspapers, magazines and radio not only reach millions; the major outlets are the ones that still hold the star power.  Being featured in the mainstream media, such as the New York Times, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the Today Show or USA Today still gives you the validation and legitimacy that no other form of marketing can offer.

The downside with a strictly traditional media outreach is that it generally takes quite a bit of time to build momentum.  The downside with online public relations is that, although you can get the information out quickly, people are now inundated with so much news that you can often find stories buried.

This is why PR Integration, the combining of online and offline media relations, is not only effective but important.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Kisor-Madlem, Alyshia. “7 ways online media benefits public relations”. Photo. PR Daily. 13 Nov 2012. 09 Jan 2013. <http://prdaily.com/Main/Articles/13116.aspx>

Momorella, Steve. “5 ways online newsrooms will save time and money.” Photo. PR Daily. 25 Jun 2012. 09 Jan 2013. <http://prdaily.com/Main/Articles/11998.aspx&gt;

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How The Big Boys Use Social Media

May 23, 2012 Leave a comment

CNN recently ran a piece called The Top 10 Social Media Stars.   Companies can learn from how these business giants utilize their social media campaigns, it is important to keep in mind that companies such as Walmart, Home Depot, Starbucks and Disney start with an obvious huge advantage.  One because of their size and the numbers that their traditional PR, marketing, advertising and media relations campaigns drive to their social media sites, there is not really a one to one correlation between how you can utilize your Facebook and Twitter sites and how these companies use theirs.  Still, it’s worth paying attention and taking note of what they’re doing in the major leagues.

For example, Walmart boasts over 15 million fans on Facebook. Not long ago they ran an Easter fill-in-the-blank question inspired over 11,000 comments. It also finds warm and fuzzy ways to peg its promotions such as “National Puppy Day.”

Pepsi offers Pepsi Deals discounts to its 8 million Facebook followers.  It also lets users post photos of Pepsi cans or bottles in unusual or different settings, which allows users to participate.  Starbucks can boast nearly 30 million fans.  They offer deals, community feedback and direct feedback for angry or upset customers.

While the CNN piece focused mainly on Facebook, that’s obviously not the only social media avenue available.  Consistency, interaction and engagement are key.  And, while the companies spotlighted begin with an army of followers, it does help to study their social media approaches.  You never know what you’ll learn.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Ameen, Yasir. “The Top 10 Social Media Stars.” Photo. The News Tribe. 13 May 2012. 23 May 2012. <http://www.thenewstribe.com/2012/05/13/top-10-social-media-stars/#.T710f45ZUUU>

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Breast Feeding & the First Gay President: How Time & Newsweek Are Riding the Social Media Train

May 14, 2012 Leave a comment

The news magazines controversy wars are going at full steam.  Time got out of the gate first with its May 21 cover, featuring a rather defiant and somewhat uncomfortable looking Jamie Lynne Grumet breastfeeding her three-year-old son, Aram.  In the photo, Aram is standing on a chair and feeding on her exposed left breast.  Not your everyday magazine cover.  But it wasn’t meant to be.  The image had more impact than the article, which accompanied the photo; which is exactly what Time intended.  The web erupted with praise and criticism; and the social media stir accomplished the decision, makers at Time, were hoping for. Celebrities jumped in; Alyssa Milano and model Joanna Krupa began to Tweet about it and the social media frenzy was off to the races.   It drove more readers to the site, where they had to pay to read the full articles.  The traditional media had a heyday with the cover which, in turn, caused an even bigger sensation on the various social media fronts

An article in the Los Angeles Times explained that Time’s editors ran the controversial photo and article to mark the 20th anniversary of Dr. Bill Sears’ book on the topic.  According to the article, the book helped “power the movement for moms to establish deeper, and more prolonged, physical bonds with their children.”  That is all true, but the purpose of the cover photo was to cause a sensation and drive sales

Not to be outdone Newsweek’s cover May 14th cover declares Obama “the first gay president,” with a story by writ

er Andrew Sullivan.  With Tina Brown at the helm, Newsweek has recently a number of controversial covers, but here the envelope is being pushed with a vengeance.   The cover, which shows President Obama with a rainbow halo above his head, comes days after Obama’s statement that he is personally in favor of gay marriage.

The article draws parallels between the isolation felt by many in the homosexual community and Obama’s struggle to fully discover and assert his racial identity.  But again, the image and the tag were less about the article and more about the marketing.

As with the Time breastfeeding cover, it is the Newsweek cover photo and tagline that will be remembered and that will cause a stir.  Here, the major news magazines, which have taken tremendous blows during the past few years, primarily because of the internet, are now utilizing the power of social media to sell magazines.

It’s an interesting irony and in a way marks a bit of a 180 turn.  The traditional media using the tremendous power of social media to market it wares.  This is indicative of how public relations, social media and the traditional media have in a sense all melded into one.  You can no longer separate one from the other and, if as a marketer you fail to see that – you lose.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Martinson, Jane. “Are you mom enough?’ … Time magazine Photograph: AP”. Photo. The Guardian. 14 May 2012. 14 May 2012. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2012/may/14/breast-best-row-time-magazine?newsfeed=true>
Harrigan, Matt. “Newsweek cover calls Barack Obama ‘the first gay president’.” Photo. Syracuse.com. 14 May 2012. 14 May 2012. <http://www.syracuse.com/have-you-heard/index.ssf/2012/05/newsweek_cover_calls_barack_ob.html>

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How To Decide Which Marketing Approach Is Best For You

May 8, 2012 Leave a comment

Marketing can be tricky. How, where, when and to whom you market all depends on the specific needs of your business.  The media mix that works for a physician will probably differ from the approach that will work for a coffee house.  But then again, maybe not, maybe the same marketing mix will perfectly fit both and it’s only the approach and implementation that needs to shift.

Before you decide on and implement marketing, advertising, public relations or a social media campaign, do some soul searching and figure out what marketing approach is going to most effectively serve you and your company.  Each company’s needs are different, which is why your approach needs to be individualized and tailored to your specific business.

When I launched my company I focused primarily in traditional public relations, that approach is still the most effective way to do if you want to reach your target market and gain the legalization and credibility that being featured in the media affords you.  Appearing on a TV show or in a magazine or newspaper can separate you from the competition, establish you as a news story and present you as an expert in your field.

That is one approach, but there are several others that sometimes work on their own and other times work in conjunction with a PR campaign.  A short marketing list would include:

  • Traditional advertising (including print ads and commercials)
  • Online advertising (including ads, banners, pop ups, etc.)
  • Direct marketing (including flyers, mailers, etc.).
  • Traditional public relations (including print, TV and radio)
  • Social media (including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, GooglePlus, etc).
  • Email marketing
  • Seminars
  • Workshops
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Cold Calling
  • Article Marketing
  • Digital Media Apps
  • Mobile Advertising

That covers a pretty good marketing spectrum.  Chances are if you are doing some type of marketing outreach (which you definitely need to be) you’re utilizing one of the approaches listed above.   But again the question remains, how do you know when to use which type of marketing approach?  It took me a while to learn that this generally needed to be my first step when working with clients.   First we needed to define the objectives.  What did the client want to achieve with his or her marketing campaign?   Once we have that defined, we then decide on which approach or which combination of approaches are best suited to meet those objectives.  We developed a questionnaire to help clients define their needs, objectives and target markets, once we have that information, we then use that as a guide to help develop their most effective marketing plan and approach.  It could be one approach or a combination.  Or it could be an orchestrated sequential shifting from one approach to another.  It all depends.  Each business has its own specific needs.  Before you jump into a marketing direction take some time to define your objectives, your needs and your most effective marketing approach.  In the long run, you’ll be glad you did.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Petronzio, Matt. “47 Digital Media Resources You May Have Missed.” Photo. Mashable. 05 May 2012. 07 May 2012. <http://mashable.com/2012/05/05/digital-media-resources-39/&gt;

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PR Secrets for Your Online Business

April 18, 2012 Leave a comment

Apart from Facebook and a few other IPO notables, dot.com IPOs no longer command the attention they did in the wild west of the late 1990s, and youthful billionaires, although still newsworthy, are no longer the big stories they were even two years ago.  These stories will continue to garner press, but they are not enough for a company to build a media presence around. The days of easy media are lost to the end of the 20th Century.  Already the 21st Century is a more demanding, more media-savvy time.

When dot.coms were still the rage, many internet companies turned to celebrities, hoping that by partnering with Whoopi Goldberg or Cindy Crawford, or some professional sports star, some of the stars’ fame and sheen would rub off on their online business. These companies were aware that the media love celebrities; and it is a star’s fame often that drives the media like moths to the proverbial flame.

But soon, even the celebrity factor began to wear thin; amazingly enough William Shatner survived as an online spokesperson, but overall internet companies found themselves faced with the same question that brick-and-mortar companies have faced for years: after the initial fireworks have cleared, how does a company consistently develop engaging and credible stories that will interest the media?

This is where public relations, specifically media relations and media placement come into the picture. When it comes to marketing a dot.com business, e-commerce site or internet product, a company must now broaden its scope to include an effective, story-driven media campaign. Unlike advertising, effective media relations can validate and legitimize a company – and for a fraction of what a comprehensive ad campaign costs.

This is not to say that when marketing an online business advertising and public relations are mutually exclusive. The two have different tasks to perform and one reinforces the other. Both can be vital to a successful overall campaign.  But in the 3.0 world of marketing it’s a mix of social media marketing and traditional PR that offers the most successful form of marketing.

During the dot.com heyday, many e-commerce companies did advertising overkill which cost-wise had a tendency to kill their business; most ignored or under-utilized the immense power and effectiveness of a well-targeted media relations campaign. Many figured that the more money they threw into an ad campaign, the more successful they’d be.  Few did their homework, thinking out of the box, and developing unique, compelling hooks and distinctive story ideas.

Meanwhile, the media began suffering from a bad case of dot-com burnout, which continues to this day.  It’s no longer enough to simply send out press releases announcing that a new site has been launched. Every day, thousands of press releases and pitches flood the email, snail mail, phone and fax lines (yes there still are some of those) of every media outlet in the country.

If a company wants to be noticed, or heard above this deafening roar, it better to know what each particular media outlet wants, understand each particular outlet’s demographics, and know how each editor or producer likes to be pitched.   Marketing has come full circle.  Once again it is all about the story.  Successful public relations comes down to having a credible, effective, engaging and instructional story to tell.  And that’s good news.  It means that the smallest, most cash strapped company has a chance to shine.  It simply needs to be creative.  When it comes to PR and pitching the media, remember, your story is your fortune.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

Craig. “Advantages of Having an Online Business.” Photo. U2. NET. 29 Sept. 2010 18 Apr 2012. <http://www.uk2.net/blog/advantages-of-having-an-online-business/&gt;

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Why Your Clients’ Stories Define Your PR

February 13, 2012 Leave a comment

Your best stories are those that show how your product or service helps your clients.  For example, if you’re a physician, your best stories are patient success stories.  A doctor is the expert who can explain how to treat a disease or how a particular procedure works, but it’s his or her patient stories that are going to connect with the media and the public.

It’s the same in any business.  Regardless what your profession is, you have an impact on the lives of others.  And the impact you have on your clients can make for your most compelling stories.  Those are the stories that, in essence, tell your story.  Perhaps you made someone’s life easier by saving her time, money, or stress.  Maybe you helped someone lose weight, feel better, look better.  What are your success stories?  Whether you’re an attorney, a plumber, a life coach or an artist, you have an impact on the lives of others. And the impact you have on your clients can make for your most compelling stories.  Those are the stories that, in essence, tell your story.

Before launching a marketing or public relations campaign, take some time to work on the anecdotal stories which you feel best illustrate what you do, those which most effectively tell your story.   Now match the various anecdotal stories to the appropriate media outlets.  For example, using a medical story again, a story about a ten year old struggling with Autism, would be pitched differently than a story about the latest in bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.  If you’re an author of a how-to book, the stories you’d pick to pitch to Redbook or Ladies Home Journal, would differ from those you’d pitch to Forbes or the Wall Street Journal.

Make a list of clients you have worked with who have interesting, impactful or inspiring stories they can tell.  You want these stories to illustrate how by working with you, their lives were changed or transformed.  Keep in mind; these transformations don’t have to be huge.  You don’t have to save someone’s life for your stories to resonate; your stories could be serious, fun, lighthearted, or practical.  Perhaps you made someone’s life easier by saving her time, money, or stress.  Maybe you helped someone lose weight, feel better, look better.  All of these make for good anecdotes, which in turn can lead to great PR pitches, which can land you media coverage – which in turn can help you land more clients, build your business and grow your business.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

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How to Successfully Use Traditional & Online PR

November 30, 2011 Leave a comment

When it comes to traditional PR if your main focus is being featured in the media, what you’re truly looking for is media relations which falls under the umbrella of public relations.  With the advent of online magazines, blogs and social media, there have been so many changes in how media and public relations work that it can get confusing.  You have some who still choose to ignore bloggers and social media and others who insist that traditional media is dead and focus only on their 2.0 approach.  Both of those approaches can be dangerous.  You don’t want to get into an either/or approach and at the same time you want to maximize the results you’ll get for your efforts.

For example, the blogosphere is huge.  There are millions of blogs out there and more are being added everyday.  You could get your company or product mentioned on a large number of blogs that have very little traffic.  In that sense it could feel like you’re gaining traction for your public relations campaign, but are you really reaching your ultimate goals?  Getting as much coverage as possible online is important, but only if you’re doing so with a game plan in mind.  For example if you are approaching and pitching blogs in the blogosphere as a way to help your SEO efforts and as a way to help build your credibility and build a critical mass, then yes, you’re heading in the right direction, but if you are approaching this as though all blogs are created equal, you’re in trouble.

By now all of the mainstream media outlets have their own blogs whether the media outlet is The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, or the Today Show.  Believe me even a small mention on one of those blogs is going to be worth more to you than feature coverage on a dozen of small unknown blogs. Why?  A couple of reasons. To begin with the mainstream media blogs get traffic.  More eyeballs are looking at the story.  But it’s also not only the fact that you’re being featured in the blog, it’s the credibility and validation that comes with a hit in the mainstream media.  You are now a news story.  So it’s true that all blogs are not created equal.  Still you don’t need to land coverage in a mainstream media blog, to reap the benefits of being featured in one.

More and more blogs are becoming significant influencers.  The more bloggers you can interest in your story, the more your coverage will grow.  A strong blogger relations approach can be tremendously important.

As I mentioned at the start, the important thing is not to view this as an either/or approach.  Pitching mainstream media does not mean you should ignore blogs and focusing on online coverage does not necessitate ignoring the traditional media outlets.  All of these outlets are important.  Your most effective and successful approach is to come up with a PR game plan that is targeted yet inclusive.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

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More Holiday PR Pitch Tips

November 3, 2011 Leave a comment

For the past few blogs, I’ve been reviewing why and how to launch a PR campaign for the holiday season.  To quickly recap, the three primary reasons are:

1)      People are prepared to spend more money during this time of year.

2)      The media is more open to stories and pitches during the holiday season.

3)      You can more firmly establish your brand in the fourth quarter and carry that on into the New Year.

As I discussed earlier, whether you should launch a marketing and public relations campaign during the holiday season is not the question; the real questions are when will you launch and what will your primary focus be.  Remember your job when pitching stories to the media is to make the media’s job easier.  You want to give them stories that are interesting, entertaining, educational, intriguing and, during this time frame, pitches that tie into the spirit of the season.

That doesn’t mean all of our pitches have to be up, cheery and ho ho ho.  The holidays have different sides, if you can address helping runaways during the holidays, or holiday food drives for those who need a hand during the season, or dealing with holiday depression, those are not only important stories, but they make for compelling features for print and TV.  Regardless what your business or profession is, you can develop a holiday story idea to pitch.  Although I covered a few PR pitch ideas in my previous article, below are a few more to review.

Musician – Put on a free holiday concert that benefits a charity for the holidays.  Or let the media know that you can discuss which holiday songs are the most important.  Come up with a list of the most important holiday songs.  Make it controversial and fun.

Spa – Create unique holiday packages.  Come up with special holiday treatments to help reduce stress, or create holiday gift packages that are unique and original.

Jeweler – Create that perfect holiday gift.  Even if the design is overly expensive or just works for the holidays, come up with something different that makes for a good story.  The perfect luxurious holiday gift.

Attorney – Put together consultation packages that you can offer, or can be given as gifts for the New Year.  Then come up with the 7 most important year end tips everyone should know.

Nutritionist – Develop a list of perfect holiday recipes.  Make a list of holiday eating myths that you can debunk.  Develop a roadmap for how to eat right and have fun during the holidays.

Assisted Living or Long Term Health Care Center – Let the media come in and experience a holiday meal or sing along with the residents.  Invite a local grammar or mid school to have a group of kids come and sing holiday songs for the seniors.  Put on a seniors Winter Olympics.

Acupuncturist – Create packages and treatments for keeping healthy during the holidays.  Or develop an acupuncture facelift procedure.  Give the gift of youth for the holidays.

Although these ideas might not cover your business or profession, you get the point.  See how you can tie in what you do with the season and start developing pitches.  Get creative.  Have fun with it.  This is a time when purse strings are loosened and the media looks for stories, use both of those facts to your advantage.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Beauty Industry PR, Entrepreneur PR, Marketing, Medical PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Traditional plus Social Media: The Beauty Biz Success Secret

June 24, 2011 Leave a comment

According to research conducted by The NPD Group, Inc., a leading market research company, in 2010, total  U.S. prestige beauty generated $8.4 billion, an increase of 4 percent in dollars, compared to $8.19 billion in 2009.

Beauty is a huge market and that figure does not take into consideration all brands and products.  The bottom line is that beauty sells.  As with fashion and entertainment a beauty-oriented company needs to develop a strong brand in order to be truly successful and nothing is more effective for creating a powerful brand and brand awareness than PR and media relations.   Through public relations your product or service is positioned as a news story, not as an ad or a commercial.  Through the media, you are also positioned as an expert in the field, as a beauty guru.  Soon the media starts coming to you to learn the latest beauty or skin care tips and secrets.  You help define beauty and style trends, while positioning both you and your company via the media.

You can then meld a blogging and social media campaign with your traditional media campaign.  For example, if you receive coverage in your local newspaper on your salon, or your new product line, you can take that article and link it on your blog as well as on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Digg and other social sites.  You have now turned a local article into a national article.  Or conversely, you can tape a very cool, interesting segment and post it on YouTube.  In the beauty world you can be a bit outrageous, so make it fun, make it interesting, give it attitude.  Now using your blog, Facebook, Twitter and other online venues, try and create a buzz around that video.  If you generate enough interest you can then pitch your YouTube phenomena to the mainstream media and garner media coverage in print and TV.  That’s not a slam dunk, and requires work and some creative thinking, but we’ve done it, so it is possible.

The key to a successful beauty PR campaign is to create a compelling story around your product or service.  Make it interesting, stylish, and compelling.  Always keep your target market in mind. Then study the media outlets that reach your target market.  Now develop a number of different stories to pitch to a variety of different media outlets.  Each media source has needs and interests that are specific to it.  The primary secret to launching an effective media relations campaign is to focus on what the various media outlets need, and pitch each outlet accordingly.  For example, beauty trade publications will be interested in a business angle, whereas your local media will respond to a pitch with a local slant and a national TV show is going to be more willing to run with a story that has a strong visual component.  Being in the beauty field offers you strong visuals, so be creative and use them.  Also remember that the ingredients, the look and the packaging itself can offer you a compelling story.  If you use eco-friendly packaging, or if your ingredients are non allergenic, or if you utilize customer recycling initiatives, these can all be angles you can pitch to the media.

More and more, savvy beauty-oriented companies are spending zero on traditional advertising and utilizing a creative mix of traditional public relations combined with a creative blogging and social media campaign to build their business, grow their brand and achieve success in the beauty biz.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under beauty, Beauty Industry PR, beauty products, Marketing, PR, traditional media, TV Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Marketing You

June 16, 2011 1 Comment

Sometimes it just seems as though we should market whenever and wherever possible, particularly during tough economic times.  And now with the array of marketing venues available things can get more confusing than ever.  The promotional choices seem endless including traditional advertising, direct marketing, public relations, online marketing, SEO, social media… the list just keeps growing.

But don’t simply make knee-jerk choices, when picking a marketing program, or building a personalized marketing machine.  When it comes to marketing, you can’t separate yourself from your business.  You want to reach your target market and increase sales, but you also want to present yourself and your company in a specific way.  With an organic marketing campaign, you’re not only marketing your business, you’re marketing yourself. You want your brand to illustrate who you are and what your company stands for.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

One the of reasons I’m such a strong advocate of traditional PR is that it is the best marketing tool available for branding your business.  Nothing offers you the validation and credibility of being featured in the news.  You are positioned as an expert in your field.  Your product or service is presented, not as an ad or a commercial, but as a news story.  But even within the PR arena, it’s important that you figure out:

How you want to be presented
Whether you’re comfortable being the spokesperson
What media you want to approach
What type of media angles you want to use, etc.

Even once you pick a marketing approach, such as media relations, you need to tailor it to meet your specific needs.

ADVERTISING & DIRECT MARKETING

So, let’s say that PR is part of your promotional mix, an integral element in your marketing machine, what other forms of marketing are you going to utilize?  There’s advertising, but that can get expensive, and if you’re going to give it a shot, you need to commit to giving it some time (actually you need to commit some time to any form of marketing to see if it actually works).  If advertising is in your marketing mix:

Where are you going to advertise?
What image are you going to put out there?

Direct marketing is another avenue, but again, does that type of marketing truly suit your type of business?  If you have a restaurant or a spa it very well could.  It might not suit another business as well.

INTERNET MARKETING

Finally, we come to the wild world of the internet.  Here you have article marketing, online advertising, blogging, social media, ezines, etc.  The trouble here is often it might look like you’re moving forward, where in fact, very little is happening.  You could have a couple of thousand followers on Twitter, but is that converting into actual business?  Also, with such approaches as article marketing or blogging, are you comfortable writing?  Is that one of your strengths?  On the net content is king.  If you are posting information, you want to make sure that it’s accurate and that it says what you want to say, how you want to say it.  There are those who will write and post for you and that can often work, but make sure that you are keeping your voice and your point of view, otherwise you’re losing control of your message, which means you’re losing control of your brand.

Some people thrive online and have fun posting blogs, commenting on other’s blogs and posting on the various social media sites.  Others find it intrusive and intimidating.  If you are one of the latter, that doesn’t mean you should avoid blogging or social media, but that you should either have someone do it for you who you can carefully supervise, or that you should come up with a system that takes no more than an hour a day.  So although social media is the buzz-of-the-day maybe you’re someone who hates the net, but loves the phone.  Cold calling could still be your most valuable marketing tool.  This entire marketing puzzle is best solved by focusing on your strengths.  Yes, there will be marketing arenas you’ll be leaving out, but that’s okay.   You’re life will be simpler, your approach will be streamlined and, you’ll find, your personalized marketing machine will work much more effectively.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Branding, Business Strategy, Marketing, Public Relations Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

PR 2.0: Succeeding in the New Media World

June 14, 2011 Leave a comment

When it comes to distribution and media outlets, PR has changed dramatically.  Mailing used to be the standard way of sending out information (actually it’s not a bad approach now a days, since everyone is getting so adept at hitting their keyboard delete button). But on the whole mailing in many ways has become archaic.  The number of media outlets and what defines a media outlet has also shifted.  Yet the basics of PR, which include defining your objectives, defining your stories, learning how to present your stories, defining your target market(s), and creating a media contact list that reaches your target market(s), remain the same.  Although the distribution channels have changed, and the internet has redefined who and what the media actually is, the public relations basics remain constant.

This truly is a situation where the more things change, the more they remain the same.  You still want to reach your prospective customers, you want to tell a compelling story, you want to give a call to action, and you want to demonstrate your value.  None of that has changed.  That is all as it always has been.  Yet, while the core basics remain the same, it’s true that just about everything else has changed. Mailing a release to editors and producers and making follow up calls is no longer the sole name of the game.  It is still a part of the process, but only a part, the media relations terrain is constantly evolving and the changes have made the process more intricate, not less.  Placing a press release on one of the paid wire services is not going to meet your public relations objectives.  Anyone can write what they consider to be a press release and send it out to a number of contacts and place it on a wire service.  The trouble is just about anyone does, so most of those releases remain totally ignored.  They might end up on some websites, but most of the time, little more than that will happen.

Many business owners think because there are the paid wires, blogs and social media sites that they can now effectively launch their own campaigns.  That sounds good in theory, but a do it yourself approach generally backfires.  Your best bet is to hire a company or a consultant who knows the terrain and can run your campaign for you.  In a sense this truly is the Wild West when it comes to PR.  There are those marketing experts who will tell you that they know exactly where PR is heading, but they’re all making educated guesses.  It’s a rapidly changing world.  Whereas social media and blogging have actually made traditional PR more important than ever, and as the internet and new communication devices evolve, the process of media relations itself is continually changing and evolving.

For example where you still want to pitch mainstream media in the traditional way, the following is an approach that would have been impossible only a few years ago.  Many high profile media outlets have added a box on their site that reports on various blog posts to the site.  One approach is to write a blog referencing a specific article from one of the magazines or newspapers that you’re interested in getting coverage in; then link your blog using a trackback link.  A trackback is a way of request notification when somebody links to one of your blog posts.  You can then submit it to Technorati.com.  Technorati will report it and the publication will link to you.  That was not a possibility a few years ago.   Whereas that can be valuable, and worth a shot, keep in mind it’s not the same as being interviewed by or featured in said publication.

In the world of PR 2.0, the internet has revolutionized how media and publicity campaigns are run.  The most effective PR approach is one that includes traditional public relations, blogging and social media.  The media world is no longer as clearly defined as it once was.  Social media sites and blogs have become as important as newspapers and TV outlets.  Make sure that you don’t confuse social media with online marketing.  Social media facilitates communications and conversations between people – it is not the practice of social marketing.

By understanding the new media world and combining your social media strategy and blogging with a traditional PR campaign you can create a powerful three-pronged 2.0  approach which results in more followers, more buzz, more customers and more business.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

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