By Erica Wenham, Wednesday 13 March 2013.
Public Relations Practice & Skillset (Week 22)
Key Routes For Digital Users In PR
In Digital/Websites, Content is “KING”;
·
Coding and
aesthetics are facilitators:
-
“What really
matters is content, how that content is organised and how it drives action from
buyers”
·
Content is king:
-
Drives stickiness
-
Creates
satisfying experiences
-
Builds long-term
relationships
·
Content is easy:
-
Content from most
other protocols can use it...
-
It has never
broken down in its 5000-day history.
·
So: “the best
websites focus primarily on content”
Creating Content: Website Design
·
Start from a
clear vision, business & marketing strategy: Why are you bothering?
·
Be professional,
appropriate, ethical, easily maintained: Will you be fully
compliant/acceptable?
·
Be
customer-centric – meaning have a clear buyer/visitor profile: Who do you want
to talk to?
·
Incorporate rich
relevant content – yours and the visitor’s: What will you talk about?
·
Make sure they
can find you: What will a search engine see?
The Seven-Step Web Design Process
Digital News Releases
·
“Millions of
people read press releases directly. You need to be speaking directly to them.”
·
Again nothing
new:
-
Wire services for
decades
-
PR is about
audiences (not just media)
·
Requires D2C
(direct-2-consumer) releases which:
-
Focus on the
buyers (and their language)
-
Links news to
sales
-
Include special
offers
-
Incorporate links
and social media tags
-
Are more
frequent.
Audio & Video Action
·
Now widely opened
up by technology and popularised by e.g. YouTube, iTunes, Spotify etc.
·
Audio/Podcasting:
-
Liberated by move
from single downloads to audio feed and subscriptions
-
Nearly free
-
Opens up
worldwide (niche) audiences –closely focused on target personas
-
Facilitated by
feed availability on iTunes
·
Video/YouTube:
-
Now a news/events
platform.
·
Video/Digg:
-
Technology news
and more.
-
“Millions of
people read press releases directly. You need to be speaking directly to them.”
-
Are more
frequent.
The Digital Challenge is more
than just pitching. It requires a whole new competency set and overlaps content
creation, new forms of writing, managing dialogue (policy engagement), customer
service and an overall wider skillset.
SEO Strategy: 5 Components
1.
Natural Search
Engine Optimisation
-
Directories (Open
Directory Project –Directory Mozilla OPD-DMOZ)
-
SE registration (Google, Yahoo etc)
-
Critical role of
keywords
2.
Contextual Advertising
(PPC)
3.
Paid Inclusion
4.
Conversion Enhancement
(on site)
5.
Web Analytics
SEO: Key Steps
·
Check out the
competitors
·
Polish titles,
tags, URLs
·
Tag all key
images
·
Add descriptions
all key files (.docx, pdf)
·
Name all links
with keywords (Google)
·
Text
alternatives/captions to all javascript/flash
·
Structure by
keyword themes
·
Register...
·
Build inbound
links
·
Measure, analyse,
re-work
The Key Uses of Blogging
1.
Monitoring:
-
Potentially
millions worldwide on key products, topics...
2.
Participation:
-
Commentary and
conversation
-
Get involved to
prompt wider feedback and interest (including wider media)
-
Sometimes story
seeding (classic task)
3.
Shaping:
-
Working with
bloggers writing about your industry, company, products...
-
A classic
outreach task
4.
Agenda-Setting:
-
Creating your own
material... Almost now a corporate classic
-
Outreach becomes
publishing
Blogging: “The How”
·
Find a Niche: Specialism
and Angle
-
Why read you/your
company as opposed to anyone else?
-
What’s the added
value?
-
PR and Journalism
– What’s the difference now?
·
Establish and
promote clear ethical guidelines:
-
Transparency
-
Privacy
-
Disclosure
-
Truthfulness
-
Credit
·
Work through:
-
Name,
tagline/indexation
-
Comments/trackbacks
-
Add social media
tags (e.g. DIGG, de.icio.us)
-
RSS capability
-
Encourage contact
-
Do not hype the
company/organisation
-
Audience
building: SEO & Commentary
Online/Digital “Buzz”
·
Viral because:
-
Users “infect”
other participants
·
Underpinning - Diffusion:
-
Technology
Diffusion Model
·
Underpinning 2 -
Word-of-Mouth or Advocacy:
-
WOM =
“interpersonal communication of products and services where the receiver
regards the communicator as impartial”
-
WOM = “ a
significant predictor of annual sales growth”
·
Success requires:
-
A continuously
engaged professional communicator or team – live on all channels
-
Not only able to
converse but to be the “sought after” one
-
A hard-nosed
mentality vs. rapid changes in consumer attitudes/intentions
-
Rich content
(including mobile). AND...
·
The best way to
benefit is to:
-
Add value by
providing tools, applications or environments that actively support the
community which you are targeting: e.g. online gaming.
Viral & Online PR Advantages & Disadvantages
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