How the internet Can Help Drive PR

The Internet has done great things for our lives. Seriously, think about waking up tomorrow without it! Not only has it allowed us the opportunity to find news and information, resources and more, it’s given little stores across the world the chance to have customers around the world. We’re no longer tied to doing business in our local regions, but we have the opportunity to expand and grow our businesses in a way that’s never really been available before.

It is also giving small businesses the opportunity to attract the attention of media….that’s if they can find you.

This brings me to the key connection between SEO (search engine optimization) and generating public relations. PR strategy has always focused on the “traditional” with press releases and press kits being sent directly to journalists, follow up calls and emails sent and a proactive approach to results. Today, the Internet is giving journalists a new way to search and find small businesses, new products and companies, experts to use as story sources…but that’s only if they can find you.

Remember: When using the Internet to market your business, most people don’t know they’re looking for you and your business until they find you!

This is why SEO becomes a critical part of the marketing mix for your business, and to further your chances of generating positive PR for your business. It’s not enough to have a great website, you also need to make sure that it is built specifically for search – meaning what would the average person search for, or what terms would they use to find you? The same goes for how you write your press release and distribute it online. Like anything else, if you utilize your key search terms in your press release, the odds improve that a journalist, or new potential partner or vendor, will find you.

Crafting your story for SEO:

* Write your press release
* Write out a list of all the key search terms someone might use to locate your business
* Cut this list down to the Top 10
* Now compare your press release to this list. Where are these search terms? Are they located in the headline, sub headline or lead paragraph? Well, they should be.

This can become tricky though as the lead paragraph of your press release needs to be kept down to three-four to the point sentences. I know…tricky. If it seems impossible, then you might consider writing two kinds of press releases – one for media and one for search. Then make sure all of this is also available in your online press room, which I’ll talk about next week.

This one thing, if done correctly, will open new doors for you on the web. Whether it’s getting the attention of a journalist or finding a new partner in business offering a mutually beneficial relationship. It’s definitely worth giving it a go and seeing what happens. Use some the free release distribution sites, see what kind of return you get and then make changes in future releases.

However, the most important part of your press release, the point of it really, should never be overlooked. It’s about your story….something really, truly newsworthy. It’s not about writing a release every week and spamming it across social media networks and free distribution sites. It’s better to send them out when you really have news or something to share every now and again than each week. If the content is not valuable, after awhile, people will just ignore everything you distribute. It’s called…..crying wolf and when you do have huge news to share no one will be there to listen.

Jennifer Fortney, Cascade Communications and SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com

Follow me on Twitter @SmallBizPRXpert or join our new group on LinkedIn My Source for Stories – where we connect small businesses with the media

Entrepreneur Gives Away $3.74M in Advertising to SMB with Launch of New Site

Jan Stuart once staged a hunger strike on Wall Street to protest policies that hurt honest businesses; Now he's putting it all on the line to help small businesses struggling in today's economy

New York, NY (June 2009) -- Entrepreneur Jan Stuart has seen the highest highs and the lowest lows of the business world. Recalling how he built a multi-million dollar business, only to see it fail due to the Wall Street Crash of 1987, his newest project - JansDeals.com - is offering $3.74 million in free advertising to small businesses struggling in this economy, as part of his own stimulus package. Currently in launch phase, JansDeals.com is an online community portal that directly connects potential local customers and clients with deals offered by local businesses, in real-time.

"In the late 80s, I felt like I had it all," said Stuart, a Boca Raton, Fla. resident who is in his early 50s, and sometimes travels to New York City for work. "I created a highly successful internationally distributed product line of men's care products. Then the market crashed, and I was wiped out. I know what small businesses are going through today, and it hurts me to see it, because I've been there. Through no fault of their own, the economy's collapsed and they're struggling. So, I started to think, how can I help them?"

The answer was the creation of Jan's Deals, which connects local businesses with customers who seek local deals by simply searching in their zip code. When they sign up and create a listing, businesses list their local deals and discounts and get to edit and change them with instant response. Because Stuart sees the success of small business having a ripple effect across the recovery of local communities, Stuart is waiving the initial subscription fee of $299/year for a three-month period for the first 50,000 small businesses that sign-up, totaling about $3.74 million in free advertising.

The offer can be viewed here: http://www.jansdeals.com/help2009

That kind of deal is incredibly attractive to small businesses looking for a new, more effective, and inexpensive way to target the consumers who are most likely to spend money on them. When one considers that advertising each deal on flyers can cost more than $50 to make and run off copies, and a lot more to do direct mail coupons, only to see them end up in trash cans, taking deals to consumers directly online (and being able to update them multiple times a day) makes sense. Yet, many small businesses aren't doing that.

According to Nielsen, by June of 2008, 220 million+ people have internet access. But, more than half of all small business owners aren't using the internet to market or advertise their business, according to American Express.

That ability to help small businesses bring in more people via online marketing is what inspired Jan Stuart, who once staged a widely-covered hunger strike on Wall Street, to protest the policies that led to the '87 crash that crippled his business.

"If there's one thing I've learned is that you have to put it all on the line, if there's something you believe," said Stuart. "I believe this economy won't recover until we help out the small business owners of America. The last time the economy tanked, I spent my last dollars to rent a Winnebago and go on hunger strike to stand up for what I believed. This time, I'm willing to give up $3.74 million to get small businesses and communities revved up again. But, hey, at least I still get to eat this time."

New Blog Segment - News Links of the Day

There are so many sites out there offering all kinds of helpful information to me and anyone trying to understand or generate positive public relations for their business. With this in mind, I'm starting a new blog segment of relative news stories and information you should know.

Let me know what you think. In the meantime, I'll try and come up with a better name for this segment of posts and roll it out with a red carpet-type presentation.

NBC launches TheGrio.com, a "video centric news site" aimed at the African American community

Biz owners, be smart, use online wisely or could bring negative PR

Should your business Tweet? Tweeting not for everyone

And of course if you follow me on Twitter, you will see most of these throughout the day. Just thought it might be easier to provide one posting of my so called "food for thought".

If you're not following me on Twitter....you should be! Twitter @SmallBizPRXpert

Why Your Business Needs a Press Kit

Your press kit is the most important tool you can have to successfully achieve public relations for your business. Why? It tells your story! You wouldn't go to a meeting or new business presentation without a materials to present and discuss, so why would you just pick up the phone and contact media and not expect them to request information?

It is the FIRST tactic I perform for all of my clients!

Developing your press kit is one of the very first things you should do before pursuing media stories. It's purpose is to be an all-inclusive package of information on your business that tells media why they should write a story.

A press kit might include:

1. Press release(s)
2. Owner bio (human interest story)
3. Company backgrounder
4. Product fact sheets
5. Tip sheets for expert positioning
6. Testimonials
7. List of story ideas
8. Product samples (as part of press kit mailing)
9. Product photos
10. Company logo and other valuable graphics

Let me re-iterate the importance of the press kit: I spend most of my time each week pitching media and when I speak to journalists by phone they always ask for an email with information (i.e. press kit materials). When I approach them via email initially I always include one or two pieces from the press kit - usually the most relevant press release and company backgrounder.

Remember that journalists receive hundreds of pieces of mail and email everyday and this is the ONE chance, first-impression you get with media. Since they don't have a great deal of time, you must include valuable information along with a well-crafted story pitch in order to catch the attention of media. If you don't they will either be interested enough to email and ask for information or....worse....they will trash the email altogether, and you miss out.

One last thing to remember is that just because you send out your story idea and materials to media doesn't mean that they're going to drop everything at that very moment to write the story - unless, of course, it is immediately timely. Offering media press kit materials allows them the opportunity to make some notes and put it on file for a future story that they may be considering your business for. Just make sure that your contact information near the top and clearly visible. No contact means no story.

For more information, read this...

Be Prepared for Anything When It Comes to Media Interviews

You’ve written the press release, pitched media your story and now a journalist wants to interview you. The story could be a feature on you and your business or it could be a trend story a journalist is considering including you in. Either way, much like you would for a job interview, you have to be prepared for anything when it comes to the media interview.

One great example of this is a client of mine Interview Angel founder Brent Peterson. My firm recently secured him an interview opportunity with the Wall Street Journal. The journalist had a job search/interview trend story in mind regarding crazy interview tactics (hoops candidates jump through for a job) that companies take to find the right candidate. She had a specific angle that she wanted Brent to comment on and we pitched his response to her. When she was ready to write the article she interviewed Brent who did discuss the things he’d initially responded with but also gave her another angle that was informational and generous on his behalf.

The angle Brent provided was about candidates volunteering their way to a job, which the journalist closed the article with. What was so generous was that he provided a real life anecdote of someone he hired on a volunteer basis to help create and promote the Interview Angel Sweepstakes. He not only promoted his business in the article but this young man and the sweepstakes all in one of the country’s top newspaper/online outlets. Brent followed his conversation with the journalist carefully and found a unique opportunity for his business.

Did he take a risk by going off topic? Maybe but not before making sure that he covered the specific angle the journalist was working on. All in all it benefited her story and made it that much more interesting for job seekers.

Being prepared to handle anything in an interview means knowing your business, industry and journalist’s story angle inside and out. It really truly is like interviewing for a job. You have to take time to research and prepare before any kind of interview; to be able to speak wisely on your business and industry while communicating key messages, other story angles that might be of interest and know the conversation can go in several directions. Once you’ve met the journalist’s needs you can afford to go off topic. After all, you’re just having a conversation with a journalist and as long as it’s related to the story it can go anywhere.

And practice makes perfect! Print out what you want to say – story angles, key messages – get in front of a mirror and practice, practice, practice. Most importantly, remember to speak in short, valuable soundbites that the journalist can easily use as a quote.

And…you will create media opportunities that will truly benefit your business!

Learn more with our one-of-a-kind DIY PR program SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com

Follow me on Twitter for daily SMB and SMB PR Tips @SmallBizPRXpert

Google giving small businesses local search data

June 1, 2009 1:19 PM PDT
Google giving small businesses local search data
by Tom Krazit

Google is giving local merchants the ability to access data about how Web surfers arrive at a local listing in Google Maps, in hopes of figuring out why so many people in a particular neighborhood are searching for pizza.

Google lets small businesses create a small Web listing that appears next to queries such as "pizza San Francisco," which pop up in Google Maps with a link to a business's Web site and address information, through a service called Local Business Center. Inside the center, they've been able to do things like verify their address and phone number but Google is now adding search results data to the dashboard within Local Business Center, said Carter Maslan, director of product management for local search.

For example, San Francisco pizza parlors will be able to see the zip codes from which searches originate that wind up at their listing, the keywords that searches are using to find their result, and basic stats about search activity, Maslan said. The idea is to give those businesses a set of metrics from which they can make business decisions about expanding delivery areas, advertising in certain areas, or what people are looking for in a local pizza joint.


Read more...

Join Twitter to Get Unique Daily Tips

Twitter has become a great resource for business owners and individuals over the last year. For me, personally, I've found that it's a great way to connect with small business owners and offer unique daily PR and marketing tips that will help you in growing your business.

Small Biz PR Tips ONLY offered by Jennifer Fortney
One day as I was sitting looking at Twitter I wondered how I can translate my drive to help educate small businesses through this particular social media. That's why I created "Today's SMB PR Tip" and "Today's SMB Tip". No one else offers anything close to it and many have found them quite useful, especially when I provide links to my blogs or to related stories. This really is a rare opportunity for my clients and those of you who are interested in DIY PR. You aren't going to find the kind of information and opportunities I offer anywhere else on Twitter or the Web. I'm excited to be able to communicate with small to medium-sized business owners across the country and world and encourage you all to KEEP MARKETING FOR SUCCESS!


Twitter Tips Takes Five Minutes a Day
Using Twitter smartly will give you an abundance of information and help you build new relationships in just a few minutes a day. Using it "smartly" means that you follow only those people who are truly of interest to you and provide meaningful information. In just a few minutes a day you can

1. get tips and ideas for your business
2. use the opportunity to ask me questions directly about your PR and marketing efforts (in 140 characters or less, of course!)
3. follow news outlets key to your business' PR success
4. communicate your business in a new way to new people

That's just another reason why you should follow @SmallBizPRXpert today!

See you on Twitter!

Summit Takes a Look at Future of PR, News Media

If you're interested in knowing how the future of journalism and PR is changing, here is a great piece and synopsis of a pros conference. It impacts small business as much as corporations, but also means that small business has the same opportunities as big business with big marketing budgets. Creativity will go a long way in marketing your business in the future.

Media Relations Summit Finale: PR Pros and Journalists Envision a Brave New Relationship in Web 3.0 Future By David Copithorne, Principal, Aquarius Advisers

Dan Abrams, MSNBC's principal legal analyst, set the tone for the final day of Bulldog Reporter's Media Relations Summit 2009 Tuesday when he told keynote attendees that the rules of the media relations game have changed for good. "These days, every business is a media business," said Abrams, who is also the founder of a new advisory service leveraging a database of 2,500 mainstream- and social-media experts to help businesses navigate the new media environment.

Reporters and editors struggling to feed the web 24-by-7 must collaborate with businesses creating their own media as digital technologies break down the old adversarial relationship between journalists and professional communicators. The result is a brave new world where best practices in PR, marketing and journalism are already being radically redefined, Abrams said.

Walls tumbling down — between old media and new media, journalists and PR people, companies and their customers, and within organizations of all sizes—was a recurring theme voiced by speakers from the ranks of both the media and PR throughout the day.

Read more.....

Follow me on Twitter: @SmallBizPRXpert and if you want to learn DIY PR visit SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com and join my unique program!