A New Communication Landscape
PR 2.0 uses social media elements such as blogging, viral marketing, social networking and search engine optimization to get your word out in
meaningful ways. It blends traditional and new media relations to reach journalists as well as consumers – after all, the Internet has made them
more vocal and influential than ever.
But in order to truly understand PR 2.0 and how to communicate effectively in this arena, it’s essential to understand the tools at your disposal.
1. Gain a deeper understanding of these concepts in PR 2.0 Defined by industry expert and author Deirdre Breakenridge.
2. Find out more about the tools available in SHIFT Communications' 2007 PR 2.0 Reference Guide, understand social bookmarking and social networking via Sally Falkow's Social Media Terms Explained and let Shel Holtz bring you up to speed with his list of Social Media Resources.
3. See why it’s critical to understand social media before diving in with An Expert’s Perspective on Social Media Tools.
Get Started with PR 2.0 Concepts
Now that you understand the landscape, you’re ready to start incorporating PR 2.0 ideas into your campaigns.
1. One of your first steps will be to develop a keyword strategy — a list of words and phrases that you can use to help people find you online. This will affect the way you write releases, your website — everything that appears online. Start with this overview of Push Pull PR: Optimizing News Content and use Google’s online tool to see which keywords are searched most often.
2. Next, visit this list of Three Quick Ways to Get Started with Social Media to find out about RSS feeds, social bookmarking and social networking. And listen to a podcast about SEO and the social media press release.
3. Read some insightful tips on Communicating Successfully Through Press Releases in the Web 2.0 World.
Engage the Media and Consumers
PR 2.0 communication is anything but traditional. You need to reach bloggers, social networks, online consumers and non-traditional media — and get people to not just read, but interact, with your messages. You want them to subscribe to your RSS feed and Digg your product.
The static 400-word press release isn’t likely to engage new media audiences or pull people to your website. Instead, press releases must use search engine optimization (SEO) strategies and social media release features to make them grab and hold attention.
1. Experience a Social Media 2.0 press release in action. See how your message can come alive with multimedia, links, bookmarking and tagging, and feedback options. Dive deeper with a look at the Anatomy of The Social Media Press Release.
2. Get valuable SEO tips. Then take a guided tour of The SEO-Enhanced Press Release to see how keywords, meta data and live links maximize your online communications.
3. Listen to industry experts debate how releases fit into the PR 2.0 landscape in Bulldog Reporter’s audio session Long Live the Press Release: Powerful New Techniques Give It New Power.
4. Download the free white paper Top 10 Strategies for Boosting ROI Despite Shrinking Budgets and Dwindling Resources and the e-book The New Rules of PR by David Meerman Scott and learn how the Web has changed the way we create and issue press releases.
Measure Results and Gauge Success
What are your business goals — and what PR 2.0 elements will help you achieve them? There are tools that can help you measure effectiveness even before your press release is distributed.
1. Let this Press Release Grader score the effectiveness of your keywords and content. And visit Aaron Wall’s SEO blog for more tips on honing your search strategy.
2. Analyze search engine data — Marketwire’s News Dashboard report illustrates what keywords people are using to find you.
3. Find out what’s being said about you, your business, your industry and anything else you want to monitor. Marketwire’s News Dashboard scours 25,000 news sources, 7,000 government sources, 4,000 policy sources and 370,000 blogs worldwide.
What's Next — PR Trends
One thing is already clear — the way we communicate is always in flux and our tools need to be designed to adapt. As the popularity of blogs and social networking continues to climb, a strong web presence is key to success and the tools we use to communicate with our audiences need to keep up.
1. Consider the future of PR and communication with some of our favorite posts by thought leaders:
2. See how investor relations can also benefit from PR 2.0 tools with IR Magazine’s special report New Web Trends — Social Media and SEO. You’ll discover some unconventional ways that forward-looking IROs are courting new media.
3. Learn about a new social media release for IR professionals — Marketwire’s Social Media 2.0 PLUS. This new release meets North America disclosure requirements while inviting conversation and engaging social media communities.
4. Gain insight into the world of PR2.0 - learn where we are and where we are headed. Download the PRWeek/Marketwire webcast 'PR 2.0 Reality Check'.
