Here are some tips that will help you make the best use of online PR without breaking the bank:
- Thousands of blogs and stories related to public relations are posted on various sites to grab web surfers’ attention. Include a number of links that can catch the reader’s eye.
- If your business has news, an article or blog should make it easy for the media to find out more about it. Tools at your disposal include press releases, wire services such as PR Newswire and PRWeb, online media kits, optimized blogs, and SEO.
- Include a short description of about 80 words with important keywords in it and place it at the top of your article about your company.
- Use simple words instead of public relations jargon. Use of SEO is very important if you want your articles to become prominent in Google searches. Links in articles on your company’s website should direct the user towards the interior of the website rather than the homepage.
- Your public relations message should be loud and clear. Always focus on the unique selling proposition (USP) of your product or service. When you write articles to publicize your company, focus on how your product or service will benefit your audience more than the products or services of your competitors.
- Take care of the “pitch” when you are writing about anything. Vary your pitch for online journalists and bloggers accordingly, and persuade them with different approaches and ideas about your product or service.
- Online PR requires a mix of creative, persuasive, social, and technical skills. Avoid being too humorous or negative. Stick to the basics, expressing yourself clearly and directly.
- It is helpful to target small niche sites that are read by passionate people who are well informed and knowledgeable.
- Formatting, such as bold, italics, bullet points, and headlines, can make an online article more readable and helpful from an SEO point of view. Additionally, it is important that strategic keywords be placed in the interior pages rather than the homepage of a company’s website, although the articles and blogs on any company’s website should be SEO-friendly throughout.
- Make a list of three major points to sum up your article, blog, or email and use them to write a powerful conclusion.
- Blogging applications like Zookoda and StatCounter can enhance your public relations blog to a great extent. Buttons from sites such as De.lic.ious and Technorati will help readers instantly discuss it, leading to increased search engine traffic.
- Setting up a profile on a social networking site such as Facebook or MySpace is another great PR strategy to publicize your company’s product or service.
- Finally, every online PR medium — including emails, blogs, and press releases — is effective in its own way. Use them all to spread your message, selecting the medium you will employ based on the target audience.
