Why online coverage (often) beats print While many businesses seem to be moving forward and embracing all things online including social media, when it comes to getting results through public relations, there is still a widely-held belief that print coverage is better than online coverage. Flying Solo LIVE! 
Last Thursday I walked into a room of over 240 people and felt an immense sense of pride. Back in May we won a pitch to develop a social media & PR strategy for Macquarie University’s annual Women, Management and Work Conference.
In past years, they had spent their entire marketing budget on advertising. This year they put their faith in our ability to build the profile of the conference online and in print to drive registrations.
And they are very happy they did!
Last year they had 140 people attend. They didn’t tell us that the conference, which has been running for 22 years, wouldn’t get more funding for next year if they didn’t get more that 140 again. So with 240 attendees, they are over the moon.
Our strategy?
Considering the history of the conference, and the role it plays in exploring women in leadership issues, we developed the concept of building a platform that extended beyond the dates of the conference.
We created “Women at Work Oz” - a long lasting online community of people interested in debating and sharing women’s issues. Of course, we also achieved amazing print, radio & TV media coverage. See our website for the case study on our strategy.
VOTE for CP Communications - We would love for you to vote for us in the 2010 Mosman Daily Business Achiever Awards. Voting closes on Friday 6 August.
SEMINAR - Want to learn how to get free publicity? I am running a one day seminar at the Sydney Writers’ Centre where you will learn the science behind an effective PR strategy including writing media releases that get results, how to approach journalists, how to write articles and case studies for the media as well as clever online tactics. 23 September. Book now!
In reality, getting online coverage for your company can be much more effective than being published in tomorrow’s fish and chip wrapping.
Online content is available forever
Thanks to search engines, the article your company is mentioned in can be dug up and re-read by a new audience, months and even years after it is first posted online. If you’re published in a magazine, you may take a media clipping for your files but once that publication is off the shelf, the story dies, never to be read again. Online offers a much longer ‘shelf-life’ and your exposure is limitless.
Search Engine Optimisation
When you include links to other websites within your article there is the opportunity for the operators of those sites to link back to your article. What this means is visitors to other sites that would have otherwise never have know about your article, can now click on the link and be directed to it giving you an even larger audience. By posting your articles on your website or blog, it also helps keep the content fresh and new helping you rank higher on search engines.
Random Google Searches
By placing an article online and selecting a few really good keywords your story can turn up on Google searches, even when you don’t expect it to! By using key words about the topic you are writing about, for instance if you were writing about Twitter you could use key words such as ‘social media’, ‘marketing’, ‘web 2.0’, ‘tweets’ and then when people do a Google search about Twitter, they could stumble across your article and be directed to your website.
The Internet is a BIG space
With so many websites, blogs and e-newsletters out there, there is an ongoing requirement for content. If you can provide interesting and helpful information that people want to read about and can learn from, you will find there is a never-ending need for articles.
Accessing stories online is easy
Gone are the days where you have to physically pick up and buy a magazine to read an article. It is so easy to type in the URL of your favourite online newspaper or magazine, scan the headlines and pick the stories that interest you. It’s also incredibly easy to share links to stories you find interesting through email and sites like Facebook and Twitter.
To read the full article go to our blog Public Relations Sydney.
Social media: Tell people where you are
Once you set up your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, what do you do? Tell people about it! Shout it from the rooftops. It makes it so much easier for people to follow you on social media if you tell them your addresses, or even better, add links to your marketing material so they can easily follow you.
There are a number of ways you can promote where you are on social media externally. The most effective include your business cards, email signature, website and newsletter.
Newsletter
Your organisation’s newsletter is sent out to people who have subscribed to read what you or your team has to say on a regular basis. If they follow you via social media they can keep up with your latest news and ideas in real-time.
Use your newsletter to direct your subscribers to your Facebook page and keep them interested with updates of anything exciting happening on your social media.
For instance, when we run competitions on Twitter or Facebook, we use our newsletter to promote it to our subscribers. If you let people know they have a chance to win a prize by simply following your business on social media, there is more chance they’ll engage with you online.
Business cards
Your business card tells people who you are, where you are and how you can be contacted. This is the perfect way to let people know how to reach you on social media. Include your Twitter, Facebook, blog and LinkedIn addresses alongside the usual details that go on a business card.
Email signature
Think how big your social media following would be if every person you emailed followed you - give them the opportunity to. Include a link to all your social media locations in your email signature. With links to your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn account that can simply be clicked on, it becomes easy for people to follow you.
Website
Websites are usually the first thing people look for when they search for your organisation online. Embed links into your website to all your social media locations. There are different logo buttons available for each social media outlet that you can include on your website making these links obvious and easy to find. Look for the blue letter T or little bird button for Twitter, they are popping up on websites everywhere.
Upcoming events
Here are some events coming up that we thought you might be interested in:
Social Media Women August Event
Social Media Women’s August guest speaker, Valerie Khoo, will outline the key online strategies she used to build the Sydney Writers' Centre. This includes Twitter, Facebook, blogging, Google tools, SEO, pay-per-click and much more.
10 August 2010
Tech23
Tech23 is a celebration of innovation, bringing together innovative Australian ICT companies with industry leaders, media and over 400 attendees to support ICT growth and discover what innovations are just around the corner. Hear from panels of exceptional industry leaders including some of Australia's leading investors and entrepreneurs.
19 August 2010
PRINKS September Event
PRINKS is for anyone working in the advertising, PR, journo, events, marketing or digital realms. PRINKS’ September event will provide all communications professionals an opportunity to meet with fellow industry colleagues, share ideas and share a drink.
6 September 2010
Kickstart Your Business
Andrew Griffith's seminar, Kickstart Your Business, begins its Australian tour in Cairns on 21 August and finishes in Perth on 25 September 2010. Andrew, Australia's #1 business author, has run many small businesses, faced all the same challenges that most small business owners experience and time and time again, he has survived. This seminar will provide you with essential tips to increase the success of your business.
Sydney - 15 September 2010
Explore the incredible power of community to shape our businesses and lives. The event brings together some of Australia’s top small business specialists and friendliest solo and micro business owners.
15 September 2010
Click here to sign up to receive the CP Communications newsletter directly in your inbox.
Comments
Post has no comments.