ONLINE MEDIA ROOM GETS AN 'A+' IN PR

The Lewis and Clarke Bicentennial Back to School Campaign online media room is a winner!
 
Hats off to DVCO Technology for getting it right. Browsing around this comprehensive online media room you can see why they were awarded best new PR tool by PR Week, and why PR Newswire has adopted this format as the industry standard. 
 
In his study of journalists, guru of web usability Jakob Nielsen gave corporate websites a big 'D' in PR.  His study of how journalists use the Net showed that although 99% turn to the Internet when starting a story, they only manage to find the basic information they need 68% of the time. 
 
Few corporations would discount the value of positive press says Nielsen's study. Yet you would never know this, given the results of our usability study on  media sections of corporate websites.

In the study 20 journalists attempted to use the media areas of corporate websites to gather information for their story assignments. Among other tasks, the journalists tried to find basic information about each company's financials, management, and commitment to social responsibility, along with a PR telephone number. 
 
The 'D' grade brought about unhappy and frustrated journalists - not something a PR professional would ever want.  
 
And once a journalist has tried to use your website to get information for a story - and failed - s/he wont be back.
 
In contrast, the online media room set up for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration gets an 'A+'
 
This online media room is specifically for the Qwest Foundation's Commemoration of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.  Qwest will  help fund eight bicentennial events in seven states in their local service territory; a Lewis & Clark educational campaign called "Back to School with Lewis & Clark;" that includes brochures, posters and other materials.
 
Students at the Boys and Girls Club in Omaha were the first to see the new Lewis & Clark educational program unveiled on July 28 by the National Council of Lewis & Clark Bicentennial
 
What a great media area.  It has everything a journalist would need to know to write about this specific campaign. 
  
A good online media room  helps journalists working on deadline to find what they need - fast.  Treating a journalist like a customer and giving good service that really helps them do their job pays off every time. It builds good relationships and gets you better media coverage in the future.

PR Professionals today need to get wired and plug in.  Find out how blogging can affect your audiences perceptions - discover where online conversations are happening that include your main keyword and phrases. Find the stories that can get your message out online.
 
And provide the tools journalists need to find and write about your stories.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Learn how to become a part of the conversation and then provide journalists with tools to access all the data they need to write about it.

 

 

BIG BOYS CATCHING ON TO THE POWER OF SEARCH RESULTS

ClickZ's article about the Search Optimizer says  "Tools such as Search Optimizer have become more important as bigger advertisers, with larger budgets and larger keyword portfolios, begin to make search a central part of their online marketing. "

Online ad revenues are way up and it seems search marketing spend is hot on its heels.

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)  declared Q4 2003 a record quarter for U.S. online revenue growth. Based on sales from the top 15 ad seller, revenues  were estimated at $2.2 billion, a growth of 38 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. These numbers even surpassed the $2.1 billion registered in the last biggest quarter this industry ever saw (Q4 2000).

Kevin Lee  CEO of Did-it, a search optimizing firm that tracks performance of its client's paid placement and paid inclusion search campaigns, says search marketing budgets are a fact of life.  But he is skeptical of this tool's utility because of its limitations

Using Search Optimizer marketers can sort campaigns by performance to determine which keywords or campaigns require more attention. says Overture. Users can also create watch lists of their most important campaigns or keywords.  If you're spending money on keywords, it makes sense to know if anyone is searching on them!

Combine a tool like this with Google adwords, and a sophisticated metrics and analytics system,  and you have a virtual market research channel tuned right into your best public 24/7. 

Feedback from a Google adwords campaign tells you almost immediately which words are most popular and entered most frequently into Google's search box. Your own metrics and tracking tells you who is coming from where, on what keywords, and what they do once on your site.

Keyword research is a fantastic source of data about your customers.  Just avoid the error of  using only one avenue for your research. The answers are out there.  Well researched keywords will shine a spotlight on your visitor behavior and allow you to build a successful website content strategy.

 

 

NON PROFITS CAN BENEFIT FROM SEM,  ONLINE BRANDING AND WEB CONTENT STRATEGY.

Should a non profit bother with all this? A very definite yes - says the E-Philanthropy & Technology Review.  Non Profits also have visitors, they have expectations and the organization has goals they would like to see achieved by the website.  Just like the rest of us, they're looking for some ROI from the site.

Content should be created specifically for the web because the web is distinct from print or broadcast media and users have very different expectations when surfing the web compared to reading a newspaper or watching television, says E-Philanthropy and Tech Review.  Good call!

Too many non profits are still in the dark about the power of the Internet.  They are not savvy about how to get found when someone is searching the Net for what they do, or the benefit they provide communities.  Basing their content on these keywords of phrases could remarkably change their search results. And they are not taking advantage of the good brand enhancing opportunities that abound when someone goes looking on the net.

One non- profit I did a web content review and strategy for had excellent content - just in the wrong places.  They had done a stellar job of getting to the number one place on a well used keyword, but their description was so blah and boring they were not getting the traffic they expected from that number one spot.  So it's not enough just to be there, you have to entice those searchers to click on your listing.

Then when visitors did get to the home page, it was dry "About Us" type  content.  While on another page further down in the website they had exciting world news that would rivet the attention and really meet the needs of those searchers.

With a little reworking of the content the site could be far more successful.

The relationship of perception to branding is well known.  It is a major contributor to how someone relates and responds to your organization. Getting good search page results and then delivering a great experience to your user makes your website a vital tool in raising brand awareness.

Many non profits are using their website to get volunteers and donations.  How successful you are depends on your web content strategy and how you position and brand yourself online.

ONLINE BRANDING GETS A SHOT IN THE ARM
 
The Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB's) latest research on search engine marketing's (SEM's) effect on branding may have been an eye opener to some, but for those of us who have been beating this drum, it's great news!  It's always nice to have solid research to back up your ideas.
 
The study, designed by IAB staff and Nielsen//NetRatings measured changes in branding metrics based on exposure to a SERP and contextual search placement. And it clearly shows that Internet users are influenced by where you come up in a search engine results page.
 
We have known for some time that if you are not on the first three pages you probably wont get any traffic off that search term.  Stats show that 80% of all the traffic goes to the first three on page one of a search result, but now it shows just how much these results influence how a Net surfer perceives your name or company relevant to your search page results.

Puts a slightly different spin on the importance of search engine marketing for PR professionals who are tasked with building and protecting the reputation of the business.  The marketing department should sit and take notice too.  Brand value influences buying decisions. 
 
Just one more good reason to use the MyST Technology platform that gets you cruising up the results.
 
Web developers who say that their clients are not interested in search results better take another look too. It's not just a method of getting traffic to the site anymore (though why a business would not want that is beyond me)
 
A well designed site, with excellent content based on properly researched keywords, is a great online brand enhancer.  But of course it has to be found and seen by the right public. 
 
And when they go searching, where you show up in the results is  becoming a big part of how they perceive your brand value.
 
 
 
 
 
 

ONLINE PUBLIC RELATIONS:
BLOGS, RSS FEEDS AND PLAIN OLD FASHIONED MEDIA CONTACT

There is a big buzz in the Web and PR world about online media rooms, RSS feeds and blogs. Some of the best minds in this space will be getting together to make a week long blog about online public relations

I encourage all my clients to blog - it's a wonderful way to get a 'real voice' out there. And setting up an RSS feed will deliver it directly to your customer/prospect/media contact's desktop. It does by pass the horror of spam filters on the email. But you still have to get them to opt in.

So if you decide to install an RSS feed of your company's news from your PR department, the initial live media contact becomes even more important.

Only once you build a relationship with a journalist who is indeed on your beat and interested in your news - and I said NEWS - will it be possible to get them to opt in to your RSS feed.

While the technology grows with leaps and bounds, the old rules still apply.

Over the past two weeks I have been working on some small business sites that are not getting any sales. They had heard a website can boom your business and they were puzzled as to why they were not getting any results.

They had found a web developer and had a site built. But it was not optimized as a business tool. It was just the bare vehicle. Now they have spent that money and there is no ROI.

Unfortunately most smaller entrepreneurs aren't net savvy. They expected their web designer/developer to give them all the tools they needed to have a successful site.

The problem uncovered by looking at the stats and evaluating the websites, was that they are not getting much targeted traffic. They had no keywords in the tags or the content. The content was completely unfocused. No research or strategic planning had been done. Although there were very viable markets online already searching for their product or service - they were not being found by those searchers.

And when visitors did come to the site, the content did not meet their needs.

No thought had been given to a logical flow of information making it easy for the reader to find what they're looking for, and the content was not written in such a way as to help the visitor buy the product.

There is a huge need for education about how to make a site successful - what is actually needed to achieve results from your site.

I have been offering free classes in Pasadena CA and they are full each week.

Scottie Claiborne's newsletter Successful Sites is doing a fine job.

But we need much more. Web developers should make it very clear to their clients that the job is not done when the site goes live. Just like the wedding day - this is just the beginning.

If that developer does not offer optimization, content strategies and Internet marketing, they should at least tell the client they must find someone who can help them get traffic and sales.

Watch this space for the launch of The Academy of Effective Web Marketing