1. 1
PR in the Digital Age
October 28, 2009
DePaul University
2. 2
Agenda
• Background
- Personal Background
- PR Defined
- PR: In Support of Business Objectives
• Case Studies
• Implications for Your Assignment
- Brainstorming for Your ACS Project
4. 4
Personal Background
• Masters in Journalism from Northwestern
• Stint in Public Policy
• Newspaper Reporter and Magazine Writer
• Foray into PR During Internet Bubble
• Agency Life
• Start-Up
5. 5
QuickTime™ and adecompressorare needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and adecompressorare needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and adecompressorare needed to see this picture.
QuickTime™ and adecompressorare needed to see this picture.
Secured Media Coverage
7. 7
PR Defined
Think Big
• Take a company’s vision from concept to reality
• Advise on building integrated marketing programs
• Provide strategic communications counsel
• Generate ideas for launching a new business or taking an established brand to a new level
• Liaise with ad agencies, web designers, SEO firms and other marketing partners
“Create the Truth”
• Tell the company’s story across channels
• Build executive and corporate profiles
Execute
• Write everything: press releases, blogs, articles, professional bios, FAQs, speeches
• Develop and execute social media strategy
• Develop media and blogger lists
• Arrange speaking opportunities
• Produce metrics to capture results of marketing and PR efforts
8. 8
Supporting Business Objectives
Key Diagnostic Questions to Ask
Your business:
• What are your business objectives?
• What internal obstacles exist and could they prevent success?
• Why do your customers need you?
• What opportunities are missed when people don’t use your services?
Your Marketplace
• Who are your competitors and how do you differentiate yourself?
• What do you need to do in 2010 to compete?
• Do you have customer testimonials?
Your Message
• What issues can you own?
• How would the editor of your most important trade publication describe you?
• What is your dream story and where does it appear?
• What’s the next company milestone we can promote?
• Do you like public speaking?
• Have you been media trained?
11. 11
Case Study 1: Weave The People
Objective:
• Launch a technology inventor’s first product
• Develop sales leads
Approach: Preparation/Message Development
• Discussed short- and long-term goals
• Clarified inventor’s vision: gave it a business purpose
• Wrote his first bio--told his story and made him human
• Developed case studies, benefits, FAQ, press release, blog
• Identified target audience--HR, decision makers, event planners
12. 12
Case Study 1: Weave The People
Outreach: All Means Possible
• Issued release via PR Web
• Optimized press release/website
• Tweeted the heck out of it!
• Conducted “long-tail” blogger relations and media relations
• Used professional networks to spread the word
• Outreach, blog writing continue
• “Tell me about the Sun Times”
Results
• “Weave Technology LLC Launches Weave The People to Help Companies Unleash Their Potential”
• 31,520 total impressions via Yahoo News, RSS, emails to reporters (PR Web tool)
• Of the total, 1,151 people clicked through to read the entire release
13. 13
Case Study 1: Weave The People
Seeing Results with Modest Budget
• With $200 press release distribution, traffic spiked to nearly 500 hits on launch day
• Hits on several sites, including DePaul University Coleman Center blog
Google Analytics – tracking web traffic
14. 14
Goal: Rank high in search results by optimizing site and release
Approach: Hyperlink “effective meetings” in press release: via PR web, link that term
to “case studies” website page page (named on the backend “effective meetings”)
Key Take-Away: Part Art, Part Science
17. 17
Brainstorming for your ACS Project
Spread the Word:
In this economy, people are paying it forward – everyone helps each other. You can help your
volunteers by crediting them for their work.
Groups to Tap:
• Chicago AMA – American Marketing Association
• IABC – International Association of Business Communicators
• PRSA – Public Relations Society of America
• Big Ooga – Entrepreneur Networking Group
• Networking for a Cause (Justin G. Roy)
• Give Back Chicago (Justin G. Roy)
• AAAS - American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the list goes on
Stay True to the Story:
The Official Sponsor of Birthdays
18. 18
Follow ACS on Social Media
Example: American Cancer Society on Twitter http://twitter.com/#search?q=american%20cancer%20society
19. 19
Tweetdeck:
- See who mentions me,
sends direct messages
and what other friends
are doing all at the same
time
Utilize Tweetdeck to Organize Activity
21. 21
Content copyrighted by Sally On Media ™ Corp.
PowerPoint Design: Carrie Blumenfeld – Carrie.Blumenfeld@gmail.com
Sally On Media ™ logo designed by Emily Lonigro -- emily@limeredstudio.com
thank you.
Editor's Notes
We optimized for effective meetings--as I edited release, he changed the URL. A great example of technology and PR working together! We come up first in search for effective meetings grow revenue.
