PR Wishes and Digital
Media Dreams:
How to succeed by evolving your communications strategy
Anna Ruth Williams, Founder + CEO @annaruth
Blair Broussard, Vice President @blairab
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

What’s your dream headline?
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

Overview
• Today’s news media environment
• Where readers & journalists are (hint: it’s not too
different)
• Press releases that dominate search engines
• Changing your PR approach
• Nitty Gritty on social media strategy
• Developing shareable content
• Don’t DIY It Alone @ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

The New Media Relations
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

News Media is Evolving
• By 2013, total traffic to the top 25
news sites increased 7.2%
(source: comScore)
• Journalist layoffs have scaled
newsrooms back by 30% -
placing added constraints on
reporting (source: Pew Research)
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

Today’s Media Consumers
• 20% of consumers read
news via social media
(source: Pew Research)
• Consumers under the
age of 45:
– 55% primarily consumer
news via Internet
– 28% via TV
– 5% via newspaper
(source: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism)
(source: Reynolds Journalism Institiute)
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Today’s Media Consumers
• 23% of consumers under 45
actively engage in aggregating
and curating news
• 25% share news via email or
social media weekly
• 1 in 5 comment on articles on
social media
• 61% of the most active news
consumers and commenters
are men
(source: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism) @ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

Change Your Strategy
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• Distribute releases via a wire service
(e.g., PRWeb).
• Include keywords in the heading and
subtitle that are relevant to your
business.
• Keep your headline at ~100
characters.
• Bring out the underlying value of
your announcement with your title.
• Link to everything! Your website,
social media accounts and other
pages that boost the
“newsworthiness” of your
announcement.
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014
Search-friendly Press Releases

Search-friendly Press Releases
• 80% of Internet browsers prefer videos over
images and text in press releases. (source: Real
Effect)
• Including photos in your press release
increases engagement by about 18% and
video by 55%.
• Images expand your audience up to 180%
and a custom mix of photos, videos and
multimedia content increases it up to 970%.
(source: HubSpot)
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

Have a Kick Ass Video
and always share it with reporters
Media outlets are looking to
engage readers and keep them
on their sites for longer periods of
time to increase ad revenue.
As a result, they’ll often place
YOUR video on THEIR site
alongside editorial content.
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

SWAG TIME!
Want a Water Bottle?
WHAT
PERCENTAGE OF
JOURNALISTS
HAVE TWITTER
ACCOUNTS?

The Connected Journalist
• 59% of journalists use Twitter, compared to
47% in 2012 (source: Weber Shandwick)
• 92% of journalists are on LinkedIn, making it
the most used social media platform by
journalists (source: PRNews)
• 6% of journalists’ first option for researching a
story is to consult a brand’s website (source: Weber
Shandwick)
• On average, journalists visit 2.6 social media
channels for each article they research (source:
PRDaily)
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

Start with a Media Database
• Your media list should
include:
– Reporter email addresses
– Reporter Twitter handles
– Media outlet Twitter handles
– Reporter LinkedIn URL’s
• Start your engagement with a personal touch
– Follow target reporters and media outlets on Twitter
– Connect with target journalists on LinkedIn and send a quick,
personal note
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

Pitch Reporters on Social Media
As reporters flock to social
media for story sources, cut
through the inbox clutter -
reach out to them on Twitter
and LinkedIn!
(Hint: A lot of them prefer this method)
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

Make PR Reach Further
• Cross-post press releases and media placements on
your social media, blog & website
• Tag outlets/reporters on social media
• Share news stories in your email marketing
• Ask employees to share news articles to LinkedIn
and Twitter networks
• Hang media placements in your office @ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

The Nitty Gritty on
Social Media
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@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014
Before You Login… Know Your Channel
• Over 1 billion people
worldwide have a Facebook
profile, your brand probably
should too…
• Twitter is a micro-blog
GREAT for sharing news!
• B2B marketing, sales,
recruitment and lead
generation – all from your very
own LinkedIn profile.

@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014
Before you login… know your channel
• B2C companies are sharing photos
and videos to boost brand
awareness and customer
engagement on Instagram more
than ever.
• The visual network comprised of
mostly women, yet men are jumping
on the Pinterest bandwagon, slowly
but surely.
• Google+ Not a very active social
network in terms of engagement, but
Google is king, and this channel can
boost your brand’s SEO.

@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014
Social Strategy Building
So you’re ready to tweet and get your #hashtag on?
First…
1. Set and define goals
2. Find out what others are
saying
3. Research competitors on
social

@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014
Building Your Follower Base
Include social icons EVERYWHERE
• Email Signatures
• Marketing Materials
• Email Blasts / newsletters
Your customers, professional
networks, partners and friends are
most likely on social media already,
so just ASK them to follow your
brand.

Use Social Media to Create Credibility
Reporters are always seeking valuable
interview sources and are increasingly
turning to social media to find and vet
brands and products.
– Regularly share thought leadership on your
social media channels
– Accurately depict your products/services on
LinkedIn and request recommendations
– Use search keywords throughout your social
media pages and in status updates
– Demonstrate your marketplace success,
happy customers, etc.
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Developing Shareable Content
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Content is King
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014
Before you begin to draft your
posts, create content categories
to use as a guide for the type of
content on each channel
– Evolve your messaging as you go,
and keep it interesting.
– Remember to keep the channel in
mind when writing content.

Create an Efficient Content Calendar
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014
Content takes time, and consistency is
crucial for getting the most out of your
social media strategy.
• Plan ahead – weekly, bi-weekly,
monthly or what ever works best
for your internal resources
• Keep holidays and key industry
dates in mind and include in
content!
• Leave room for real-time
breaking news and “live” content
that is worth sharing.

Is This Working?
Having a well-rounded strategy is essential to keeping
the process efficient and engaging.
– What kinds of content are your followers responding to?
– Are you reaching milestones and meeting objectives?
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

WHEN ARE
TWITTER
ENGAGEMENT
RATES HIGHEST –
WEEKDAYS OR
WEEKENDS?
SWAG TIME!
Want a Water Bottle?

@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014
Optimal Times To Post
• Twitter: engagement rates are actually 17% higher
on Saturday and Sunday than on weekdays.
• Facebook: 6 – 8 a.m. during and 2 – 5 p.m. during
weekdays.
• LinkedIn: People don’t typically use this network
during work hours, but rather right before and after
work from 7-9 a.m. and 5-6 p.m.
• Google +: 9 – 11 a.m. is typically the best range,
but on Google+, it comes down to your audience.
Timing+ is a tool that analyzes your brand’s last
100 posts and helps you identify the times that
earned your content the most traffic

Don’t Forget Your Personal Brand
Reporters will vet interview sources to
determine credibility and subject matter
expertise. Ensure your company’s leaders
have strong digital visibility.
• Complete, professional LinkedIn
profiles full of industry keywords
• Active and engaging Twitter accounts
• Powerful bios available on your
website
• Fresh headshots that are “on brand”
and reflect your corporate culture
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

Don’t DIY it Alone!
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

annaruthpr.com/startupPR
Startup
Packages
@ar_ _pr
#makenews
• Affordable
• Media lists of your target
reporters
• Social media strategies
• Press how-to video
• Press release & wire
distribution
• 1-on-1 consultation

Startup
Packages
@ar_ _pr
#makenews
Just for NOEW Participants:
10% off (code: startup10)
expires April 7th
The Launch Rocket package provided us with the
consultation and tips we needed to engage with reporters on
the phone, via email and even through Twitter. The day our
press release was distributed, we received 8,000 app
downloads within 24 hours - our biggest day yet. The
package even helped us land a feature in TechCrunch!

Questions?
@ar_ _ pr #NOEW2014

Contact:
Offices in Atlanta Tech Village
and
Launch Pad New Orleans
855.300.8209 | annaruthpr.com
annaruth@annaruthpr.com | blair@annaruthpr.com
linkedin.com/company/arpr
facebook.com/annaruthpr
@ar__pr #makenews