The Internet Ushers in the Golden Age for Public and Customer Relations »
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Thanks to the widespread use of the Internet and commercial online services, public relations is entering a Golden Age. This new technology enables PR-practitioners to reach their audiences directly without the intervention of an editor or reporter who normally act as gatekeepers and censors of information.
There are eight actions that can take place when you send a press release to an editor or reporter. They can:
1) Print it in full;
2) Throw it out, which happens more often than most people would care to admit;
3) Print part of it, and without additional comments;
4) Print part of it with comments from competitors who downplay your story;
5) Print part of it with comments by analysts who change your perspective;
6) Print part of it in a roundup with competitors, thus diluting your message;
7) Delete the key messages that support your main point; or
8) Introduce typos and errors.
So there you have it. One response that is positive. These should be enough reasons for you to want to speak directly to your audience. But if this doesn't convince you, let's look at a case study. America Online recently sent a press release over PR Newswire to announce its purchase of the Global Network Navigator from O'Reilly and Associates, a major story in the online community. The company-written press release ran approximately 1,300 words and included quotes from Steve Case, president of AOL, and Tim O'Reilly, president of O'Reilly and Associates. A major publisher felt this was a worthy story. It took the release, cut out the quotes and printed a mere 410 words, less than one-third of the original story. Did the reader get a fair assessment of the AOL story? Hardly. Does the investment community understand more or less because of the edited version by the gatekeepers? Obviously less.
What's a PR-practitioner to do? Plenty. First, realize that your audience can access all press releases sent over PR Newswire via the Internet and CompuServe. By using simple searches on keywords, your audience can find all press releases meeting its needs. So make sure you send releases over PR Newswire. The cost is generally less than $100. Second, your audience can access press releases you post in your Home Page on the World Wide Web. A myriad of high-tech companies do this today. If you don't follow this tactic, you give your competitors an advantage. You can hire any number of talented Internet Presence Providers to set up a competent home page for about $2,500, plus nominal monthly charges for updating and storing your page. Third, you can create a mailing list of your customers. This is an electronic tool that broadcasts your press releases to customers' e-mail boxes. A word of caution, however. Make sure you get permission from each customer. Online consumers loathe junk mail. The rule of thumb for online etiquette, or "netiquette" is "Information that is UNsolicited is UNappreciated." Follow it as if your life depends on it, because if people get upset, they can, and will tell 30,000 of their closest online friends with the click of a few keystrokes.
All these steps allow you to create long-lasting relationships with your public. They will come to rely on you as a resource of information that they can't get from the daily newspapers and trade publications. Further, you'll save money through these tools, compared to incurring the expense of printing and mailing hundreds or thousands of press releases via snail mail.
However, these strategies aren't meant to assume that you should ignore the media. Nothing could be further from the true course of action. The media should continue to be an important part of the news dissemination and distribution process. The media still plays an unmatched role as the bestower of credibility on companies and products. A kind word from a reporter will still mean more to a company's credibility than all the ad space in Cyberspace.
Moreover, many reporters will come to rely on these tools as a way to get information quickly and accurately. Several reporters have told me that they wish all company press releases were in a searchable database online. When they get an assignment to cover a product or company they are not familiar with, they would be able to get a quick read from the company's perspective. They don't want to rely on other reporters' articles! Reporters also realize that errors and bias can enter a story printed in the trade magazines and daily newspapers.
Yes, hard as it is to believe, some reporters actually value press releases!
The most important point to realize is that the new technology allows all of us in public relations and marketing communications to become publishers of quality information to help our audience become happier customers and more profitable investors.
_______________
This resource is (c) Daniel S Janal and is excerpted from "Online Marketing Handbook" published by Van Nostrand Reinhold.
by Daniel S Janal
Thanks to the widespread use of the Internet and commercial online services, public relations is entering a Golden Age. This new technology enables PR-practitioners to reach their audiences directly without the intervention of an editor or reporter who normally act as gatekeepers and censors of information.
There are eight actions that can take place when you send a press release to an editor or reporter. They can:
1) Print it in full;
2) Throw it out, which happens more often than most people would care to admit;
3) Print part of it, and without additional comments;
4) Print part of it with comments from competitors who downplay your story;
5) Print part of it with comments by analysts who change your perspective;
6) Print part of it in a roundup with competitors, thus diluting your message;
7) Delete the key messages that support your main point; or
8) Introduce typos and errors.
So there you have it. One response that is positive. These should be enough reasons for you to want to speak directly to your audience. But if this doesn't convince you, let's look at a case study. America Online recently sent a press release over PR Newswire to announce its purchase of the Global Network Navigator from O'Reilly and Associates, a major story in the online community. The company-written press release ran approximately 1,300 words and included quotes from Steve Case, president of AOL, and Tim O'Reilly, president of O'Reilly and Associates. A major publisher felt this was a worthy story. It took the release, cut out the quotes and printed a mere 410 words, less than one-third of the original story. Did the reader get a fair assessment of the AOL story? Hardly. Does the investment community understand more or less because of the edited version by the gatekeepers? Obviously less.
What's a PR-practitioner to do? Plenty. First, realize that your audience can access all press releases sent over PR Newswire via the Internet and CompuServe. By using simple searches on keywords, your audience can find all press releases meeting its needs. So make sure you send releases over PR Newswire. The cost is generally less than $100. Second, your audience can access press releases you post in your Home Page on the World Wide Web. A myriad of high-tech companies do this today. If you don't follow this tactic, you give your competitors an advantage. You can hire any number of talented Internet Presence Providers to set up a competent home page for about $2,500, plus nominal monthly charges for updating and storing your page. Third, you can create a mailing list of your customers. This is an electronic tool that broadcasts your press releases to customers' e-mail boxes. A word of caution, however. Make sure you get permission from each customer. Online consumers loathe junk mail. The rule of thumb for online etiquette, or "netiquette" is "Information that is UNsolicited is UNappreciated." Follow it as if your life depends on it, because if people get upset, they can, and will tell 30,000 of their closest online friends with the click of a few keystrokes.
All these steps allow you to create long-lasting relationships with your public. They will come to rely on you as a resource of information that they can't get from the daily newspapers and trade publications. Further, you'll save money through these tools, compared to incurring the expense of printing and mailing hundreds or thousands of press releases via snail mail.
However, these strategies aren't meant to assume that you should ignore the media. Nothing could be further from the true course of action. The media should continue to be an important part of the news dissemination and distribution process. The media still plays an unmatched role as the bestower of credibility on companies and products. A kind word from a reporter will still mean more to a company's credibility than all the ad space in Cyberspace.
Moreover, many reporters will come to rely on these tools as a way to get information quickly and accurately. Several reporters have told me that they wish all company press releases were in a searchable database online. When they get an assignment to cover a product or company they are not familiar with, they would be able to get a quick read from the company's perspective. They don't want to rely on other reporters' articles! Reporters also realize that errors and bias can enter a story printed in the trade magazines and daily newspapers.
Yes, hard as it is to believe, some reporters actually value press releases!
The most important point to realize is that the new technology allows all of us in public relations and marketing communications to become publishers of quality information to help our audience become happier customers and more profitable investors.
_______________
This resource is (c) Daniel S Janal and is excerpted from "Online Marketing Handbook" published by Van Nostrand Reinhold.