Should you jump into social networking to promote your business? And if so, with so many options available, how do you choose which social networks to participate in?

Benefits of Social Networking

I’m not much of a supporter of diving into every new or large social networking environment or fad to promote a business. However, social networks do have some benefits that make them worth considering as an addition to your online PR efforts:

1. Social networks and microblogging services can serve multiple roles with a single tool. For example, you can network with colleagues, while also promoting offers or information to clients and potential clients of your company.

2. Social networking is cost-effective. Most networks are free to join.

3. Social networks and microblogging services can help you get news or a message out very quickly to a targeted audience.

Problems with Social Networking

Despite its benefits, there are also some drawbacks to social networking for promoting a business.

1. Social networking can be a productivity killer. Many businesses simply try to do too much – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace, etc. The multiple updates aren’t always reaching different audiences, and it’s a waste of time that could be spent elsewhere if you’re simply targeting the same groups with the same messages, but in different locations.

2. It’s easy to get too personal, or too off-topic, when social networking, Twittering, etc. You may divulge more information than you wanted to (or than you should), and once you’ve said it, you can’t take it back. The instant gratification factor also makes it easier to communicate without thinking things through; contributing to negative “Web wars” at times.

3. The bulk of the population still hasn’t embraced these technologies, meaning your target audiences may not yet be well-represented there.

Choosing Social Networking Services for Your Needs

There are good things about social networking for PR. There are negative things as well. So how can you strike a happy balance? How do you choose the best social media communication tools for your business, without over-extending your resources to reach only a small portion of your audience?

1. Target, target, target! It doesn’t matter what the largest social network is if your specific audience isn’t represented there. Niche social networking tools may be a far better option than simply going with networks that always seem to be getting the buzz. For example, no network yet beats Myspace for promoting to musicians. If you’re trying to reach an adult audience as opposed to teens, you may be better off using a service like Gather.com. If you want to network with other professionals in your industry, LinkedIn might serve your needs more effectively. There are also smaller social networks targeted to very specific niches (webmasters, photographers, etc.). There’s no reason to try to “do it all.”

2. Understand the numbers. Don’t join a social network simply because they say they have X number of members. Those numbers mean absolutely nothing. What you should care about is not the total membership, but instead the “active” membership (and those specifically within your target audience – it goes back to targeting).

3. Get to know a network’s policies on promotion, as it applies to your plans. The last thing you want is to be labeled a spammer. Understand that these tools are more about networking, building relationships, and communicating than blatant promotion, as in marketing and sales.

No matter how deep you decide to delve into social networking and / or microblogging, always make sure you’re making the best use of your time, and reaching your intended targets.

As part of the Visa Business promotion, Visa are offering $100 USD in advertising credit to facebook users/advertisers. To get the free credit all you need to do is…

Log into facebook and add the Visa Business Network App. Once added, Facebook will send you a coupon code with instructions on how to add the credit to your account.

Perfect if you want to test the waters on facebook and perfect if you’re already spending a fortune with them. There’s more to PPC than just the big three :)

Seems like Alexia was WAY ahead of me finding this. Also, Master Mulley is running a competition for the best stats on a facebook campaign. Have a look!

UPDATE *** You can now receive this free facebook advertising code credit by following the instructions here.

Because press releases are increasingly being used for their SEO benefits, many business owners assume that more is better, or that they should be on some kind of set press release distribution schedule. That’s generally not the case.

Sending too many press releases can actually damage your company (or site) reputation and credibility. Here’s why:

• You’re very likely targeting a similar, if not the same, audience with each press release you send.
• Sending multiple newsworthy press releases over time can help to keep your company’s name fresh in their minds.
• Sending too many press releases just for the sake of sending them (as opposed to disseminating real news) will also keep your company’s name fresh in their minds… just probably not the way you’re hoping for.
• If you put enough garbage in front of people, you’ll end up with a sort of “boy who cried wolf” syndrome when you have real news. Members of your target audience will now recognize your name, and immediately attach it to images of “fluff” instead of news, and you won’t get the coverage you otherwise might have. You’ll put yourself on the fast track to being ignored.

That’s not to say that a schedule won’t ever work; only that you shouldn’t send out a weekly press release just for the sake of doing it. In some cases it does work. Here are a few examples of cases where regular press releases may not have such a detrimental effect:

• Regular contests – If your company runs a monthly contest, and it’s big enough to be newsworthy (giving away a $10 prize each month really wouldn’t justify a press release each time), then there’s nothing wrong with sending a regular press release for each one.
• Regular product launches – I used to work with a company who released a new product every Monday. They would issue a release for each product launch, because each product (in this case new t-shirt designs) was directly tied to something relatively newsworthy that would appeal to their target audience.
• Regular research or reports – If your company conducts research and issues public reports on industry issues, and you tend to do this on a regular schedule (as in serious research, and not something like a casual Web poll), then you shouldn’t hold off on announcing your findings through a press release just to avoid regular distribution. It has news value, and in this kind of case, a regular schedule may even give people something to anticipate if you become known for their quality.
• Regular charitable efforts – If your company is involved with a long-term charitable endeavor, and you’re making significant progress (such as in raising funds for an organization) on a regular basis, it might be worth mentioning repeatedly (for example, if a company raised $10,000 for a charity in January and then $15,000 in February, sending a release each month probably won’t hurt).

The key is to know your audience. Know what they’ll care about, and try to issue press releases that will appeal to them – remember, you want them to help spread the word. The trick isn’t to send a lot of press releases for results… it’s to actually make yourself newsworthy. As long as you do that your press release distribution schedule won’t become an issue.

If you find yourself almost never having something newsworthy to say, start putting some thought into things you can introduce to fix that (get involved with a charity, run contests, participate in important events, etc.). Every company (or website, organization, or individual) has the capability of becoming newsworthy. Don’t let your chances pass you by.

• “Press releases don’t work.”
• “Press releases only help big companies.”
• “Press releases aren’t as good as [fill in the blank].”
• Common Complaints About Press Releases

Here are a few common complaints I hear from people who aren’t happy with the results of their first press release (and how I tend to respond):

Complaint 1: It was too expensive.

Response: I usually ask where they spent their money. Hands down, the biggest expense is distribution for most (often an upgrade package with a distribution site like PRweb). I then ask why they didn’t take advantage of free or inexpensive options, especially with their first release. It’s not uncommon for me to hear that so-and-so (their press release writer) told them they had to use one package or another to get results (usually the same kind of PR person who’s advocating the same distribution model for everyone – bad idea – or taking in affiliate income from the distribution source). So moving forward, I tell them to look into other, cheaper distribution options (as long as they still reach their target readers), and know the qualifications of whoever they’re working with.

Complaint 2: No one covered my story.

Response: Did you actually have something newsworthy to say? In many cases, the answer is no. (For example, launching a new website is very rarely newsworthy in and of itself.) Something else I ask is how long ago the release was distributed. Remarkably, most are complaining within a day or two of distribution because they’re not seeing pickups or backlinks. The reality is that those things can take a while to show up (especially if you’re tracking them yourself, as you’ll be at the mercy of the indexing schedule of search engines).

Complaint 3: My press release didn’t bring me much traffic.

Response: Let’s look at some common reasons you may not be getting traffic. Did you have any earth-shattering news that’s going to drive people to click over to your site in masses even though it’s your first release and they’ve likely never heard of you? Not likely. Did you have a well-written press release? It’s possible. But in this day and age we have everyone and their brother calling themselves a press release writer without any qualifications. Stick to hiring real professionals, or invest the time into learning how to write a press release for yourself. Last question… how did you distribute your news release? If you just threw it onto a distribution site or two (or two hundred for that matter), that explains a lot. Contrary to the belief of many, the average Joe just doesn’t search for their news from press releases. They have specific news sources they trust, and they go right to them. Did you do anything to target trusted news sources tied to your own target market? Chances are that you didn’t.

People need to understand something before they decide to jump into using press releases to promote their businesses or websites:

Press releases are just one tool, of many, in a larger PR campaign. On top of that, they’re a tool that needs to be used repeatedly over time in order to fully realize their potential (building awareness, maintaining an image, and overall exposure and name recognition). So don’t put all of your eggs into one basket by spending a small fortune on your first press release, because chances are that you will be disappointed with the results.

Always think about your long-term goals when using PR. Who are you trying to reach, what message are you trying to convey, and what tools can you use to get that message out to your audience? If you’re serious about using PR to help your business, you need to broaden your outlook a bit beyond news releases. Here are a few other examples of PR tools to include in your overall PR campaign:

• Media Advisories – These are used to actually invite members of the media to an event to cover it in person.
• Op-Eds – These are opinion pieces that run opposite an editorial in a newspaper or other publication.
• Letters to the Editor
• Blogs
• Newsletters

Figure out what types of tools are going to best reach your specific target audience(s), and then put together a solid PR plan using them to complement each other.

The PR industry has been notoriously bad at enlightening clients and potential clients about public relations and its value to a business. At the same time, Internet marketing is a flourishing field, where marketing professionals treat PR as a tool under their larger umbrella. That’s the message most potential online PR clients get.

Online public relations and Internet marketing are similar, no doubt, but they’re incredibly different in their most important aspects:

The Message
In Internet marketing (as in all areas of marketing) the message is designed to drive sales or directly increase revenue in some way. For example, the marketing message of a large online book store might be that they can offer the largest selection and cheapest prices because of their bulk buying power.

In online PR (and Public Relations as a whole) the message isn’t designed to be directly promotional. PR messages can vary from showing that a company cares about a specific cause (or show core values of the company) to news messages put out by the company.

The Targets
In Internet marketing, you have a “target market.” These are essentially the people your company is selling something to (or if you run a website monetized by advertising, your target market might be potential readers that you’d monetize through those ads).

In online PR, you have a “target audience” instead. A target audience (sometimes called a “key public” or “stakeholder”) can be any group that has influence over the company. The target market is just one target audience. Others might include residents of the area where a company is located, government officials, stockholders, and employees.

The Tactics and Tools
One of the reasons many Internet marketers assume they understand online PR is the fact that the two disciplines often use a few of the same tools. However, they use those tools in different ways. Here are tools and tactics used in Internet Marketing and online PR.

Common tactics and tools used in Internet marketing:

• Paid advertising (banner ads, text link ads, etc.)
• Link exchanges, free Web directory submissions, blog comments (link-building activities)
• Affiliates
• Sales letters (and other sales copy)
• Article marketing (to drive affiliate sales, traffic, or backlinks)
• Search engine marketing (paid search placements)
• Blogs
• Social bookmarking sites
• Social networks
• Podcasts / Internet radio shows
• Sales, coupons, or other discounts
• E-books
• Reports / white papers
• Direct mail campaigns via email (for promotional purposes)

Common tactics and tools used in online PR:

• Press releases / news releases
• Op-eds / letters to the editor (for online publications)
• Online newsrooms and media kits
• SEO (to build awareness through organic search engine placements)
• Interviews
• Blogs
• Articles (used to build exposure and expert status more than directly pushing sales or traffic)
• Podcasts / Internet radio shows (if not purely or mostly promotional)
• Reports / white papers
• Email newsletters
• Social networks

With so much overlap on the tools and tactics used in online PR and Internet marketing, it’s no wonder there’s confusion. The real key is in the way each tool or tactic is used in those different capacities to reach different audiences for different reasons.

Internet marketers rarely look at more than sales, traffic numbers, etc. Online PR professionals look more at the “big picture” of how your company is using those tools to communicate with all groups that may have some influence over you (such as building and maintaining an overall image).

In most cases, one doesn’t really understand how to effectively perform on both fronts, which is why it’s important for business owners and others to understand the difference so they can choose the best service providers to help them reach their goals (or to work towards reaching those goals independently). The best option is always to strike a balance between the two.

What is Media Relations?

Surprising as it may be, no one seems to misrepresent media relations more than public relations folks. There’s a common misconception among some in the industry (as well as with plenty outside of the PR industry) that “media relations” and “public relations” are synonymous. They’re not.

Before we can tackle what media relations is, we need to understand what public relations is. Defining public relations has always been a challenge, so let’s tackle it. Public relations is a management function by which a company, government, organization, or individual creates, builds, and maintains a positive image with their publics (which could include customers, residents living in the neighborhood of a business, government officials, etc. – anyone that can influence or affect them).

Media relations, on the other hand, is a component of public relations rather than being its equivalent. You can look at the media as just one outreach tool for communicating with a key public or audience. You have to keep in mind that the media isn’t the only tool available to reach your publics. You can reach your target audience with your message through media coverage, but you can also reach them directly.

Why do people, even in the industry, get it wrong? Misinformation is everywhere, including in trusted sources. For example, if you’re a small business owner interested in learning about how you can use public relations, you would be misled by a generally trusted source in your niche in Entrepreneur.com, which states:

“Public Relations Definition: Using the news or business press to carry positive stories about your company or your products; cultivating a good relationship with local press representative” – Source

That definition completely limits public relations to media relations activities. So let’s make it even simpler. Media relations is how you handle your relationships with members of the media, and public relations is how you handle your relationships and image with members of the public directly (or any sub-group of the public). The media can help you to communicate with the public, but they’re not your exclusive means of doing so.

Media Relations on the Web

Traditional media relations is often called a “push” concept: you’re shoving your self-promotional messages in their face to put it bluntly, and members of the media rely on that to some degree to find news worth covering.

One of the big reasons some are touting things like social media as the killer of media relations is that we now have a “pull” model in place where journalists can find news on highly specific subjects on the Web, and will subscribe to things like RSS feeds if they’re interested in news from a specific organization. They essentially have a better ability to pursue the news (as in the base angle) rather than having it fed to them.

The primary tools in online media relations are online press releases, online newsrooms, and email. All are used to offer information members of the media may need when deciding what information to disseminate to their audience, such as bios, fact sheets, news, multimedia items, and more.

Media Relations v. Social Media: Round 1

It can be easy to assume that media relations will soon have no place on the Web because of advances in social media tools. The anti-media relations crowd seems to be repeatedly saying that public relations is now (or will soon be) about nothing but conversations; that companies, organizations, and individuals have to essentially give up their full control over their message and “engage” their publics through social media rather than “talking at them” through more traditional methods.

It sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? Yet, I’d argue that PR has always been about “conversations,” even if on a more subtle note than now. In PR you’ve always had to listen to your key publics to understand their wants, needs, and motivations. Without knowing those things, you can’t effectively create a message that would influence their views or actions. It’s research. We’ve always done it. Now we just get to do it in real time.

We’ve also always continued the conversation (at least in a well-planned campaign) by evaluating the success or failure, and why our messages did or didn’t reach our audiences and influence them as we expected. Again, now we simply get to do that in real time by reading comments and responses directly to our news releases, reading rants or praises on blogs, etc. None of this is new. New tools (and even new efficiency) don’t equal the death of media relations.

Media Relations v. Social Media: Round 2

Another common argument in the case against media relations on the Web is the fact that between search engines, blogs, social networks, social bookmarking, and the host of other tools at our finger tips today, we have no use for the traditional media. The thought is that we don’t need journalists anymore to get our message to our publics, because we can do it ourselves.

Yes, it’s fairly easy to post a press release to the Web, where your end target audience can find it through Google, other search engines, or news aggregators, or to publish your news to a company blog where your audience can directly interact with you.

What these would-be-media-relations-killers neglect to tell you is that

1. It’s highly unlikely that the bulk of your audience is searching for their news through aggregators or reading your press releases directly. It just doesn’t work that way on a grand scale other than for a few highly specific niche groups. If you’re a social media company, it may work for you. If you’re a restaurant chain, it’s not going to happen in the same way (unless of course you’re facing a major crisis with your product, and people have already heard about it through the major media). That’s just one example. There are countless niches where the majority of your target audience simply aren’t embracing these technologies yet (and likely won’t before the “next big thing” in Web communication comes along).
2. It can take a lot of time, and a lot of effort (not to mention money and marketing) to build the kind of authority for your company blog, press releases, etc. that traditional media outlets have. People have trusted sources of information. The company the information is about usually isn’t going to be one of those trusted sources.
3. It’s often not as efficient. It’s a nice concept to believe that when you publish your information on the Web, you’ll reach a seemingly limitless audience. The problem is that the ease of it can make people jump into action without proper research in understanding their audience. Speaking of audience, let’s look at them for a minute. Is it really a bad thing to be picked up in the business section of a national newspaper, where you’ll reach a massive (yet highly targeted) audience? Do you think you’ll reach as many (again highly targeted) people using social media (and with the same kind of authority)? It’s unlikely, and it won’t happen for the vast majority of news put out this way. Banking on being the exception to the rule is bad business.

Remember, it’s easy for someone to talk about the “death” of media relations when they’re involved with social media and are riding their reputation on it. Being an online PR specialist myself, I’m certainly not suggesting that you completely ignore social media. Instead, I’d like to see more people ignoring the buzzwords and hype to focus on the amazing breadth of tools we now have before us to reach the people that influence how we do business. That includes traditional PR tools such as press releases (which are highly effective without the SMNR model as long as you learn to use them properly). Media relations isn’t dead or dying. It’s just changing.

How do you build more natural referrals to your business, build more Web credibility and repeat traffic to your website, and get more media mentions all at the same time? You become a recognized expert or authority source in your niche or industry.

When you become an authority source, people think of you first (or close to first) when they’re looking for information in your niche. They become type-in traffic and repeat visitors to your website or blog. They trust you. They rely on you. They spread the word about you via word-of-mouth.

Expert sources in an industry also have an easier time getting themselves (or their companies) mentioned in media outlets, from coveted online mentions to radio and major metropolitan newspapers. That’s not because they’re necessarily more newsworthy. It’s because members of the media become accustomed to turning to those individuals for quotes and background information when researching a story in the industry. Wouldn’t you love your local journalists contacting you for quotes, exposing you to targeted readers interested in the industry story, while your competitors are kept out of the loop?

Follow these ten tips for building an authority status in your niche or industry, and you can become one of those “expert” sources, reaping the benefits trust and exposure can bring:

1. Present yourself professionally. If you don’t present yourself in a professional manner, you won’t be treated that way. You’ve heard the saying “dress for the job you want; not the job you have.” The same applies here. If you present yourself in an authoritative way, always offering some kind of thoughtful or unique viewpoint in your industry, you’ll have an easier time building your actual authority. If you act new, clueless, or as a follower rather than a thought leader, you’ll have an extremely difficult time changing the initial perception people have of you.

2. Always be honest. Being honest isn’t always easy, because it doesn’t always involve being sweet and spewing out fluff niceties. You may catch more flies with honey, but you won’t necessarily build trust that way. If you love a new product, company, individual, or idea in your industry, by all means support it publicly. But if you see major faults with something, share that publicly as well. Lying to be nice is never going to demonstrate your expertise. Ignoring issues that you’re afraid to criticize just makes you look like you don’t know what’s going on in your industry. The key is simply stating the supporting facts behind your opinions, good or bad. Back up how you view something, and answer any questions posed, and before long people will turn to you first to find out your thoughts on new developments in the niche.

3. Don’t shy away from criticism. Everyone can’t like what you have to say all of the time. If someone criticizes you, it can be easy to fly off the handle. Instead, focus on keeping your cool, answering their arguments, and moving onto something else. How you handle criticism can be a major factor in your trust levels. Always aim to be the bigger person, but at the same time don’t back down from your views unless you’re completely convinced that you made a mistake.

4. Launch an industry blog. Blogs are relatively easy and inexpensive to set up, and they give you an instant publishing platform to discuss hot issues in your niche. They’re an excellent way to become a go-to source for current information, news, and opinions, no matter what industry you’re in. You can further increase your exposure as a thought leader through tactics like conducting original research and publishing your results there.

5. Leave comments on other industry blogs. Don’t spam them with blurbs about your company or site. Instead, leave a thoughtful contribution as a supplement to the original post. When trying to build authority status, it’s always best to post comments using your full name and not an alias or handle. Remember that it’s about building name recognition by associating your name with what you have to say. Commenting on the posts of other bloggers is also a great way to build recognition directly within your professional community as a networking technique with other bloggers.

6. Use article marketing effectively. Mass-submitting articles to article directories may be a way to build quick incoming links, but it’s not a smart way to build your expert status or work towards becoming an authority source. Mass submissions “cheapen” what you have to say. Remember, you want your opinions to be in demand so people turn to you for media interviews, come to your site for this information, etc. Instead of using article directories, write unique pieces and submit them for consideration with respected and high-subscriber e-zines or newsletters, niche blogs that already enjoy authority status, or higher profile websites in your industry.

7. Have a portfolio publicly available. Showcase some of your better work on your website in some way. If you’re a consultant, that might mean case studies of client projects. If you’re a writer or designer, that might mean posting links to published samples or screenshots of design projects. If you’re trying to build authority for a company or site instead of a person, you can do something similar by having a press room or newsroom available on your site where you showcase past news, past coverage, executive and owner bios, or anything else that may make your site convey its authority more effectively.

8. Respond to people. Precious little will drive people away from your company or site more than if they feel ignored. If people comment on your blog, respond to their comments when possible and appropriate. If people email you, try to respond to them (if that’s not possible, at least have an automatic response set up letting people know what kinds of things you do and don’t respond to and in what general timeframe). If you receive customer complaints or suggestions, honestly consider them. Even if you don’t make changes, acknowledge that you’ve heard the concerns, and when appropriate explain your position in not making the changes.

9. Publish a book. It may sound like it’s easier said than done, but it’s not. Obviously a book picked up by a major publishing house can carry the most authority. But plenty of professionals across all niches are building their expert status and exposure by publishing e-books or self-published books as well.

10. Contact the media. If you want journalists and bloggers to not only know that you exist but come to you for background and quotes on their stories in your niche, you need to make them aware of you. While it’s possible they’ll come across your blog, portfolio, book, or something else, you can speed up the process. Write an op-ed or a letter to the editor to try to have an opinion piece on an industry issue published to get your name and credentials in front of an editor. Or, if you’d prefer, simply contact the journalist or editor most relevant to your niche directly, introducing yourself, sharing some references to your work or writing, and offering to chat with them if they ever need information about your line of work.

Building an authority status for yourself, your business, or your website can take time. However, following the ten tips above can point you in the right direction towards increasing your exposure and building the kind of trust and other rewards that recognized experts enjoy.