Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Press release work for social media too


Although press releases lack the newness and novelty of social media what is basically an old idea actually works well in these new communication channels. In fact the news content is no longer just for the press as an intermediary but can be aimed straight at customers and prospects.

The old model of writing a press release and distributing to the traditional press list has changed only slightly in so far as the method of delivery is by e-mail rather than posting out printed releases and glossy photos. From this point on selection for publication remains within the decision of the editor. But the web enables press releases to be sent directly to anyone and also offers the opportunity for comment. 

The most established of new options is the blog. This can afford to be less formal than a press release allowing the news content to be addressed directly to the reader rather than aiming to grab the attention of an editor or journalist. 

RSS has also been around for a while and is really a neat solution that provides headlines and opening text of recent news items allowing readers to keep informed quickly and easily of news streams that interest them.

For those for whom even this is too much, then Twitter provides a useful medium to publish just headlines or short links to longer stories. And if followers like the story they can 're-tweet' to their followers.

Let's not ignore putting news on your own web site as well - a Virtual News Office provides a great solution and includes RSS as an option and eNews as an additional communication channel.
 
Not only does this multiple approach give readers plenty of options to choose from but it also leaves a trail of activity across the web that will assist with search engine ratings. To discover more about how these powerful web based strategies can help promote your business, contact Technical Marketing Ltd.

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Press Releases are good for search


A recent article titled, How Press Releases can be great for search, provides important endorsement for the value of online press releases - not only for conveying their own intrinsic news message, but the benefit derived from driving web site traffic and search. The article draws on case studies that demonstrate increases in web site traffic following a news release. The point is made that journalists are actually searching the web for news and advise that " you're out there where the journalists are looking." Another important item of advice from the article is "to include your press releases on your own site". " Your site should have a section for press releases".

We have been operating Virtual News Offices for clients for several years now and discovered the benefits of search early on for news content. Because the VNO is integrated with the client web site but hosted on our own news server, not only does this provide searchable content, but all important in-bound and highly relevant links to the client web site. News stories often provide useful search results for alternative terms. For example a press release about a company's role in a new project may be discovered by search on the project name. Say this is a prestigious new building that interests architects, then your company could well be identified as a potential supplier for work they are commissioned to do. Or if the press release is about an upcoming event, again your listing will be found when searching for details of that event. 

When it comes to content marketing, then news is an important tool that is a regular source of new content. To learn more about Virtual News Offices, you can download a PDF Guide.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Looking back at marketing in 2009


Looking back across Technical  Marketing Diary blogs in 2009 certain themes can be seen to emerge, in a year that was one of unrelieved economic gloom and one still with no obvious signs of recovery. An early theme was a reminder that cutting marketing budgets was probably the worst thing to do. But true to form that is what many businesses did. Despite well documented evidence from previous and arguably less deep recessions, marketing budgets were cut simply because it is both easy and does not involve cutting staff. Feeling the crunch were the publishers of printed media in a long running print v online debate. The fact is that in the b-2-b world advertising has been leaking away from display media in print to pay for other marketing activities for years and despite predictions of the end of the printed word a significant number of publications still operate. Of course print has evolved too, both in the technology of CTP and mass customisation that offers interesting new cost effective mailing tools to marketers. In terms of company literature few companies are bothering to print data sheets and technical documentation, leaving it to customers to download and print them. Is this an acknowledgment that sellers have kind of lost control of the buying/selling process? Such small details as the presentation of company material, nicely printed and packaged is switching to data output on someone else's cheap ink jet printer. Because the advantage in evaluating purchase options has shifted to the buyer, it becomes essential that the information on which your product or service is being judged is accessible, easy to use and clearly presenting the benefits - i.e. what's in it for them.
 In general online news publication has remained free and supported by an advertising model rather than moving to a subscription service. However expect this to change for the big news organisations that have reporting staff to support unlike many b-2-b publishers that simply publish, at a price, news supplied to them. In the b-2-b sector any business can publish their own news, both directly through their own web site and on industry web sites. Content whether in print or online remains a crucial marketing tool. 
Probably the most interesting Internet marketing development is the rise of social media. It is a topic that has echoes throughout the year. Will, what some consumer marketers are apparently successfully achieving by joining the 'conversation' with consumers work in the b-2-b space? There are certainly some enthusiastic advocates and blogs, Twitter and Faceboook offer interesting possibilities. But as with anything else, the company needs to commit resource and effort to get a return and this may best be achieved through an external marketing agency.
As 2009 draws to a close with the coldest pre-Christmas weather for years in Britain, Europe and North  America with heavy falls of snow causing traffic chaos, spare a thought for the people marketing global warming in the face of contrary indications. Maybe 2010 will be the year when environmental and green issues become more popular in industrial marketing too. We noted that some industrial magazines are planning 'green' issues for the new year and suggesting what product features would render a product green. Perhaps the trick is to use these green credentials as part of the social media conversation.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Saying what you mean


Estate agents were at one time renowned for the ability to describe properties that others would consider a ruin, or tiny with such glowingly positive descriptions as 'has great potential' or 'charming bijou residence ideally located for shops/school/station'. Legislation was introduced to limit the flamboyant descriptions to have greater affinity with reality.  Marketing and PR however are not exempt from generous descriptions of their client's products. Outrageously high ticket items might be described as 'reassuringly expensive' to allay any concern that the published price is an error and to hint at a delicious sense of exclusivity. One company preferred to describe products as 'inspiringly priced' to pre-empt price objections and eliminate the risk of bargain hunters thinking they were going to get a budget priced product. One blog this week obviously felt the need to provide a series of translations for advertising agency speak. Examples of agency code speak include, 'the product as hero is old hat' and 'it blew their minds in research' translating to, 'we think the product is crap' and 'consumers think the product is crap too'. Other codes are budget related - 'it's highly campaignable' translates to 'we can make even more in production' and 'it'll work in the press' as code for 'they can't afford television'. Then there are engineers writing sales copy. They are not all as extreme as a public lecture given a few years ago by an eminent scientist whose opening line was reported as, 'let me start by assuming everyone is familiar with double differential integration'. But in general few buyers are actually interested in whether the product is a marvel of engineering excellence, instead they prefer to know that it works, is reliable and if necessary can be fixed easily if it goes wrong. Most of all they want to know what is in it for them? In short why would they consider buying the product? That's where marketing is essential, not only to ensure that the product was developed to meet a market need in the first place, but to explain in simple terms why it will enrich their lives. Working in partnership with a technical marketing agency that can speak engineering and marketing language is something that many successful businesses have recognised - and one of the reasons they are successful.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Marketers as publishers



Content Marketing, the subject of the previous blog, discussed how the Internet had moved in favour of marketers to the detriment of media owners. During the current recession there have been many job losses in journalism and a trend towards journalists working on a freelance basis and delivering their work via a blog rather than submission to a sub editor. But the media still has an important role to play. Although a company can now publish anything it likes on line, there is still a need to apply some basic criteria to judge the value of the content. For example, is the story actually news, something that the target audience will find of interest? Matters the company may find all consuming might appear as irrelevant internal politics to readers. Is the story written in a style that is clear, consistent and authoritative? Is there a persistent theme through all stories that uniquely positions the company in its market sector? In short there is expertise required in dealing with these and other issues best dealt with by a PR specialist. So while actually writing the piece has its own challenges reaching the target audience is still an area where the traditional media has an advantage. It is far easier to pick up a magazine or visit a web site that covers the whole industry than visit various company web sites. There is also the question of independence and objectivity. Readers of trade publications are used to the benefits of news aggregation and will place more credibility on stories that appear in their pages than those in a company specific publication. It is better to use company published news to impart expertise that is not easily found elsewhere and establishes their credentials in a market. So although there are many tools available for the self publisher, to be successful they should be deployed as part of an integrated marketing strategy. This is where the experience of a marketing agency can be a good investment, to take an independent view, mix traditional and new media into a cohesive programme that delivers results at a number of levels. Technical Marketing Ltd has years of experience in developing and implementing integrated marketing communications plans that provide the right balance by selecting from the tools available and tailoring to each company's unique situation.