Posts Tagged ‘online PR’

Online PR Is Cheaper And Can Produce Better Results

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

In my business I’ve spoken to hundreds if not thousands of small business owners who have switched from spending loads of money on public relations strategies off line to online PR instead. In just about every case the result has been less money spent on the efforts and a greater return on investment. There are several reasons for this.

If you haven’t heard, there’s a revolution going on. People are ditching the Yellow Page for the Internet and their mobile phones. If they use the Yellow Pages at all, it’s for a booster seat at the table for their toddler, or a stepping stool.

Yellow Pages ads cost money. In some cases, a lot of money. And I talk to small business owners every day who say they haven’t got any calls from their Yellow Pages ad in (1, 2, 3, 5, or fill in the blank) years. So why spend the money?

If you’re spending $500 a year on your Yellow Pages ad and you’re not getting any return on that money, why not take it and put it toward an online PR campaign instead? A couple of online press releases generally generate enough buzz to put that Yellow Pages ad to shame. I’ve seen it too many times.

In the future, every business will spend money online. The only question is how much.

Tags: , ,
Posted in PR for Small Business | No Comments »

Three Ways To Get Free Publicity Online

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

If you are planning to do any public relations online then you’ll have to get a little creative and think outside the box on how to approach it. There’s more to online PR than sending a press release out to the distribution websites and waiting for a phone call. You’ve got to be a bit more aggressive and get your feet moving.

Certainly you want to send out press releases. I’m not saying don’t do that. But there are other ways to get the publicity you seek. Three sources of online publicity that you don’t want to overlook are:

  • Bloggers
  • Podcasters
  • Videocasters

Bloggers will often interview or highlight a business professional with a particular expertise. But you don’t necessarily need a press release to approach a blogger. Often, just a short, brief e-mail explaining your pitch is enough. If the blogger likes it then you’ll get a mention.

With podcasters, if you’ll scour the podcast directories you may find a podcast show within your niche. There are online radio stations now that program shows by the hour or a particular time slot. See if you can find one that deals with your topic and pitch the radio show host the same way you would a blogger.

If you scan YouTube, Hulu, and other video websites for video shows within your niche you can often find video shows within your niche just like podcasts. A short e-mail to the video show host or producer may often produce some publicity for you as well.

Don’t hold back. Be relentless in your pursuit of online publicity and don’t be afraid to pitch people you’d least expect. Just be polite and courteous and professional.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in PR for Small Business | No Comments »

Online PR Methods for Small Business

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

Online PR is very effective because you can reach huge numbers of people. But the first thing you need to do is catch their attention, which can be difficult to do when everyone else is trying to do the same thing. Rather than simply set up a sales page and a website to sell your services or products, participating in a little online PR is a great way to boost your sales. It requires a little extra work, but you can´t expect people to come flocking to your small business if you are just sitting around, twiddling your thumbs.

Press releases. Sending out a press release is a pretty basic PR move, but don´t just send them to the big press. Look for blogs and websites that are related to your topic and send them email press releases. Many won´t publish anything, but you never know!

Free tips. Offering free tips on just about any subject is an excellent and very effective method of PR. People will flock to your site to download your free videos, ebooks or reports that will help them improve their lives. You will require a name and email address, of course, before they can get the freebie.

Article marketing. This is still a very good way to boost your online PR. Many news-type publications pick up on articles that contain information that they can use, so if you can provide it, you´re in luck.

Contest. Many people will participate in a contest, even if they wouldn´t normally give your website a second glance. Put this to work for you and offer a contest. You´ll see lots of websites and blogs picking up a great contest and promoting it to their readers, especially if that gets them an extra entry.

Online PR really isn´t that different from offline, but it is definitely more cost effective and you can reach a far wider audience than you would with offline PR. This is a big factor for small businesses who need to keep on top of things without spending much money.

Caroline
Small Business Mavericks
Back to the Blog

Tags: ,
Posted in PR for Small Business | No Comments »