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05/13/2010

 

                   
Today’s Press Release Needs to Be Search Optimized with Social MediaElements
 
 (P-O-P-S) If you believe the press release is dead than you are dead wrong. When I first started back in the syndicated articles publicity business, a group of Cornell panelists presenting at a CEN meeting stated just that: The press release is dead, they insisted adamantly. They were people touting the value of blogs and they were considered expert in that arena. This week a few years later, I was happy to hear that the internet/pr guru Sally Falkow had attended PRSA’s 2010 Western district conference meeting and she wrote a blog post that contradicted the bloggers in spades.
Sally explained that one of the keynote panels was about the media and their needs in today’s Web 2.0 world.   She repeated lots of statistics predicting the death of print, and the growth of local newspapers online, as well as the growth of national and global internet news sites (with Yahoo News leading the pack.) She noted that “…newspaper Web sites continue to be the most used and valued destination for consumers seeking credible and trustworthy local content and advertising online.” Quite simply, she explained, there is no successful print outlet, magazine or newspaper that currently does not also have a presence on the web.
All of this was to point up the fact that PR people have to supply the news source with the kinds of information they need to fill the constant need for content on websites. So the press release is far from dead, but the old format of the press release written in inverted triangular format in text geared to only print newspapers is not enough.
Points of Persuasion Syndicate underscores that this information is pertinent not only to PR people but to all companies that act as publishers as well as the source of product or service. A press release is one form of syndicated article publicity that can help a company, large or small, achieve widespread publicity, lead generation and increased product sales. A key element that differentiates a press release that gets results from one that lands in the circular file is it needs to be search optimized. Choosing from the bevy of additional elements that might be included depends on your budget, your time frame and who is responsible for preparation. 
What follows is a list of potential elements that will certainly maximize the effectiveness of your release and help you receive the broadest possible internet usage:                       
                        § A keyword optimized title and   initial paragraph 
                        § Embedded photos, video,and                    audio 
§ Live links to any website referenced
§ Select from nearly 50 social media and bookmark sitesSee what people are saying about your release on Technorati and Digg
§ Let users print, email and add to their RSS feeds directly from your release
§ Improve navigation to your site with a tag cloud on your site regarding relevant topics
§ Promote your site and encourage people to click through to it for additional information
(Pointers based on Ian Capsites’ April 30, 2010 column of the PBS Media Shift Blog)
Lastly, pay attention to details of spelling and grammar. Once you have gone to all this trouble to make an impression, it all goes down the drain when sloppy editorial mistakes prevail. If you are worried about all these details, hire a service like Points of Persuasion Syndicate whose niche is syndicated articles published online, or at least get an assist from a wire service that distributes press releases. You are reaching out to millions and want to sell your brand. It is worth the small price of professional help to make the biggest splash. Presentation counts.
                       
 
 
                       
    
                       
 
                       
 

 

  
§ A keyword optimized title and initial paragraph
§ Embedded photos, video, graphics and audio to bring your news to life
§ Live links to any website referenced
§ Select from nearly 50 social media and bookmark sitesSee what people are saying about your release on Technorati and Digg
§ Let users print, email and add to their RSS feeds directly from your release
§ Improve navigation to your site with a tag cloud on your site regarding relevant topics
§ Promote your site and encourage people to click through to it for additional information
(Pointers based on Ian Capsites’ April 30, 2010 column of the PBS Media Shift Blog)
Lastly, pay attention to details of spelling and grammar. Once you have gone to all this trouble to make an impression, it all goes down the drain when sloppy editorial mistakes prevail. If you are worried about all these details, hire a service like Points of Persuasion Syndicate whose niche is syndicated articles published online, or at least get an assist from a wire service that distributes press releases. You are reaching out to millions and want to sell your brand. It is worth the small price of professional help to make the biggest splash. Presentation counts.
                       
 
 
                       
    
                       
 
                       
 
                    
 
 
                       
    

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