The Synergy Of Publicity
You're putting a marketing plan together and wondering what the most cost-effective method of getting exposure for your company may be.
If executed properly there is no question that a Publicity Campaign is the most appropriate approach.
Use the following publicity vehicles in synch and on an ongoing basis and you will see the results of your efforts: 1.
Press Releases 2.
Case Studies 3.
Product and Service Videos 4.
Presenter and Contributing Editor Roles Each of the vehicles above is a powerful tool on its own, but tie them together and use them to their full capacity and the result is a long-term snowball effect where one feeds off the other to create and incredible synergy of publicity.
To begin your Publicity Campaign follow these steps: 1.
Create CASE STUDIES by reviewing all of your products, services, partnerships, etc.
and evaluate the information to see if there is ANYTHING you can teach people from what you have learned.
...
Has one of your products solved a problem for a client that you can document? ...
Have you created a new product or service that meets the needs of an untapped market? How, and what specific results have your customers received? ...
Are you or is someone in your company an expert on a subject where the information you have can benefit others? ...
Is there any information your company can offer others in similar markets to help them avoid mistakes in advertising, marketing, product promotions, design, etc.
? Any information you have that can help or educate others is a potential case study.
Document the information well and write it in a Problem-Solution-Results format.
Gather two lists for distribution - a print publication list and an online electronic distribution list.
These lists can also be used for distribution of your press releases.
Create the final case study and send it to the online contacts, print and mail the same information to the print publication.
When you are finished, add it to your website.
Some online article distribution sites will supply you with a code to embed into your site or an online live feed of the articles you have submitted to them.
The more you write the more publicity you receive, the more you are perceived to be the expert.
Many online sites allow readers to download your articles to their sites.
When your article is downloaded by a reader, your byline is also downloaded and is a link to your site.
You will receive hits to your site as others download your articles.
You will also receive hits based on direct links from the publishing site to your site.
Most online publishers also provide information on the number of views you have received per article, the number of downloads, etc.
This will help you determine what direction to take for future articles.
You can also check your website statistics.
The statistics will list the number of unique visitors you have received and the source of the visitors.
You can see at a glance the number of visitors that have come to your site directly from the publisher and those that have come from links contained in downloads on other sites.
2.
Write as many PRESS RELEASES as you can.
Remember that is doesn't matter if it's new, it matters if it's NEWS to the readers.
Many sites will publish your press releases immediately, as will print publications.
A single site may publish hundreds of your press releases and, as with case studies, you can view the results on many of these sites.
You can find out what press releases are of interest and base future press releases on this information.
Tie the finished press releases to your site by either creating a link to where the press release is posted or by downloading a code to embed from the publishing site.
Again, you can check your website statistics to see how many visitors you have had as a direct result of the press releases you have published online.
Print and send these press releases to your print publication list as well.
3.
Create VIDEOS for each of your products and services, and at least one company overview video.
Save your videos as wmv files.
Open a You Tube account and download your videos, and You Tube will supply you with a player you can embed into your site.
You can select the color of the player, but you will need to manipulate the size of the final player on your site by changing the html code you embed.
Most search engines also allow you to upload your videos, so take advantage of every opportunity to do so and post your videos wherever possible This does two things:You receive a player for your site AND you get whatever publicity you can from viewers who see your videos online.
These "silent sales reps" will draw hits to your site, and you can again check the results by viewing your website statistics.
If you have the time, create interesting videos that have NOTHING TO DO with your industry but may get passed around.
At the beginning and end of each ad a "Sponsored By" tag with your company information.
You'll be surprised by the results.
4.
Try to land PRESENTER ROLES and CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ROLES based on your press releases, case studies and videos.
The more you produce the better your chances.
Presenter roles in conferences, trade shows and seminars are difficult to obtain, but the payoff is incredible! Keep in mind that just as one print ad is not an advertising campaign, a single press release or case study is not a publicity campaign.
Publicity is an ongoing effort that must be fueled often.
Each aspect feeds on each other and creates a synergy of publicity that in the end will bring you the results you expect as long as you remain focused and consistent.
If executed properly there is no question that a Publicity Campaign is the most appropriate approach.
Use the following publicity vehicles in synch and on an ongoing basis and you will see the results of your efforts: 1.
Press Releases 2.
Case Studies 3.
Product and Service Videos 4.
Presenter and Contributing Editor Roles Each of the vehicles above is a powerful tool on its own, but tie them together and use them to their full capacity and the result is a long-term snowball effect where one feeds off the other to create and incredible synergy of publicity.
To begin your Publicity Campaign follow these steps: 1.
Create CASE STUDIES by reviewing all of your products, services, partnerships, etc.
and evaluate the information to see if there is ANYTHING you can teach people from what you have learned.
...
Has one of your products solved a problem for a client that you can document? ...
Have you created a new product or service that meets the needs of an untapped market? How, and what specific results have your customers received? ...
Are you or is someone in your company an expert on a subject where the information you have can benefit others? ...
Is there any information your company can offer others in similar markets to help them avoid mistakes in advertising, marketing, product promotions, design, etc.
? Any information you have that can help or educate others is a potential case study.
Document the information well and write it in a Problem-Solution-Results format.
Gather two lists for distribution - a print publication list and an online electronic distribution list.
These lists can also be used for distribution of your press releases.
Create the final case study and send it to the online contacts, print and mail the same information to the print publication.
When you are finished, add it to your website.
Some online article distribution sites will supply you with a code to embed into your site or an online live feed of the articles you have submitted to them.
The more you write the more publicity you receive, the more you are perceived to be the expert.
Many online sites allow readers to download your articles to their sites.
When your article is downloaded by a reader, your byline is also downloaded and is a link to your site.
You will receive hits to your site as others download your articles.
You will also receive hits based on direct links from the publishing site to your site.
Most online publishers also provide information on the number of views you have received per article, the number of downloads, etc.
This will help you determine what direction to take for future articles.
You can also check your website statistics.
The statistics will list the number of unique visitors you have received and the source of the visitors.
You can see at a glance the number of visitors that have come to your site directly from the publisher and those that have come from links contained in downloads on other sites.
2.
Write as many PRESS RELEASES as you can.
Remember that is doesn't matter if it's new, it matters if it's NEWS to the readers.
Many sites will publish your press releases immediately, as will print publications.
A single site may publish hundreds of your press releases and, as with case studies, you can view the results on many of these sites.
You can find out what press releases are of interest and base future press releases on this information.
Tie the finished press releases to your site by either creating a link to where the press release is posted or by downloading a code to embed from the publishing site.
Again, you can check your website statistics to see how many visitors you have had as a direct result of the press releases you have published online.
Print and send these press releases to your print publication list as well.
3.
Create VIDEOS for each of your products and services, and at least one company overview video.
Save your videos as wmv files.
Open a You Tube account and download your videos, and You Tube will supply you with a player you can embed into your site.
You can select the color of the player, but you will need to manipulate the size of the final player on your site by changing the html code you embed.
Most search engines also allow you to upload your videos, so take advantage of every opportunity to do so and post your videos wherever possible This does two things:You receive a player for your site AND you get whatever publicity you can from viewers who see your videos online.
These "silent sales reps" will draw hits to your site, and you can again check the results by viewing your website statistics.
If you have the time, create interesting videos that have NOTHING TO DO with your industry but may get passed around.
At the beginning and end of each ad a "Sponsored By" tag with your company information.
You'll be surprised by the results.
4.
Try to land PRESENTER ROLES and CONTRIBUTING EDITOR ROLES based on your press releases, case studies and videos.
The more you produce the better your chances.
Presenter roles in conferences, trade shows and seminars are difficult to obtain, but the payoff is incredible! Keep in mind that just as one print ad is not an advertising campaign, a single press release or case study is not a publicity campaign.
Publicity is an ongoing effort that must be fueled often.
Each aspect feeds on each other and creates a synergy of publicity that in the end will bring you the results you expect as long as you remain focused and consistent.
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