Anatomy of The Social Media Press Release
PRSA International Conference – October 26, 2008 Paolina Milana, Vice President Marketing
Social Media 2.0
Agenda
• • • • • • • • Overview & Definitions The SM2.0 Release: Basic Components “Rules” for Social Media PR The SM2.0 Release: A Closer Look The SM2.0 Newsroom Distribution: Where Does it Go? Case Study: How to Use SM2.0 Takeaways
Overview
• For years, search engines have helped hundreds of millions of people find text-based web content. But today, millions more are using search engines to find photos, audio files, videos, and other multimedia content. • As the Internet becomes more catalogued and compartmentalized, so do search engines. • Today’s search engine optimized website or press release should follow all of the standard protocols for text SEO, but can gain further visibility by incorporating more images, videos and social media elements. And, as is offered by Marketwire’s Social Media 2.0 release, allows for in-release interaction and feedback via comments posted to your own Social Media Newsroom.
Social Media
• Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words and pictures. • Social media uses the “wisdom of crowds” to connect information in a collaborative manner.
Social Media
• Forms include Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures & video. • Technologies include blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wallpostings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, group creation and voice over IP, etc. • Applications are Google (reference, social networking), Wikipedia (reference), MySpace (social networking), Facebook (social networking), Last.fm (personal music), YouTube (social networking and video sharing), Second Life (virtual reality), and Flickr (photo sharing).
Social Bookmarking
• A method for Internet users to store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of web pages on the Internet with the help of metadata. • Users save links to web pages that they want to remember and/or share. These bookmarks are usually public, but can be saved privately, shared only with specified people or groups, shared only inside certain networks, or another combination of public and private domains.
del.icio.us
Social Bookmarking
• They also enable viewing bookmarks associated with a chosen tag, and include information about the number of users who have bookmarked them. Some social bookmarking services also draw inferences from the relationship of tags to create clusters of tags or bookmarks. • Many social bookmarking services provide web feeds for their lists of bookmarks, including lists organized by tags. This allows subscribers to become aware of new bookmarks as they are saved, shared, and tagged by other users.
Social Media
Social Media 2.0 gives you expanded reach to more than 200 million users
iTunes 70 Million Users
Facebook 50 Million Users
Photobucket 38 Million Users
Top Blog Sites 24 Million Users
YouTube 13 Million Users
Second Life 9.5 Million Users
Google Video 8 Million Users
Flickr 1.5 Million Users
Twitter ½ Million Users
“Social Media allows you to do old things in new ways and to do completely new things.”
-- Matt Rhodes, Blogger Social Media Today
“Now with social media, everyone is basically empowered to do something with the information they create or discover.”
-- Brian Solis, Founder of FutureWorks (and one of “Founding Fathers of PR 2.0”)
The Social Media Press Release
• The Social Media Release is an adaptation of the traditional press release to make your message more engaging and user-friendly in this new media environment. • If your goal is conversation and increased web presence, then the Social Media Release is a key tool and a first step in sparking the dialogue.
MARKETWIRE’S SOCIAL MEDIA 2.0 PRESS RELEASE
Audio Headline Summary Bulleted News Facts Multiple Quotes
Multimedia Elements DIGG,Technorati, Search Engine Stats LinkedIn/Facebook (Social Networking) Trackback and Friendly Permalink
Social Bookmarking Links Resources Intelligent Keyword Navigation Technorati Mashup
Corporate RSS Feed Social Media Newsroom Moderated Comments Corporate Web Site
‘Rules’ for Social Media PR
• Content is (still) KING - This applies to the multimedia assets AND the actual headline and text of the release. • Press release = webpage – Make it interactive w/links to other resources along with being search-friendly with keywords. Add multimedia to provide context and a better user experience. Think “online media kit” one stop shop. • Conversational, Authentic - lose the “Spin” – Bulleted facts and key points are best. • Share – Engage directly with people (& employ them) – Deliver in the way people navigate the net
SOCIALIZE
SM 2.0 Example
…the basics of the release are the same
SM 2.0 Example
(Content KING)…Headline, Links, Keywords, Bullet Points PLUS Audio Summary, Video...
SM 2.0 Example
Embedded Video, Social Media Bookmarking, Live Search tracking, and embedded hyperlinks – all for the Web 2.0 community
SM 2.0 Example
Trackbacks to measure blog postings, embedded comments that the client can moderate, and keyword searches
SM 2.0 Example
External links, interactive thumbnail image of the client’s website of choice, and custom Technorati search tags
Sharing Options
Share or bookmark this release on over 50 different social media websites including Facebook, Digg, Del.icio.us, and SlashDot
Search Stats
Reader gets 1-click access to all search results for the release headline on Google, Yahoo!, MSN Live, Digg.com and Technorati… instant search stats.
Sharing Options
Email to a friend or print this release 1-click access to other releases by this company issued over Marketwire
Search engine, blog post and social bookmark-friendly “permalink” URL Trackback URL In-release comments, moderated newsroom Keyword cloud, created automatically, that links to all other client releases containing these keywords. Easy navigation and improved SEO
Multimedia
● Distributed to Marketwire’s PhotoBucket channel, allows for easy, social media sharing:
Specially-formatted for use with email, blogs, instant messaging, websites, forums and bulletin boards – content presented in URLs, image codes, and HTML code for individual user preference
The Social Media Newsroom
A social media newsroom (available with the enhanced version) allows the client to post relevant content of their choice (multimedia, executive bios, media coverage, and event calendars), auto-posts social media releases issued over Marketwire, and client-moderated comments
Distribution
The Social Media Release format puts the power of distribution and content repurposing into the hands of the social media community via sharing and bookmarking…it can become a viral PR mechanism.
Social Media
• Expanded reach…Over 200 million users • Social Media allows marketing to these audiences with content that they choose as relevant to them
iTunes 70 Million Users
Facebook 50 Million Users
Photobucket 38 Million Users
Top Blog Sites 24 Million Users
YouTube 13 Million Users
Second Life 9.5 Million Users
Google Video 8 Million Users
Flickr 1.5 Million Users
Twitter ½ Million Users
Case Study
Social Media PR in Use
FLOR: Campaign Strategy
• Social Media press release • Articles syndicated in an RSS Feed: http://media.flor.com • Blogger relations and reviews in social media sites (Kirtsy, Newsvine and Stumble Upon) • Goal = generate online buzz
FLOR
• Social Media release, July 2008
FLOR
•
Articles syndicated in RSS Feed – http://media.flor.com
FLOR
•
Tools generate online buzz
FLOR
•
Influencers engaged
FLOR
•
Blog coverage
FLOR: Campaign Results
• Over 100 million media impressions • Cost of less than 1c per impression • In 6 weeks following Marketwire Social Media Press Release launch, more than 100 blog posts about the FLOR/Girard tiles; major design company mentions
Top 5 Takeaways
• Keep content king; message concise and pointed • Provide core news facts in the bulleted format • Link to other pages for more information • Use hyperlinks to demonstrate broader web presence • Link your users to other social sites where they can get a broader understanding of the story you want to discuss • Embed multimedia elements • Share images & video that readers can embed in their own pages to help further the discussion. Keep in mind that this is a social communication tool and you want the PUBLIC to talk about you!!
Top 5 Takeaways
• Use targeted keywords to attract interested readers from the search engines - SEO. • Select just two or three keywords to optimize your release • Use the keywords in positions or prominence – the headline, metatags, and first paragraph – and use them frequently • Include relevant social tags and create online buzz • Include tags for social news and bookmarking communities like Digg.com, del.icio.us and Newsvine • Offer Technorati tags to generate searches for keywordrelevant blogs • Employ online users, influencers as evangelists
Thank you