Tag Archive for 'Encyclomedia'

SA News Distribution Service Brings The Power Of Publicity To More Companies

Published
by
Scott
on December 7, 2009
in Public Relations
. 0 Comments

A news distribution service has recently launched in South Africa, which now provides the most cost-effective way to send press releases directly to targeted journalists and editors, helping companies gain valuable media exposure. Media Alerts News Distribution will help journalists access relevant news, while helping companies easily distribute their news to all the right media contacts.
Media Alerts News Distribution uses the Encyclomedia media database, South Africa’s largest database of over 6 500 journalists, including all print, broadcast and online media, plus influential freelancers and bloggers.

Useful reporting: The service includes a report with the number of emails sent, plus a list of the media titles the release was sent to - useful for internal or client reporting and tracking of media exposure.

Benefits:

  • Publicity results are boosted by expanding the reach of the press release, with access to the largest database of contacts.
  • No need to spend hours researching to find the right media contacts, this has already been done by the industry specialist.
  • Press releases are personalised with the journalists’ names, making it stand out from the hundreds of general emails they receive.
  • The targeted approach means that the press release is sent to the right media contacts who are in the best position to use the information.
  • Press releases are formatted in the journalists’ preferred layout, helping them quickly find the information, key contacts and images.

Price:

  • R1 750 per release (includes one category of your choice)
  • R150 per additional category (over 30 targeted categories to choose from)

This is the most affordable way to individually contact every news outlet in South Africa.

If this is something that could help expand your media coverage, we’d be happy to give you more information. Find out more on our website: www.MediaAlerts.co.za/News-Distribution

Popularity: 16% [?]


Media@SAfm Features Media Alerts

Published
by
admin
on May 27, 2009
in Media Relations Tips, Miscellaneous and Success Tips
. 0 Comments

Robynn Burls talks to Ashraf Garda on Media@SAfm about Encyclomedia’s new service, Media Alerts. Listen to the interview and visit the Media Alerts website to find out more about this new free service.

Popularity: 26% [?]


New SA Tool To Help Journalists And Benefit PRs

Published
by
Robynn
on May 19, 2009
in Public Relations
. 2 Comments

A free online tool is launching on Thursday, 21 May, to help South African journalists source relevant content for the stories they’re working on, by reaching a network of PR professionals who are in the best position to help.

Media Alerts will help journalists reach the people with the right contacts and information, whether they need people to interview, or facts and stats on a specific topic. Based on the American Help A Reporter Out concept, Media Alerts lets journalists receive the best selection of content in a short space of time.

How it works – leveraging networks
Journalists submit their specific requests online, which are then sent to the subscribers, who are mostly PR professionals. These are the people who have direct access to the CEOs, MDs, entrepreneurs, celebrities and other networks that reporters need to tap into.

Through Media Alerts, the PR practitioners have access to highly valuable publicity opportunities they may never have known about. Plus, by helping journalists find the information they need, they are also building stronger media relationships.

Relevant content only
The PR subscribers have been given one rule though - to only ever send content that is directly relevant to the journalist’s request. Any abuse of this rule will see them being removed from the service.

The first Media Alerts will be sent on Thursday, 21 May. In the meantime, journalists can submit requests here and PR practitioners can subscribe here.

It’s an added-value Encyclomedia service, so there’s no charge for either side.

Popularity: 24% [?]


Email Subject Line Tip - Get Noticed

Published
by
Robynn
on April 25, 2008
in Media Relations Tips
. 0 Comments

My resident media expert at Encyclomedia, Chantal, was speaking to a radio producer yesterday about his contact preferences and pitching tips and he gave a great tip that I’d like to share with you. It’s simple, perhaps it’s even really obvious, but I can guarantee you that very few PR practitioners practice this.

After pitching your idea to a journalist over the phone, when you then email your media release, write the following in your subject line: [Journalist’s name], we’ve just spoken - [concise headline].

For example: Thabo, we’ve just spoken - Purple pumpkin discovered in Potgietersrus.

According to this Kaya FM producer, he receives so many emails that even though you have discussed the idea with him, he may still miss your email. But by using his suggestion above, while scanning through the subject lines, he’ll be able to spot your email and media release straight away.

Popularity: 10% [?]


Wine, Facebook, SEO, Farming and Darts…

Published
by
Robynn
on March 27, 2008
in WebPR
. 11 Comments

Add to that a food demonstration and this made for one of the most interesting and diverse PR-Net meetings I’ve attended in a while. It was held on Tuesday night at the QuirkStation (the offices of Quirk eMarketing) in Cape Town. With the exception of the food and wine, you’re wondering how the strange combination of elements in the title relates to public relations, right?

Well, in the case of the irrigation practices of the Perdeberg farming cooperative, it didn’t. But we politely listened to Kobus from Perdeberg Wines in exchange for the boxes of wine he shared with us during the evening. Thanks Perdeberg! Their PR company, Wired Communications, are doing some interesting work online. They’ve created the Clink to Win Facebook application to create awareness for the little wine brand - “it’s the one with the Zebra” we were told. Well done to them for trying something new.

After hearing about the details and successes of this online PR campaign, Rob Stokes, head of Quirk, introduced his newly launched venture to the PR-Net group. Despite recovering from flu, Rob gave a jam-packed presentation where he explained the importance of online reputation management and how BrandsEye helps companies track and rate their online reputation. I think that Rob and his team of QuirkStars must be congratulated for the excellent and pioneering work they’ve done on BrandsEye. It looks like a world-class product, which will transform the way PR, marketing and communications companies/departments manage their online reputation.

Of course, I’m particularly chuffed that my partner, Scott, was lucky enough to hit the right spot on the dart board to win a one-month trial of BrandsEye! :)

I’ll report back on my experience so you can see how it works for Encyclomedia.

Popularity: 29% [?]


Ten Excellent Networking Tips

Published
by
Robynn
on February 28, 2008
in Communication skills
. 14 Comments

Having just attended two networking events in an equal number of evenings (PR-Net and 27 Dinner), I had the opportunity to practice some of the tips I learnt from Colette Carlson’s “Communication secrets to change your life” seminar last weekend. I’m still learning and some of these tips take a bit of practice (they don’t call it net-work for nothing), but I’ve found them to be incredibly useful:

1. Wear your stripes

Make sure to introduce yourself at every opportunity. Let people know who you are upfront. Don’t lose an opportunity by simply saying “Hi, I’m Robynn”. Rather say “Hi, I’m Robynn Burls, the owner of Encyclomedia, the online media database for the PR industry. And you are?” Now people know who you are and it opens the opportunity for them to ask you more about what you do. 

2. Introduce yourself to the loners - you’ll be their hero

No-one likes to be standing alone at a networking event, it’s embarrassing! It makes you do stupid things like pretend you’re checking email on your cell (and we all know you’re really only trying to look busy).

Make a point of walking up to the person and introduce yourself. The loners will be so grateful to finally be involved that they won’t be able to forget you. Remember, the objective behind good networking is to become memorable in the minds of others.

3. Bring outsiders into the conversation - more hero-factor

When you’re chatting in a group and you see that certain individuals are being side-lined, pull them back into the conversation by saying “John, what do you think about that?” By giving him the opportunity to get back into the group, you’ll make yourself more memorable to John.

Also, when you are talking, be inclusive and connect with everyone’s eyes, not just the person who asked you a question.

4. Lost and alone? Start a conversation

It’s always tough, if not a little daunting, when attending an event alone. Don’t get stuck in a quiet corner playing with your phone. Walk straight up to the busiest area, normally the bar, or around the registration table. Remember to smile, it makes you look more approachable - people like friendly people. Find another person and casually comment ”I don’t know anyone here. How about you?”

There you have it, you’ve started a conversation and it wasn’t so difficult. The fear of doing something is always far worse than actually doing it.

5. Embarrassing silence? Prepare ahead

We’ve all experienced that dreaded lull in conversation where you nervously take a gulp of wine, hoping someone will think of something to say by the time you’ve swallowed. Now you can use this silence to your advantage. Depending on the type of people attending the event, take some time out beforehand to read some recent blog posts or newspaper articles related to their field of interest. Find something quirky or humorous (no front-page dreary news stories please) and keep it at the back of your mind.

The moment people start fidgeting and looking around, you can add “hey, did any of you read Dave Duarte’s post about Nokia’s hilarious “position art” campaign?” If someone says yes, then invite them to tell the group about it. Not only have you saved the conversation, for which everyone is enormously grateful, but you’ve also given someone else the opportunity to tell a story. This once again makes you more memorable in the story-teller’s mind.

6. Ask unusual, but appropriate questions

Aim to create conversations that connect. You need to be a little strategic and use the short space of time that you spend talking to someone to build rapport (find common ground). Talking about the weather or the view is only convenient when you can’t think of anything else meaningful. Don’t waste an opportunity, rather prepare some questions ahead of time. Remember, there’s a bit of “work” in networking.

You could say something like “tell me what you do on weekends”. This is a clever question because it lets the person speak about their passions. People find it easy to talk about things they’re genuinely passionate about, so you can easily accelerate the conversation from there. If someone says they like to go hiking, then simply say “oh, tell me about that”.

7. Focus on others

It’s better to be interested than interesting. It’s a funny thing, but research has shown that the more you get a person to speak about herself, the more she will remember you as being interesting.

8. Make notes of people’s interests

When you get home after a networking event, make a note of everything that you can remember about the people you met - how many dogs and cats they have, what their children’s names are, what their hobbies are, etc. You could put this into a spreadsheet and categorise it by event or industry. Preferably synch the spreadsheet with your phone so you can quickly check the details again on-the-go.

The next time you meet the person, try asking how the wife’s rowing regatta went and see how his face lights up!

9. Give before getting

Once you know what a person’s interests are, take it a step further than simply bringing it up the next time you meet. Use the information to help you connect and build a relationship. Use Google Alerts, Amatomu, Muti or Afrigator to search for new content relevant to the person’s interests. Then send a quick email with a link to the article or blog post saying that you thought he or she would find it interesting.

Wow, now you’re making a real impact in the person’s mind. Try to help others get what they want and you become a trustworthy, memorable contact.

10. Close a conversation with class

When at a networking event, it doesn’t serve you to spend the entire evening chatting to one individual. The objective is to meet as many people as possible who can help you get your ideas, interests and agendas heard (whether that’s making a new bunch of friends or finding potential clients).

So when you find yourself stuck in a long-winded conversation, take advantage of a natural lull. Confidently say “well, it was really lovely meeting you Fanie, I hope we get to meet again soon. Enjoy the rest of your evening”. Then you’re free to shake hands and move on back to the bar where you can start again and meet someone new.

Popularity: 30% [?]