Tag Archive for 'Public Relations'

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% [?]


Beware The Bold Button And Bad Formatting

Published
by
Robynn
on October 3, 2008
in Communication skills
. 0 Comments

Formatting your email with bullets, bold, italics and caps can be functional and useful when used (very, very sparingly) at the right times. But, if you don’t have anything really gripping to say, then putting every second phrase in bold is certainly not going to help your cause.

This was exactly the type of press release a marketing journalist received recently. About 50% of the text was in bold. And just to add a little extra emphasis, the headline and footer were in red. I felt a little like a deer staring into blinding headlights, I wasn’t sure where to start or what I was supposed to do…except to close the email. Phew, it was far too much effort to try and read. See for yourself, here’s a sample of the press release:

[Name], Managing Director, [company name] and [company name], will bring his expertise in the independent sector to [event name]. [Name] serves as the elected Vice President of WIN (Worldwide Independent Network), Chairman of the Board for AIR (Australian Independent Record labels association) and is also a current board member of MIFF (Melbourne International Film Festival), PPCA (Phonographic Performance Company of Australia) and ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association).

This reminds me of the comments that Dorin Bambus, previously the editor of Blunt, said in some Encyclomedia research a while back on PR best practices. Commenting on email formatting, he said:

Press releases should make the reader think something is cool and interesting and newsworthy, not alert the reader to the fact that the writer thinks this to be the case. I can read, I don’t need every IMPORTANT piece of info “signposted” for me. It’s very annoying.

Popularity: 39% [?]


Great Example of a Pre-Pitch PR Introduction

Published
by
Robynn
on August 20, 2008
in Media Relations Tips
. 0 Comments

Before sending out your press releases to the journalists in your media database, have you ever tried sending an introductory email to ask whether the journalist would in fact be interested in receiving the type of press releases and angles you have planned?

A PR professional named Scott Duehlmeier did just that when he sent a short, descriptive email to a well-known blogger, Chris Brogan, asking if Chris would be interested in receiving further emails with PR announcements from their clients.

Have a look at Scott’s email on Chris’ post “Great PR manners go a long way”. Chris refers to it as “a very polite, very personal-seeming opt-in letter”, which came across well because it was “human-sounding”.

Unfortunately, far too many journalists (and bloggers) are on the receiving end of the spray-and-pray press release distribution approach. Even though software can automatically enter the journalist’s name into the email, they can mostly tell that they’re part of a mass mailing, especially if it starts with “I thought you’d find this interesting”.

Nothing beats personalised, thoughtful communication if you want a good response from the journalists. Of course, if all you’re looking for is a long list of media contacts to tick off and show to your client, then you may need to revisit what your PR goals are.

For some great tips on how journalists like to be pitched to, sign up for this free media pitching tips email series. It’s full of advice on various PR-related topics from editors, producers and journalists across South Africa.

Popularity: 34% [?]


Must-Have PR Book - A Perfect Press Release

Published
by
Robynn
on June 19, 2008
in Public Relations
. 4 Comments

Almost every PR person comes across this problem at some stage or another: their client wants every major national media to cover their little ribbon-cutting ceremony; or they insist on adding their own flowery adjectives and industry jargon to your neatly-crafted news releases. This book will help.

A Perfect Press Release... Or Not?A Perfect Press Release…Or Not? by Jennigay Coetzer is a highly practical book, which jumps straight into useful advice right from the first paragraph. Although it’s mostly a “how-to” type of guide, it also offers some strategic advice to senior PR practitioners. Importantly, it is written so that any CEO or business person can understand what a press release should be, what it should never be and why.

I highly recommend that PR consultants and agency owners give a copy of this book to each of their clients as part of some essential media training. It will go a long way to streamline the press release approval process and possibly prevent a lot of frustration (and no, I’m not being paid a cent for saying this).  :)

This book should also be prescribed reading for all PR interns and junior staff as a quick way to cover all the basics and best-practices, along with Encyclomedia’s free Media Pitching Tips Revealed email series.

Popularity: 20% [?]


Managing Perceptions Around Social Media - Does Your Client Get It?

Published
by
Robynn
on June 6, 2008
in WebPR
. 0 Comments

Gerry McCusker’s post on PR Disasters.com asks if the term ”Social Media” is a misnomer and possibly acts as an inhibitor to adoption. The argument being that social media just sounds lightweight to many CEOs and traditional marketing heads.

“It’s that thing my kid spends all his time on instead of doing his homework, right? Too much socialising and nothing else.” But, the teens that’ve been brought up on social media have a very different perception of it - kind of like the way a fish feels about the water it swims in. It’s just part of the way they communicate and the way they work.

There’s not much we can do now about changing the actual term and we certainly don’t need to, because the users of social media completely get the purpose, usefulness and benefits of it (or at least many of them do). They are also our future CEOs and business leaders.

But what we can do in the meantime is to sharpen our skills on how we pitch the concept to those clients, CEOs and colleagues who couldn’t be bothered with this new web0.2-socialising-thingamajig. Public relations is largely about managing perceptions and that’s exactly what we need to do here.

The art of communication is finding a way of communicating your message so that it matches the values (or priorities) of your audience. Your client won’t rate the concept of webPR and blogging very highly if it’s only being done because it’s the lattest, hottest trend. That means nothing to a business person. But if you pitch your online marketing, social media and webPR plans in terms of real business objectives, then it’s far easier to grasp. Like the SEO benefits of driving more traffic to the website and thereby increasing sales; the ability to more easily establish, affect and monitor your online reputation, thereby creating more credibility and increasing sales; the ability to get faster feedback, make improvements and then increase sales.

It’s really all about the money at the end of the day. If social media simply comes across as a cool, trendy, fun, time-wasting thing to do, then the big corporates and traditional clients will never risk it. Smart public relations people will know how to rephrase their pitches with words like “influencers” instead of “bloggers”, “business networking” or “network media” instead of “social networks” to ensure that they’re using the language their audience understands best.

Popularity: 15% [?]


The Way You End Your Emails May End Your Media Relations

Published
by
Robynn
on May 30, 2008
in Media Relations Tips
. 2 Comments

Stuart Jeffries wrote an article in the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday on “A guide to signing off your emails“. He raises some interesting points about netiquette and how PR practitioners should avoid faking a sense of intimacy through over-familiar email endings.

Although Stuart yearns for a return to proper business correspondence, personally, I always avoid what feels like overly formal communication, such as addressing someone with “dear sir”, or ending an email with “yours faithfully”. It just feels dishonest. Not that it’s untruthful, but rather, by using these standardised formalities, it strips all sense of individuality. Your real message, feeling and tone gets muffled.

Don’t get me wrong though, there is always a place and time for the formal, business communication style. Also, I’m certainly not suggesting a descent into colloquial, over-familiar chit-chat with the business contacts and journalists you email.  As an example, I did a double-take today when I opened an email from a job applicant I have never met, which started with “Hi there”. Hmm, not really appropriate as a first time introduction, considering the applicant already knew my full name.

So what is appropriate in emails to journalists? Is “warm regards” too warm and fuzzy? Stuart Jeffries seems to think so, although he’s received far worse. In my case, I’m a warm-blooded human being, a pretty friendly one at that, so I regularly use “warm regards” to end my emails. Although, if I’m emailing a complete stranger I normally opt for the slightly more stand-offish “kind regards”, or more formal “best regards”.

While “warm regards” might still be debatable, “love and kisses”, “xoxo”, “ciao” and “cheers” definitely are not. You might well be filled with divine “light and love” at the time of sending, but these phrases are reserved for friends and family only.

You can’t try to imitate a closer relationship with someone by using an over-friendly ending to your email. You’re more likely to cause the opposite reaction and irritate the journalist.

Phrases like “God bless” and “take care” can also be irritating when received by a stranger. The words come across as empty or insincere when you are asking someone that you have never met to take care. Why? What for?

When in doubt, rather stick to a neutral email ending, such as:
Regards,
Kind regards,
Best regards,
Thank you,

By the way, by not using a sign-off at all, you will come across as curt or rude. Read more about email sign-offs and other email etiquette on NetManners.com.

Popularity: 21% [?]


Leveraging Your Publicity - Why Not?

Published
by
Robynn
on May 30, 2008
in Public Relations
. 0 Comments

One of my clients forwarded an email to me last week (sorry I didn’t get to share this with you until now), where she pointed out a simple, yet very effective marketing message she received from Dawn Wing Couriers.

The email simply referred to an upcoming guest appearance of their CEO, Mike Fanucchi, on 702 Talk Radio. Dawn Wing’s marketing manager invited their clients to share their comments and opinions during the show. The email provided all the details of the interview and the studio number.

Why does an email like this stand out? Well, for some of Dawn Wing’s clients it probably doesn’t. But PR practitioners would certainly recognise this as a way of leveraging publicity. In this case, it was done in an excellent way. It’s not boastful to tell interested people about the media coverage you’ve gained, it’s smart - especially if it’s done in the spirit of sharing information about topics that would interest others.

If you’ve done all the hard work and research to organise a great radio interview or magazine feature, surely you would want as many people as possible to hear it or read it. That is, after all, the whole point. Who better to inform about your media coverage than your existing networks - the brand or company’s employees, clients and suppliers. They can then spread the message to other people who would be interested.

This is so obvious, yet I’m not sure how many PR companies and publicists actually have systems in place or set time aside to really leverage the hard work they’ve already done.

Popularity: 11% [?]


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% [?]


First South African Social Media Release

Published
by
Robynn
on April 11, 2008
in WebPR
. 3 Comments

Social Media Press ReleaseSocial Media Press ReleaseThis week saw South Africa’s first online Social Media Press Release for the 2008 Standard Bank Pro20 cricket series - or at least that’s what the website says. I’m not 100% sure that it’s the first (there are several very smart webPR companies doing great behind-the-scenes work), but it’s certainly the first that I’ve come across. Perhaps it’s because this is the first local media release about a social media release.

I can’t help but wonder though, why did they call it a social media press release? The words “press release” really refer to the traditional way of gaining publicity through the printed press; whereas the words “media release” or “news release” are more inclusive and relevant for broadcast and online media. Perhaps “social media news release” or just simply “social media release” would work. But the terminology is a minor point, overall I feel that this is fantastic work by Standard Bank and all those who worked on this concept, including Cerebra, Brandsh and Melissa Attree.

All the information that a journalist or blogger would need is gathered in one place, from the quick facts at the top, to photos, video clips, quotes, match fixtures and contact details. If you want to see the updates to the release, you simply sign up for the RSS feed and you’ll always be able to access the freshest news around the Pro20.

Congrats to the marketers and the PR team for putting it all together in a simple way. I’m not sure how some of the traditional journalists will perceive this web2.0 thingamajig, but the easy-to-navigate, uncluttered layout will certainly help to convert the newbies. (This particular release was targeted at online journalists, bloggers, podcasters and videocasters.)

With the deadlines that some journalists suffer, they might moan about having to first click a link and wait for the page to load to see if the information is relevant to them or not. In this case, being able to quickly scan through the text in an email is easier. Or perhaps it’s just a habit, which means that it’s simpler to stick with the old ways of doing things? There will always be resistance to change and a social media release like this is certainly a big change from the usual press releases. 

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” - Charles Darwin

I hope to see many more media releases like this one.

Popularity: 15% [?]