PR for Inbound Marketing (GF402)

Professor: Todd Defren, SHIFT Communications

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PR for Inbound Marketing

presented by Todd Defren, SHIFT Communications

August 2009

Mass Media Now Belongs to the Masses

Mass Media Now Belongs to the Masses

Mainstream Media Requires Heroic Efforts

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• Traditional media struggling to survive• Fewer reporters = more competition for coverage• Growing emphasis on traffic = controversial content trumps all• It takes increasingly heroic efforts to gain substantive coverage in MSM

PR: Increasingly Interactive, Interpersonal

Conversational Communication

Controlled Communication

Conversational Collaboration

ControlledCollaboration

Communication Collaboration

Collaborative

Controlled

Conversation

Parti

cipa

tion

Public RelationsPublic Relations

Public Relations

Advertising Advertising Advertising

original source: Richard Edelman

Imagine: You’ve Been Invited to the World’s Biggest Neighborhood Potluck

What kind of neighborwill you be?

Wallflower?

Too insecure to bring a dish?

Just listening-in anxiously?

Too scared to strike up a conversation?

Blowhard?

You brought your “World Famous BBQ Ribs?”

Too bad.

Everyone here is a vegetarian.

One of Us?

You brought a deliciousfruit salad!

You knew everyone here was a vegetarian?

How sweet that you did your homework!

This fruit is amazing. I have to tell my friends!

What Do You Want To Accomplish?

• You want leads, right? Just want people to visit your website? • No biggie, right?• Actually, what you really want is for qualified prospects to:

– find & visit your website– have a look around– sign-up for a demo– ask for a salesperson to contact them– sit through a demo– create a purchase order

• You are asking A LOT of yourself & A LOT of your prospects• A LOT of time and A LOT of $$$

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Focus

• First – we’re talking about Qualified Prospects, not tirekickers, looky-loos, or undesirables … not EVERYBODY, in other words

• Research:– Where do qualified prospects get their information?– What kinds of Google searches do they run?– Who else do they talk to, in the industry and among the competition?– What magazines/blogs do they read?– What Facebook Groups do they join (if any)?– Which members of the twitterati do they follow (if any)?

• PR is not just about “hits” – it’s about frequently distributing relevant content via the right channels, to boost credibility and findability

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Frequency

• “(PR is) about frequently distributing relevant content via the right channels, to boost credibility and findability”

• How frequently is frequently?

• Every day. Not a single day should go by in which you don’t:– put up a blog post or start a dialogue on a relevant blog– contribute relevant content (yours or another’s) via socnets– pitch a new idea to a journalist or blogger– showcase a new media hit in the mainstream media or blogs– analyze your website traffic & tweak your SEO – attend an event and broadcast content from venue

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Relevance

• “(PR is) about frequently distributing relevant content via the right channels, to boost credibility and findability”

• How can you tell if your content is relevant?

• The community will tell you. Your results will tell you.– is your content often downloaded/shared via socnets & email?– how’s the raw website traffic being affected?– noticed any new trends in Google terms used to reach your site? – where are visitors coming from? are they converting?– is the content reflective of your brand?– are customers happy? or do they complain of “overpromising?”

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Content

• “(PR is) about frequently distributing relevant content via the right channels, to boost credibility and findability”

• What kind of content are we talking about?

• This is not rocket science, folks. Here’s a sampling:– press releases containing actual news– video (got 10 product features? make 10 one-min videos)– podcasts (interview execs, influencers, competitors) – articles (about you, about industry)– blog posts, blog comments, tweets– research - white papers, surveys, etc. – feelin’ ambitious? make a widget, FB or iPhone app– what are your best competitors doing? do it better

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Rightness

• “(PR is) about frequently distributing relevant content via the right channels, to boost credibility and findability”

• How do you determine the right channels?

• This is important. Did you do your upfront research?– did you use Technorati, Google Analytics, Cision, Compete, etc. to

determine relevant pubs/blogs with the most traffic & authority?– you’re reading/commenting at top industry blogs, but do you use

Backtype to see where the bloggers themselves are active? – you’re creating video content but are you using services like Tubemogul to

spread the videos across numerous sites?– you convinced your boss to let you tweet, but are you using Tweetreach

to show her how far the word is spreading? are the RTs hitting relevant influencers and/or prospects?

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Credibility

• “(PR is) about frequently distributing relevant content via the right channels, to boost credibility and findability”

• How important is credibility?

• Very important. (Did you really need to ask?)– “Media prominence accounts for approximately 25% of brand value … this

underscores the importance of managing and growing brand value through PR efforts.”

» source: Context Analytics Media Prominence Research Report examining Interbrand’s Top 100 global brands

– PR converts better than targeted Search Engine Marketing campaigns

» source: Context Analytics client research

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Findability

• “(PR is) about frequently distributing relevant content via the right channels, to boost credibility and findability”

• You’re no longer in Marketing Dept. You’re in Findability Dept.

• How do you ensure your content is found?– Make SEO a factor in everything you do

• use PressReleaseGrader.com to vet press release content• use appropriate and consistent titles, tags, across all content posts• keep the spiders busy: put a lot of content out there – Google loves

Social Media because it’s always fresh, usually relevant• use Google Analytics to determine how people find your site• use Google Insights to determine emerging keywords, competitive

terms, etc. and plan accordingly18

What NOT to Do

• Don’t chase after every shiny object– Fish where the fish (a.k.a. your prospects) are …

• Wherever the fish are, swim with them not against them– Ex: Don’t spam the Wall or Discussion Forums in a relevant

FB Group. Try reaching out to the Group Admins• Don’t bore the fish

– When was the last time you watched a 10 min. YouTube video? How many 20 min. podcasts do you listen to?

• Don’t overfeed the fish– No one expects nor wants to hear from you 20X a day

• Don’t bring a lawyer into the rowboat– Set ground rules early, to avoid playing with worms

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Wrapping Up• The Mass Media is in decline

• You can find, listen to & interact • with prospects online

• You can reach the masses with • your own content, bypassing MSM

– Cheaply!– Where they are already hanging out

• If folks like your content, they’ll • pass it along, with their kudos

• This approach makes you credible • and findable by prospects

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• Inventor of Social Media Release• Agency of the Year (07) • New Media Agency of the Year (08)• 85 employees (BOS, SF, NY)

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Thank You!

Todd Defren@tdefren on Twitter

tdefren@shiftcomm.com415-591-8423 or 617-779-1853

www.shiftcomm.comwww.pr-squared.com