Frontline Perspectives

How to be sure you're heard.

A good publicity program isn’t just writing a few press releases and sending them out.  You’ve got to plan, research, develop, nurture and monitor.  Here are the basics:

1. Review what’s in the annual marketing plan that will make powerful press releases: new products, enhancements, new capabilities, additional services, acquisitions, etc.

2. Know your target market publications and their editors. Monitor your editor’s blogs, and understand the editorial calendars. Use this information to develop a plan for releases, and content geared toward what the pubs want/need.

3. Monitor your competitors’ publicity moves.

4. Use a consistent format for your press releases with an ending boilerplate paragraph that includes contact information.

5. Include your SEO keywords in your copywriting.

6. Be sure to mention the industries that you work in – editors for the trade pubs are looking for information relevant to their world.

7. Post an HTML version on your Web site, and include a pdf version.

8. Distribute your press releases online- this is where many editors look first for their information.

9. Pitch your releases to editors for feature stories.

10. Quote your customers whenever you can.

11. Proofread your copy for grammatical errors, punctuation and spelling.

12. Get a professional to write your releases. Writing for the press is different than writing for product brochures.

13. Follow up your release with calls to the editors. Make sure they received it and offer opportunities for interviews with your management.

14. Monitor results – what gets used in print, online, and what develops into additional material.  Your results are not just placement metrics, but should also include Web site traffic metrics, requests for information and quotes, and call volumes at the time of your releases.  Remember, good PR will drive business inquiries.

The bottom line is that if you’re going to include PR in your plan, you need to be committed to doing it well- and that means a regular and steady effort.