Why would a company publish a press release, news release or social media news release? It’s no accident that the abbreviation PR is used for both press release and public relations. They are tightly linked. They’re both about managing information from a company intended to its target audience, often the general public. Press releases are announcements about new products, events, issues and so on. They may be for general distribution or targeted at a specific interest group or customer base.In the traditional approach, there is an intermediary between the company issuing the press release and the readers. That is the magazine, newspaper or newsletter publishers or radio and TV stations. PRs are usually directed to particular journalists or the newsroom in general. Press release issuers aren’t in the publication business... or at least they didn’t use to be.
The Internet scrambles these relationships. Now everyone can be both a consumer and a publisher. Publication lead times have shrunk from months down to hours or less. Yesterday’s news might now be last hour’s news or, oh, so 10 minutes ago.
Readership has also moved. Daily and weekly newspapers are the walking dead for the most part. The national news evening wrapups have thinner viewership every year. Even magazine racks are thinning out. Where did everybody go? They’re still reading, but what they’re reading is Facebook pages, tweets, blogs and online news media. Others aren’t reading at all. They’re absorbed in video content they find on YouTube, Vimeo and other platforms.
To reach both the press and your target audience, you need an up to date technology solution that embraces both traditional media and the influencers of the new social media. If you don’t have one already, take a close look at what Mynewsdesk has to offer.
Mynewsdesk is a cost effective PR platform that works with social media. It’s an online resource that you pay for by the month. There are several plans, depending on how many features you want and need to support your public relations efforts.
What you get is your own customized online social media newsroom. You’ll gain the ability to create and manage social media news releases, press contacts, photos, videos, blog, Facebook, Twitter, links, current news, network and sharing. Add your newsroom to your Facebook Page with a Facebook app. Customize the look and feel of your newsroom and then embed it into your own website and publish your stories.
Next, manage your network and increase your influence. You’ll easily create and update personalized contact lists or import them from Excel and CVS. Strengthen relationships by inviting key people to follow your newsroom and send exclusive content to your most important contacts. Why settle for a list of names when you can have richer social profiles that include your contacts’ email addresses, Twitter names, job titles, phone numbers and other key information. It’s all part of the same toolset.
Now find out who’s talking about you online. Gain leverage by finding, listening to and engaging with people who talk about your brand online. You’ll monitor conversations about your brand, industry or competitors online through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and 40,000 other sources. Engage instantly, identify your key influencers and get them into your network.
Finally, know how you are doing by viewing real-time results of your PR activities. Remove the guesswork by analyzing the reach and distribution of what you publish in your newsroom. Find out how people find your newsroom through search terms and referring websites. Know what countries your visitors come from. Make sure everyone in your organization stays on top of your PR efforts by sending out key reports by email on a schedule you set.
Are you feeling that your own PR efforts are mired in the past, using tools that once worked well but are increasingly ineffective? Are you a new company that needs to get a fast and effective launch? Why not try a new social media platform without risk? Get a free 30 day trial of Mynewsdesk and see how well it works for you.
