Archive for: August 2009

Before the web came along, small businesses often had very little control over the publicity they could generate in the press, even when sending out press releases. They had to submit their news to a traditional press distribution or media wire service, which was often expensive and provided no guarantee that their news would ever be mentioned anywhere in a newspaper, magazine, or other publication. Reporters and editors were completely in charge of which press releases were deemed newsworthy enough to be published, and the rest were basically ignored.

Things improved greatly for small businesses with the development of online press outlets that allowed press release submissions from all types of companies, large and small. One main benefit of these sites was that even if your news wasn’t “picked up” by a major news outlet or site, at least it generated some new, high-quality inbound links back to your business web site, providing you with some additional exposure online and helping improve your search engine rankings.

Now with the explosive growth of social networking sites, small businesses have another great opportunity to gain extra publicity and online exposure by incorporating social media into their corporate press release strategy.

When thinking about a press release strategy for your small business, consider creating a comprehensive plan that includes your web site, online media outlets, and social media sites. For example:

Web Site:

• Be sure to have a “Press Room” or “In the News” section on your business web site. Include the latest press releases for your company, and also provide a link to a press release archive for older news releases.
• If you are a Chamber member, always submit your press release to your local Chamber of Commerce. These organizations love to promote news from their members, and Chamber publications are typically well-read by the membership and others in the community.
• Submit your press releases to any other organizations or professional groups to which you belong, or to other sites in your industry that accept news releases about your type of business.

Online Media Outlets:

• There are hundreds (or probably thousands) of web sites that are news-related or niche sites that publish news from press releases submitted to them. Many are free or very low cost, and will accept press releases from all types of businesses. Just do a Google search to find the online press release sites that fit your budget and your industry.
• Optimize your press release for the keywords that you also target on your web site. Use keywords in the title and subtitles of your release, as well as through out the body of the press release.
• Always provide links from your press release back to your web site. Better yet, provide links to specifically optimized landing pages that target the keywords or the subject of your press release (e.g., a new product announcement).

Social Media Sites:

• Include links from your press release to your social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. This helps drive traffic to your social media sites, and may provide the spark needed for your release to go “viral”.
• Use Twitter to announce your press release, and link back to your web site’s Press Room or the landing page for the release.
• Put your optimized press release on your Facebook page, preferably in a custom tab where your optimized release can help boost your site in the search engine rankings (regular “wall” posts don’t help your rankings)
• If your social marketing profiles have been set up correctly, the press release can be published automatically to all your social media and bookmarking sites with one single action on your part (such as a blog post).

Press releases are an excellent way to publicize your company, build inbound links to your web site, improve search engine rankings, and promote news or events going on in your company. Because of the web, small businesses now have more access than ever before to get their news (and links) in front a huge audience without the approval of traditional news reporters and editors.

By adding social media to your press release strategy, you can create a comprehensive plan that not only takes advantage of your web site and online media outlets, but also uses social media sites to distribute your news further on the web, help keep it visible longer, and ultimately extend the reach and effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

If you had to guess, how many web sites would you say that you visit in a typical day? Only a few? Dozens? Too many to count? If you are like most people, you visit multiple sites each day whether doing research, getting news, socializing, shopping, or for any number of other reasons. Most likely, you visit web sites both while you are at work and at home, and you may even visit sites using a mobile device like a cell phone or Blackberry. There are probably even sites that you visit regularly, which are the sites that you have come to depend on (e.g., using Google for searching or CNN.com for news).

Now put yourself in your customers’ shoes. They are also visiting multiple sites each day, and are looking for information while both at work and at home. And you can bet they also have certain sites that they depend on and return to on a regular basis. The question is, however, is your web site one of those sites on which your customers can depend?

If you’re not sure, here are some tips for making your site something that customers can truly depend on:

• The site is better than the competition’s site. If your competitor’s web site is dated, doesn’t have much content, or looks amateurish, then you are in a good position. However, if YOUR site is not as good as the competition’s, you need to fix that as soon as possible.

The site provides value. Visitors need information that is relevant, helpful, and meets their needs, or they will click the browser’s back button and visit a different site. For instance, if you have a home improvement site, then give visitors information on how to fix things around the house. If you provide accounting services, give visitors tips on keeping good records to make tax time easier. If you have a pet grooming business, include a list of recommended veterinarians in the area. Giving your visitors something of value creates loyalty and gives your business additional credibility.

• The site is visible in the search engines. This is vital to not only your current customers, but also to potential customers who have yet to discover that your business exists. When your site shows up in the search engine results, it makes it quick and easy for customers to get to your web site, and can also remind previous visitors about your web site if they haven’t visited in a while. It also reinforces that your business is a “player” because it’s listed right along with your competitors. If your web site doesn’t show up in the search results, guess what customers will click on?

The site gives visitors a great user experience. Dependable sites not only give visitors value, they also make visitors “feel good” about spending time on the site. This happens when the site’s navigation is clear and consistent, the content is up to date and useful, and the site is well-organized and well-designed.

• The site inspires confidence and encourages action. When visitors find a great site that meets their needs, they feel confident about the business behind it. When visitors feel confident about a business, they are far more likely to take action on the web site; whether that action is subscribing to a newsletter, requesting a quote, calling a sales rep, or making a purchase. If a site doesn’t inspire confidence, there is very little chance that they will be back for a return visit, and even less of a chance of converting them into customers .

To be successful, your web site needs to inspire confidence, provide value, and make visitors feel good about your business. Your customers already visit multiple sites each day, so your goal should be to make your site a client favorite – a site that they remember, bookmark, recommend to others, and can easily find at the top of the search engine results. Do you think that your customers currently depend on your web site? Would your customers agree with your answer?