Online PR: A Primer In Reputation Management November 5 th 2007

Reputation Management What is being said about you? Google SERP PageRank Google alerts: Ongoing monitoring Technorati : RSS-fed buzz with authority meter Yahoo! Site Explorer : Inbound links

What is being said about you?

Google

SERP

PageRank

Google alerts:

Ongoing monitoring

Technorati :

RSS-fed buzz with authority meter

Yahoo! Site Explorer :

Inbound links

Finding Online Influencers Ask peers, colleagues and particularly sales staff Look at influencers cited in the mainstream media Look at backlinks into existing web properties and competitor sites Technorati, Ice Rocket Google blog search Look at their authority ‘ Found’ influencers’ blogrolls A number of companies will provide their own methodology of finding the online influencers

Ask peers, colleagues and particularly sales staff

Look at influencers cited in the mainstream media

Look at backlinks into existing web properties and competitor sites

Technorati, Ice Rocket

Google blog search

Look at their authority

‘ Found’ influencers’ blogrolls

A number of companies will provide their own methodology of finding the online influencers

Getting Favourable Coverage Values: Honest Open Transparent Available Have great content Provide a provocative standpoint Real news or a great story Narrowcast rather than broadcast

Values:

Honest

Open

Transparent

Available

Have great content

Provide a provocative standpoint

Real news or a great story

Narrowcast rather than broadcast

Dealing with Unfavourable Coverage Acknowledge salient points within the coverage Offer to engage the author in person Provide data points and external references for any rebuttal Plan ahead to push unfavourable content down off the first 100 results on the SERPs and keep it off

Acknowledge salient points within the coverage

Offer to engage the author in person

Provide data points and external references for any rebuttal

Plan ahead to push unfavourable content down off the first 100 results on the SERPs and keep it off

IP Issues Give online users the opportunity to use your IP where relevant in a legitimate manner Image resource library and licence Outline what ‘fair use’ means Be clear in plain language what your trademarks are Be polite and unthreatening in your communications with offenders If you are still struggling with compliance go direct to the ISP or platform owner Don’t put anything in writing that you wouldn’t want to see published

Give online users the opportunity to use your IP where relevant in a legitimate manner

Image resource library and licence

Outline what ‘fair use’ means

Be clear in plain language what your trademarks are

Be polite and unthreatening in your communications with offenders

If you are still struggling with compliance go direct to the ISP or platform owner

Don’t put anything in writing that you wouldn’t want to see published

O’Reilly Publishing & Web 2.0 CMP Media with the knowledge and approval of O’Reilly Media legaled NFP IT@Cork Hue and cry break outs in the blogosphere over the course of 3 days O’Reilly Media step in and pick up the phone to Tom Rafferty and agree that Rafferty can use the web 2.0 descriptor

CMP Media with the knowledge and approval of O’Reilly Media legaled NFP IT@Cork

Hue and cry break outs in the blogosphere over the course of 3 days

O’Reilly Media step in and pick up the phone to Tom Rafferty and agree that Rafferty can use the web 2.0 descriptor

Tools & Techniques for Online PR Online news sources & RSS: Mainstream media Personal blogs and sites Business blogs Podcasts and video Virtual worlds Social networks Micro media

Online news sources & RSS:

Mainstream media

Personal blogs and sites

Business blogs

Podcasts and video

Virtual worlds

Social networks

Micro media

Online News Sources & RSS Mainstream media: Modify existing PR approach to match the new media that the organisation is using Expect more fluid deadlines Do offer exclusives Only think about stories in an appropriate media Personal bloggers: Engage10-20 carefully picked blogs Read these blogs Plan ahead: establish relationships by commenting on their blogs and linking to them Don’t pitch them Remember this isn’t likely to be their full-time job Be inclusive Make allowances on etiquette

Mainstream media:

Modify existing PR approach to match the new media that the organisation is using

Expect more fluid deadlines

Do offer exclusives

Only think about stories in an appropriate media

Personal bloggers:

Engage10-20 carefully picked blogs

Read these blogs

Plan ahead: establish relationships by commenting on their blogs and linking to them

Don’t pitch them

Remember this isn’t likely to be their full-time job

Be inclusive

Make allowances on etiquette

Personal Blogs & Sites You already probably have staff who blog: Empower them by putting together a set of blogging guidelines: Covers in simple language the obligations they have under their contract of employment Good etiquette Conveyed in a tone-of-voice that fits with the company See if you have any product or industry mavens Think about whether you want to provide them with a blogging platform

You already probably have staff who blog:

Empower them by putting together a set of blogging guidelines:

Covers in simple language the obligations they have under their contract of employment

Good etiquette

Conveyed in a tone-of-voice that fits with the company

See if you have any product or industry mavens

Think about whether you want to provide them with a blogging platform

Business Blogs Don’t start a blog without a commitment to maintaining it Do have an understanding of the target audience and how they interact online Think about the tone of voice

Don’t start a blog without a commitment to maintaining it

Do have an understanding of the target audience and how they interact online

Think about the tone of voice

Podcasts & Video Tends to be one-way rather than two-way communications Dynamic delivery Audio is portable and flexible to consume Video requires captive attention – need to be respectful of the audiences time Content needs to be: original, interesting, humourous Two’s company – have a sidekick Succinct Curtis Audio blogs Q&A interviews Executive speeches Panel discussions Storytelling Self-guided product tour Online learning

Tends to be one-way rather than two-way communications

Dynamic delivery

Audio is portable and flexible to consume

Video requires captive attention – need to be respectful of the audiences time

Content needs to be: original, interesting, humourous

Two’s company – have a sidekick

Succinct

Virtual Worlds Virtual worlds, like all communities, have rules Activities within the community need to respect the rules Pick a community that your brand will fit in with and work with in the long term The most important thing is to think about engagement rather than generating coverage

Virtual worlds, like all communities, have rules

Activities within the community need to respect the rules

Pick a community that your brand will fit in with and work with in the long term

The most important thing is to think about engagement rather than generating coverage

Social Networks Think about your target group: Their motivations Their location Where they are in their life Be respectful of their personal space Think about how you can add value How do you engage beyond becoming a friend

Think about your target group:

Their motivations

Their location

Where they are in their life

Be respectful of their personal space

Think about how you can add value

How do you engage beyond becoming a friend

Micro media Is what it says it is Not all communications needs to be long form: SMS Address cards Short messages

Is what it says it is

Not all communications needs to be long form: SMS

Address cards

Short messages

Maximise the Reach of Press Releases Brevity Hyperlinks Supporting content RSS feeds (think about the licence on the feeds) Facilitate bookmarking and ‘curated’ web services: Distribution Newswires (vertical and general) Company blog inbound links

Brevity

Hyperlinks

Supporting content

RSS feeds (think about the licence on the feeds)

Facilitate bookmarking and ‘curated’ web services:

Distribution

Newswires (vertical and general)

Company blog inbound links

Using PR to Achieve Search Traffic

Stakeholders (human & machine) Search as the gateway to the web A reputation engine Stakeholders: General public Shareholders Peers Prospective clients Prospective employees Regulators Pressure groups and NGOs

Search as the gateway to the web

A reputation engine

Stakeholders:

General public

Shareholders

Peers

Prospective clients

Prospective employees

Regulators

Pressure groups and NGOs

How Algorithmic Search Works Content acquisition Visits webpage, reads it, and crawls links to other pages up to 4 layers deep within the website Consumes RSS feeds that highlight new content and links Crawls a site map (sitemap.xml) Directories (DMOZ, Yahoo! Directory) Index web pages Everything the spider finds is saved in the search engine’s index Algorithmic categorisation: sorts through the Index and returns results based on mathematical calculations Spam scoring Relevance freshness Topological relationship to other sites Appropriate for vertical search?

Content acquisition

Visits webpage, reads it, and crawls links to other pages up to 4 layers deep within the website

Consumes RSS feeds that highlight new content and links

Crawls a site map (sitemap.xml)

Directories (DMOZ, Yahoo! Directory)

Index web pages

Everything the spider finds is saved in the search engine’s index

Algorithmic categorisation: sorts through the Index and returns results based on mathematical calculations

Spam scoring

Relevance

freshness

Topological relationship to other sites

Appropriate for vertical search?

Searching the Long Tail Google, Live.com, Yahoo! and Ask algorithmic search Social Search Bookmarking Services Q&A services Trusted web Local search Maps Yellow Pages Mobile search Comparison shopping Mainstream Esoteric Vertical search (Google Scholar, Krugle, Scirus etc) Recommendations (Last.fm, Yahoo! Music)

PR Agency PR AND SEARCH Three Scenarios for Search and PR TRANSACTIONAL Specialists SEM/SEO Traditional direct-response online marketing work Direct response Highly measurable Very quantitative Specialist field Content: relevance, freshness and quality Provision for trusted web services (digg, del.icio.us) SEO for corporate and product websites through collection of inlinks BRAND Content creation / Bookmarking SEO REPUTATION Trusted advisor SEM Content creation SEO Purchase ad spots to drive consumers to company site to communicate clients’ side of the story Create content to flush ‘bad coverage’ off the first search page SEO to maintain position

Traditional direct-response online marketing work

Direct response

Highly measurable

Very quantitative

Specialist field

Content: relevance, freshness

and quality

Provision for trusted web services

(digg, del.icio.us)

SEO for corporate and product

websites through collection of

inlinks

Purchase ad spots to drive consumers to company site to communicate clients’ side of the story

Create content to flush ‘bad coverage’ off the first search page

SEO to maintain position

Bibliography / Useful Links The Cluetrain Manifesto Collected papers and essays by danah boyd Guidelines on social media by CIPR Notre Dame University: Fifteen-minutes of fame: The Dynamics of Information Access on The Web (May 13, 2005) by Z. Dezso, E Almaas, A Lukacs, B Racz, I Szakadat and A Barabasi Yodel Anecdotal blog by Yahoo! Inc The Thought Kitchen blog by Nau Daily Thoughts by Innocent Drinks SHIFT Communications social media release template Official Google Blog Micropersuasion by Steve Rubel Fastlane blog by GM http://www.e-consultancy.com/publications/cipr/

The Cluetrain Manifesto

Collected papers and essays by danah boyd

Guidelines on social media by CIPR

Notre Dame University: Fifteen-minutes of fame: The Dynamics of Information Access on The Web (May 13, 2005) by Z. Dezso, E Almaas, A Lukacs, B Racz, I Szakadat and A Barabasi

Yodel Anecdotal blog by Yahoo! Inc

The Thought Kitchen blog by Nau

Daily Thoughts by Innocent Drinks

SHIFT Communications social media release template

Official Google Blog

Micropersuasion by Steve Rubel

Fastlane blog by GM

http://www.e-consultancy.com/publications/cipr/