PR in the 21st Century

PR in the 21 st Century Stacy Armijo Vice President Pierpont Communications

A little about me
Not your typical online evangelist
Live in the most exciting time this century
Believe there are lots of new opportunities
Also believe the fundamentals still apply

…Because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
…Because you’re intimidated, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
I Believe That…

Where we are
Proliferation of media outlets
Barriers to entry almost eliminated
“Citizen Media”

Now everyone is an expert… … So who really is?

The good news
More outlets = More, broader coverage
Specialized outlets = Better targeting
More interaction (can) = Stronger brands
Cheap, cheap, cheap!

The bad news
Fast news = Fewer controls, less accuracy
Many outlets = More work for us
Bad news travels faster than ever
Credibility difficult to determine
Less control than ever

In defense of “MSM”
“ Barriers” serve
a purpose
“ In print” and “on air”
still powerful
MSM as primary source
Traditional media far from dead, but changing rapidly

Focus on the fundamentals.

What’s the objective?
Think twice if it’s because…
Your competitor has a MySpace page.
All of your Web developer’s friends are doing it.
Your CEO’s neighbor has a blog, so he wants one too.

What’s the objective?
Dig deeper if it’s because you want to…
Drive sales leads
Supplement expert positioning efforts
Cultivate your online reputation
Extend the reach of other communications
Enhance employee recruiting efforts
… using online tools.

If you passed the first test
Ask yourself a few questions…
Is the Internet your primary source for sales leads / employees?
Does your product or service inspire “fandom”?
Does your organization like to experiment, take risks?

If you passed the first test
Alternatively…
Do you operate in a highly regulated or litigious industry?
Are you ready to endure severe public criticism?
Do you have the resources (time, writers, techno junkies) to jump in?

PR Tools of the 21 st Century

Web Site
21 st Century storefront
Introducing the organization
Educating your audience
Leveraging other tactics
Driving leads
Accurate positioning
Technical security
Critical in today’s business environment
Good for: Risks: Benefits:

Media Relations
Reaching out to news media to generate coverage of your organization.
Positioning you as an expert
Awareness / Credibility for your organization
Story is in the reporter’s hands
You could be bumped anytime
Third-party credibility
Longer lifespan
More editorial controls
More cost-effective than advertising

Search Engine Optimization
Technical strategies for achieving a high ranking for your Web site on search engines.
Lead generation
Online reputation management
“ Write your own Google page”
Changing rapidly
Requires constant attention
Find a trusted partner
Very targeted audience
Can be inexpensive

Pay Per Click Advertising
Paid search results guaranteed to appear when users type specified terms into search engines.
Lead generation
Boosting organic search rankings
Changing rapidly
Click fraud
Find a trusted partner
Very targeted audience
Pay only for what you receive

Blogs
A regularly updated journal published on the Web.
Lead generation
Search engine rankings
Expert positioning
Compelling copy is time-intensive
“ Comments” can become divisive; expose readers to negative views
No editorial controls
Targeted audience
Catalogues your expertise
Interactive
Inexpensive

Videos / Photos
Marketing your organization through videos and photos, using online sharing services such as YouTube and Flickr.
Extending the reach of your events and presentations
Employee morale, Recruiting
Branding
Legal considerations of videos / photos published
Shows personality of your company
Can use it to supplement blogs, Web sites
Can be used to educate

Podcasts
Audio recordings posted online for downloading onto computers, MP3 players and PDAs.
Expert positioning
Entertainment
High quality can be expensive
Catalogues your expertise
Applicable to a mobile audience

Social Networking
Online communities for users with similar interests such as Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Consumer products
Social causes
Career / Business development (LinkedIn)
Access to personal info
“ Comments” can become divisive; expose readers to negative views
Updating is time-intensive
Broad reach
Fosters “fans”
Interactive
Inexpensive

Traditional Tools
Community Relations
Event Marketing
Direct Mail
Email
Advertising

Overwhelmed? Don’t know where to start?

Get the lay of the land
Online monitoring
RSS feeds track blogs, social media
Google Reader, Pluck, MSN, Yahoo!, others
Who’s the real expert?
Technorati – View “authority” and Top 100 list
Digg – Today’s most popular blog posts, videos, etc.
Tracking it all
del.icio.us – Social networking bookmark site

What’s it all mean?
You’ve got some choices to make.
Ask yourself those questions.
Do you have some time on your hands (or money to pay someone else)?
Where does it fit in your overall marketing strategy?
Remember, it’s all gravy.

Stacy Armijo Vice President Pierpont Communications 512-448-4950 [email_address] www.piercom.com View these slides at: www.slideshare.com

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PR in the 21st Century

by Stacy Armijo on Mar 04, 2008

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PR in the 21st Century Presentation Transcript