This document provides guidance on using traditional and new media for public relations. It begins by comparing traditional and new media, noting they are governed by similar principles but differ in journalist training and advertising separation. It then gives a 10-step process for traditional/blog campaigns, including determining messages and differentiating yourself. Social media specifics are also covered, such as the "universal truths" of building relationships and showing up consistently. Finally, tips are provided for using key platforms like Facebook and Twitter to your advantage.

1. New Media, New Approach:
Public Relations for the 21st
Century
Globecomm/Cachendo
June 30, 2009
Rock Creek Strategic Marketing

2. Contents
• Traditional vs. New Media
o Similarities and Differences
• Executing Traditional Media and Blog Campaigns
o 10 Steps to Developing a Successful Media/Blog Relations
Campaign
o 6 Tips for Talking to Bloggers/Reporters
• Social Media Specifics
o 3 Universal Truths About Social Media
o Social Media Options
o So Many Options…How to Decide?
o Tips for Using Social Media Outlets to Your Advantage
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3. Traditional vs. New Media
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4. Traditional vs. New Media:
Similarities and Differences
Similarities: Traditional and new media are
governed by the same principles:
• Have a game plan for proactive and reactive media activities.
o Know what your objectives are. Traditional and new
media tactics are simply tools in your marketing toolkit to
help you reach your larger objectives.
o Don’t develop your crisis PR plan when the crisis hits.
o Show up consistently. Media relations is like having a
bird feeder—maintain it or the birds will stop coming.
• Know who you need to know—that is, who’s covering your
space and what interests them.
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5. Traditional vs. New Media:
Similarities and Differences
Similarities, cont.
o Build relationships before you need them.
o Tell a newsworthy story.
o Be authentic, transparent, honest, and believable.
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6. Traditional vs. New Media:
Similarities and Differences
Differences
• Training and background
o Journalists at traditional publications are usually trained
in reporting; new media/social media authors may not
have any formal training.
• Separation of editorial/advertising
o Journalists must abide “separation of church and state”;
new media and social media authors may choose to
keep advertising and editorial separate. They may also
accept payment to write about businesses/products.
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7. Traditional Media and
Blog Campaigns:
10 Steps to Developing a Successful
Media/Blog Relations Campaign
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8. Step 1: Determine the Message
• What are you really trying to publicize?
• All of your communications should relate back
to your set of core messages.
• Remember, your messages must be:
o Believable—Poorly written corporate gobbledygook can
make you look incredibly unbelievable.
o Credible—Be authentic, honest, and transparent.
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9. Step 2: Differentiate
• Your announcements must pass the “so
what?” test.
• Prove value. How is your offering different
and better vs. competitors’? Tell the story
through real examples.
• Avoid hype at all costs. Lofty language and
claims of “best of breed” are likely to turn off
traditional and new media journalists alike.
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10. Step 3: Define Your Audience
• Your audience may not be the same for every
announcement. You may want to focus on a
specific region, job title, or technology.
• Coverage is more likely to result from a few
highly targeted pitches than a high-volume
shotgun approach.
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11. Step 4: Get the Timing Right
• Take advantage of naturally newsworthy
events like conferences or trade shows.
• Prepare happy customers to talk to the press
on your behalf.
• Take logical steps—launching a wide-scale
Facebook campaign the day after you post
your company profile is unlikely to earn
meaningful results.
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12. Step 5: Identify Traditional & New
Media Outlets
• Don’t assume—survey and research.
• Realize that your audience may not read
what you think they read.
• They’re more likely to read industry-focused
publications than general ones.
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13. Step 6: Choose the Most Appropriate
Media
• Consider your message, audience, and credibility
within each of the media outlets.
• Target your campaigns to the media that will give
you the most mileage.
• Not every announcement needs to be sent to
every contact.
• Avoid brand/news exhaustion—e.g. your Twitter
feed shouldn’t be a constant stream of company
press releases.
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14. Step 7: Reuse and Repost Content
Some ideas:
• Post releases on PR Web and your company blog
that feeds news items onto your home page.
• Add a blurb for the announcement in your
company e-newsletter.
• Link to the announcement in a company direct
email or on your company’s Facebook page.
• Republish print magazine coverage as a PDF on
your website.
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15. Step 8: Optimize Your Content
for SEM
• Seed your announcements with keywords
and phrases that are likely to be used when
searching for your products and services.
• Take advantage of inline links and tags.
• Maximize opportunities to receive external
links.
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16. Step 9: Build Credibility with Outside
Endorsements and Accolades
• Journalists and bloggers are more likely to
cover companies they’ve heard of.
• One way for a lesser-known company to get
a foot in the door is through third-party
quotes, testimonials, and case studies.
• Awards are also an excellent way to gain
attention.
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17. Step 10: Develop Genuine
Relationships Before you Pitch
• Read the publications and blogs that cover
your industry.
• Build profiles of journalists/bloggers. This will
help you avoid sending tips that are clearly
outside the writer’s lane.
• It’s pointless to sell a story to someone who’ll
never write about it—and it could be
embarrassing for you and your brand.
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18. Step 10: Develop Genuine
Relationships (cont.)
• Try to become a regular source. Send tips
that the writer may not know about.
• Writers like to know they’re being read. Get to
know and interact with bloggers by
commenting using your real name and email
address.
• Pitch trend stories. Even if your company is
not the main topic, it can still be valuable to
be mentioned in the story.
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19. 6 Tips for Talking to
Journalists/Bloggers
• DO frame answers to tough questions
positively.
• DON’T wing it. Prepare.
• DO speak in terms everyone can understand.
Avoid jargon.
• DON’T speculate.
• DO communicate your key messages.
• DON’T ask to approve the story.
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20. Social Media Specifics
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21. 3 Universal Truths About Social Media
• Every social networking site has different rules,
and you must know the rules and play by them.
• You must build relationships based on trust and
authenticity. Remember, your company is playing
on their playground.
• Two things that will help lead you to success:
o Being personal, e.g., answering questions and private
messages.
o Showing up, i.e., making sure that if someone initiates
interaction, you’re there to respond.
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22. Social Media Options
• Company blog • Reddit
• Forums & message • Digg
boards
• StumbleUpon
• Industry listservs
• Wikipedia
• SlideShare
• Yahoo! Answers
• LinkedIn profiles &
groups • Squidoo
• YouTube • Ning
• Facebook • Flickr
• Twitter • And many more!

23. So Many Options—How to Decide?
• Understand the intent and limitations of the
each option.
• Choose a few to get started with, then
expand.
• Don’t spread yourself too thin—better to
have fewer social media profiles that are
well-developed than many poorly-developed
profiles.
• No profile is better than a bad profile.

24. Tips for Using Social Media Outlets to
Your Advantage: Facebook
• Facebook is only worthwhile if you intend to:
o Stay active.
o Use it for two-way conversations with followers.
• Create a Facebook company page.
o Creating a profile page takes 5 minutes.
o Creating a meaningful profile page and using it
effectively is a much bigger investment!
o Variety of applications available to promote your blog,
link to your SlideShare offerings, communicate and
more.
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25. Tips for Using Social Media Outlets to
Your Advantage: Facebook
• Create a Facebook company page. (con’t)
o Facebook pages are searchable in search
engines, so make sure it’s seeded with content.
o Use your fan page to send out a message to your
fans.
• The response rate will give you a sense of how frequently
to send out messages.
• Makes sure your page messages have a call to action
(preferably a link, so you can track click-throughs).
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26. Tips for Using Social Media Outlets to
Your Advantage: Facebook
• The more active you are on Facebook, the
more you are in front of people.
• The “News Feed” is “home” on Facebook. If
you share an article, update your status, or
post elsewhere, your “friends” will know.
o Update your status at least every 5 days, otherwise you
appear inactive.
o Make sure you post on other people’s walls and
comment on other people’s links, statuses, and videos.
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27. Tips for Using Social Media Outlets to
Your Advantage: Facebook
• Facebook is the most popular platform for
sharing photos. People expect you to have
them.
o Add your company logo.
o Add photos of events your company threw/attended.
o Use captions to your advantage when promoting your
pictures.
o Tag people in your photos even if they aren’t on
Facebook.
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28. Tips for Using Social Media Outlets to
Your Advantage: Twitter
• Twitter is more “open” than Facebook. But, to
use it effectively, you must be active.
• Twitter can be about you or your company. It
is very effective for promoting companies—as
long as you’re not promoting 24/7.
• Twitter is about followers and following.
o The more followers you have, the greater the chance
someone will click a link when you post it.
o You should follow (and be followed by) people who are
relevant to your Twitter strategy.
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29. Tips for Using Social Media Outlets to
Your Advantage: Twitter
• Choose a Twitter username that is short and
relevant.
• Use a short URL to conserve space when
sharing links (tinyurl.com, bit.ly, etc.).
• Make sure you thank people for following you.
• Make sure to reply to people.
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30. Tips for Using Social Media Outlets to
Your Advantage: Twitter
• Tweet often: Aim for daily goals, e.g., 20
times/day.
• Share information that others may find
interesting, like articles, links to industry
news, etc. Don’t tweet about company
information all the time.
• Optimize your Facebook/Twitter by adding a
Twitter app on Facebook. This allows your
tweets to double as Facebook activity.
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31. Questions & Answers
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32. Thank you for your participation!
Kristen M. Newton
Director of Strategy
301/657-0800 x116
Amy Hooker
Director of New Media
301/657-0800 x138
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