2. 2
Using Pr ess Releases, SEO & Social Media to
Get Your Name Out T her e
Jessica Sullivan, Media & Public Relations, Vice-Chancellor’s Office
Contact:
– Jessica.sullivan@newcastle.edu.au
– Twitter @sullivanje01LinkedIn
– au.linkedin.com/pub/jessica-sullivan
www.newcastle.edu.au
February 20, 2014

3. In 2013, I…..
•
Supported a researchers stars program at UON which was part of an
integrated communications campaign www.newcastle.edu.au/innovate
– Developing core content on our researchers, using this to manage
their online reputation (content marketing)
– Manage their social media profiles
– Monitoring conversations related to their areas of research to
identify influencers and opportunities to publicize their research
– Sparking national and global conversations – we have the expertise
to do this, the channels, and we are developing the content
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014| www.newcastle.edu.au
3

4. My biggest news story last year
Bushfire Drones

5. My biggest success in social media

6. Uni_Newcastle retweeted
the most at #DiGFestival
We shaped the agenda and
reached 413,720 people

7. Agenda
•
Introductions – what makes you unique and how will this help you lead
your business?
•
Workshop: do you agree/disagree with these statements about media
•
The changing nature of media releases
•
Dealing with the media
•
Reputation management
LUNCH
•
Building your personal and company brand using social media
•
Workshop: Setting your media goals and objectives
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014| www.newcastle.edu.au
7

8. Statements
Media has a positive impact on your business
You need a big network to be successful on
social media
SEO is dead
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014| www.newcastle.edu.au
8

9. Debate over the press release
•
According to Wikipedia, "A press release, news release, media release,
press statement or video release is a written or recorded
communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose
of announcing something ostensibly newsworthy.“
•
Bill Stoller, @PublicityGuru on Twitter, gives us a simplified definition on
his site, the Publicity Insider, "A press release is pseudo-news story,
written in third person, that seeks to demonstrate to an editor or reporter
the newsworthiness of a particular person, event, service or product.“
•
PR News, in a blog post for small business, breaks it down further by
writing, "A press release is really just another term for (hopefully
intriguing) content, and as a small business communicator, it's your job
to make every word count."
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014 | www.newcastle.edu.au
9

10. Writing a media release
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Start strong
Identify yourself
Write professionally
Answer the tough questions – why would anyone care?
Pick an angle – good news hook
Use Anchor Text and Features
Illustrate the Solution
Don't Be Afraid to Toot Your Own Horn
Don’t Give Away All the Secrets
Stick to the Facts
Use Active Voice
Economize Your Words and NO JARGON
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014 | www.newcastle.edu.au
10

11. Write a media release
Making it pop
•Headlines - Make it pop, needs a grabber, bold, keywords
•The body – date and city, first sentence tells what is happening, the next
expand on the lead, don’t use long sentences, strive for simplicity, stick to
facts
•The 5 Ws (and the H clearly) – Who, what, when, where, why and HOW
•Clean, crisp and applicable to your audience and send in the AM
•Tie it together
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014 | www.newcastle.edu.au
11

12. Writing a media release
Mastering format
Cut it to length, no longer than a page.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (left hand side margin) OR
If EMBARGOES UNTIL….with the date
Headline in bold, centre
First paragraph – most important information, starts with a date and where
news is coming from
Second and third – secondary information, facts and quotes
Boilerplate information – who are you? Achievements and mission
Contact information
Multimedia
Online copy of release
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014 | www.newcastle.edu.au
12

13. Tips
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Always be upbeat and positive
Know your target audience
Research – other related examples and know your keywords
Include a ‘call to action’
Write the headline last
Target specific markets
Must be recent news, not too old or distant
No jargon or specialised technical words
Send via email then use formatting sparingly
Make sure the company name is highly visible
Use headline as subject in email
Follow up with a call
Remember editorial teams are overworked
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014 | www.newcastle.edu.au
13

14. SEO & Reputation Management
•
•
•
•
Media releases – make them available on your website and optimised
– A different version for email is okay
Research your keywords
– Scan the online environment – use Twitter, LinkedIn, Google
• Know which hashtags to use
• What is topical? Use a hook
• Research LinkedIn articles
• Analyse what the competition looks like
Regularly scan the online environment
– Know what is topical, build your connections with influencers and
join or start conversations (like, comment and post other people’s
content and your own)
Manage your online reputation – free and paid tools/processes
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014 | www.newcastle.edu.au
14

15. Social Media: Building your personal brand
Will help increase your
Visibility
Influence
Success
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014
15

16. Be a good communicator
Listen
Discover
Understand
Make recommendations
Slingshot UON 2014
16
February 20, 2014

17. Remember:
Your company brand is your brand
www.newcastle.edu.au
February 20, 2014
17

18. You’re leveraging your
LinkedIn network
Friends
Past
colleagues
Business
Contacts
Alumni

19. Website
Facebook
LinkedIn
And managing a plethora of online properties
Blogs
Twitter
Google +

20. With so much at play what is the formula for
success?

21. It starts with your personal brand
Build your profile through
SOCIAL MEDIA

22. Social Media
Building your personal
brand requires nixing
your conventional
wisdom
5 unexpected ways to build
your personal b
22
1) Be lazy
• In the context of re-purposing, reusing,
referencing and therefore reinforcing your
existing content.
1) Repel people
• You can’t be all things to all people.
Brandmasters have a point of view, own it,
share it. Don’t be disagreeable but take a
position you really believe in and express it
openly.
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

23. Social Media
Building your personal
brand requires nixing
your conventional
wisdom
5 unexpected ways to build
your personal b
23
4) Resist change
• Strong brands are known for something –
not a 100 things and they deliver it with
everything they do over long periods of time.
• This doesn’t mean being stagnant. If your
research is about physical activity or
nutrition, inject that into everything you do.
From your meetings to conferences and not
just sometimes all the time.
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

24. Social Media
Building your personal
brand requires nixing
your conventional
wisdom
5 unexpected ways to build
your personal b
24
5) Flaunt your quirks
• It’s the things that make us different –
sometimes things we don’t like about
ourselves that makes us get noticed and
endearing to others. Sit back and
emphasise your natural quirks
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

25. Social Media
Building your personal
brand requires nixing
your conventional
wisdom
5 unexpected ways to build
your personal b
25
5) Be promiscuous
• Dictionary meaning: characterized by or
involving indiscriminate mingling or
association.
• When it comes to online networking being
promiscuous is a good thing
• You don’t know who might be looking for you,
but you need to make it easy for them to find
you.
• The LinkedIn search algorithm favours
networks of connected people, groups and
profiles with the same keywords.
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

26. How to amplify your brand

27. 8 reasons
to be on
LinkedIn
27
It shows up at the top of Google
searches
When someone googles you LinkedIn
ranks highly.
People are researching you
Control what people discover about you.
All kinds of people – you know and don’t
know.
It’s packed with resources
Slingshot UON 2014
250 million users and a great
personal branding platform
Increase visibility and credibility with
members in your networks. Add video,
and mages to your summary and
experiences with a three dimensional
view of your brand.
Helps expand your success offering
connections and expertise. Want to
source talent? Need to open doors with
partners? Cant solve a problem within
your network?
February 20, 2014

28. 8 reasons
to be on
LinkedIn
28
You don’t know what you’re
missing out on
Someone is searching for your skills
right now. You need to be highly visible.
Create a complete profile, with all the
right keywords related to your thought
leadership.
You’ll stay current
You’ll automatically remain
connected
Staying on the radar of everyone is a
challenge. Status updates instantly let
everyone know what’s new in your world.
It’s an efficient way to manage
your network
Slingshot UON 2014
Following thought leaders and
companies helps you stay on top of
what’s happening in your industry.
While allowing you to share information.
Your contacts details will get updated
automatically
February 20, 2014

29. Put your brand front and centre
Make yourself more easily found on LinkedIn search with a crisp,
punchy headline describing what you do and where you work
Research what
your keywords are
online
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

30. Tell your brand
story
Showcase your
career, highlighting
personal
and UON
accomplishments
or merits in the
Summary and
Experience sections.
You can use YouTube
videos, Flipboard,
images, SlideShare.
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

31. Connect your Colleagues
Increase your company pages’ visibility on LinkedIn by
encouraging fellow employees to add their current position
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

32. Now you have a
foundation
Time to look at content
and build an audience

33. Establish goals and objectives
• Establish a rough idea of the topics on your radar that you
would like to engage others with on social media
• Regularly scan the online environment (Twitter, Google,
LinkedIn) for conversations you can join and be part of the
information flow in social media.
• Discover what your perspective is on these topics
• Establish thought leadership on topics associated with
your area of expertise
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

34. Search: Scanning the online environment
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

35. Twitter: Scanning the online environment
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

36. LinkedIn: Scanning the online environment
36
February 20, 2014
Slingshot UON 2014| www.newcastle.edu.au

37. Type your topics into this search
bar on LinkedIn
Find and Join
LinkedIn Groups
Do a search and find the groups
that are talking about the things
that matter to you and the
University. Join those groups and
contribute.
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

38. Move in
the right
circles:
use
LinkedIn’s
profiling data
to find people
with similar
interests
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

39. Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

40. Engage in content and post your own
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

41. Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

42. Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

43. Sharing content from the source
• Look for these icons circled
• Make sure you are logged in to
Twitter and LinkedIn on the
device you are using (PC or
Mobile)
LinkedIn and
Twitter share
icons
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

44. Now that you’re posting a
stream of quality content,
promote through the
network

45. Leverage your Colleagues
Prompt co-workers to share updates through their personal
networks, and drive increased exposure and engagement
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

46. Leverage other channels
Slingshot UON 2014
February 20, 2014

47. Connections and follower s
Develop an engaged audience
•Are they from my community?
•Do we belong to the same
group(s)?
•Are they connected to someone
I know?
•Do we or have we worked in the
same industry?
•Do we share common hobbies,
interests or causes?
•Have they read or spread my
content?
•Have they included a personal
note with the invitation?

48. Tips on Twitter

49. Tweet Tips
• Always use a URL shortener
• 140 characters but ideally under 100 so people can
retweet
• # are used to affiliate a tweet with a topic. Use # to try
and promote a viral following for a specific topic
• Engage followers and influencers by including @mention
in your tweets that resonate with the influencer. Tweet +
link + @mention + #topic

50. LinkedIn and
Twitter share
icons

51. Sharing content

52. Did the source Tweet so you can Retweet

53. Shor tening URLs

54. Visit your Twitter account
Click on the composition icon
Paste the URL from Google Shortener: ‘Comment + URL + #topic’ (no tag chosen here)
Fifth: click Tweet

55. Retweeting
When you follow a content source,
their content will appear in your
newsfeed. When you retweet you
are passing this content onto your
followers

56. Tweet Tips
• It is good to have a mix of tweets, replies and retweets (4-11 rule helps you do this)
– See example interactions and mentions in the twitter.com/Uni_Newcastle
• Create a contest which asks followers to contribute
– Popular Twitter chat examples - Blogging @MackCollier Sundays 9pm
#blogchat and Trending business topics @samfiorella Wednesday 8pm
• Learn who your influencers are and engage with them
(retweet or share their content).
• Reach out to top sharers and be their guest blogger. The
more you engage with your top influencers, the more they
will continue to promote your content.

57. Messaging
• Make sure you are contributing to conversations?
• Build relationships, reciprocate
• Engage and be engaged
• Be part of the flow of information
• Don’t be repetitive
• Know what your influencers are tweeting about and respond
accordingly
• Create VALUE, retweet material to be helpful to your network, but
write your own material too
• Tweets can be a mixture of educational and entertaining and
soft/hard promotion

58. Following Tips
•
•
•
•
•
Import your contact databases
Follow people your competitors are following
Follow those your followers are following
Search for experts in the field tweeting
Establish a set of subjects you might be tweeting about and key terms
used online
– Scan Twitter or Google to find out the key terms being used use these as
#topics
•
•
•
•
Spend some time trying out different searches and # that are relevant.
When you find the people contributing most to the conversation, follow
them.
Find people talking about your company, industry or subjects you are
interested in
Try and follow back those following you
Read the tweets of those following you and search for keywords relevant
to you

59. Follower s
• Becoming someone’s follower accomplishes four goals:
– You are identifying accounts that will be relevant and interesting
to you, the Uni and the sector
– You let people know you are on Twitter, and encourage them to
follow you back
– You associate yourself with a specific group of industry experts
and thought leaders, demonstrate your interest in the space
– You are getting to know influencers and they are getting to know
you
• Easier than starting a conversation at a cocktail party but remember the
relationship can be paper thin.
– Don’t clutter your newsfeed if you don’t like someone’s content
unfollow them

60. T hank you
DISCUSSION & WORKSHOP
CRICOS Provider 00109J | www.newcastle.edu.au