Justin Rubner

, , , ,

Navigating the PR Site Wasteland, Part I

In business communications on 02/17/2010 at 1:20 am


In recent months, I’ve been writing and pitching a lot of news in press releases. I’ve also been experimenting with press release sites.

As a journalist, the only wire I ever monitored was PR Newswire. As a marketer, all I have to say is…that service is really expensive. When it’s all said and done, you can spend nearly a grand just putting out a release. The company, which provides great service, even requires you to be a member.

Is it worth it?

And what about PR Newswire’s premium competitors, Business Wire, PR Web and Marketwire?

And then there’s the wasteland of lower-cost and free press release sites:

  • 1888PressReleases
  • FreePressReleases
  • PRLog
  • PR.com
  • 24-7PressRelease
  • PRLeap
  • CityBizList
  • Pitchengine, a “social media” release site

This is a partial list, I assure you. How frustrating. There are actually too many options.

In order to answer whether a PR site is worth it, you have to answer why you’re using a service like this in the first place. This is how I see it:

  • You want to increase the likelihood of someone finding your release.
  • With a premium site, you want to increase the liklihood that your release will end up in the hands of a journalist or editor.

That’s it! Unless I’m missing something.

In the coming months, I’m going to be testing these services. Things I’ll be checking include:

  • Formatting. Do these sites publish your releases in a format that looks professional? I’m talking bolded text, nice-looking headlines, places for contact information, subheads, bullets and such.
  • Hyperlinks. These make it easy for readers to find your site. They also increase SEO for your site.
  • Page rank. I’ll discuss this later.
  • Distribution capability.
  • Archiving. If the release is deleted in a day, what’s the purpose?
  • Website design.
  • Submission to search engines AND Google News. Otherwise, your release is just sitting in space.

In a nutshell, I’m dubious about the benefits of free press release sites. Promoting your brand on something called “rockbottompricespressreleasesite” doesn’t really scream “We’re a player.” At least to me it doesn’t.

I’m also annoyed at the lack of clear messaging on these services’ websites. I want to know “how they’re different,” “why they’re better,” and “why I should use their services at all.” I don’t get any of that, except for Pitchengine, which touts that “the press release is a dinosaur.” I’m not quite buying that…but I do appreciate the emphasis on differentiation and the bold way the company markets itself.

Further, no service will ever replace the good, old-fashioned phone call and e-mail. Developing a relationship with a reporter will always be better than having your release automatically sent out on the AP wire.

So…if you have something to say, please chime in.

And please stay tuned.

I have a lot of testing to do.

-Justin

Comment »

, , , ,

(Almost) Everything You Need to Know to Get People Reading–Yes, Actually Reading–Your Brochures

In business communications, copywriting on 11/30/2009 at 6:07 pm


During the run-up to the American Revolution, pamphleteer Thomas Paine, author of “Common Sense“, published literature that galvanized a nation.

Yes, brochures can be good reads

Today, the pamphlet has de-evolved into the rather sad and lowly brochure.

I wish there were another word for “brochure.” I can’t tell whether the word itself is boring…or the product it represents. Many brochures, from a design and content perspective, are, well, boring, predictable and, as a result, disposable.

Too often, one of two things happens with a brochure. Either the salesperson is embarrassed because of its poor quality…and doesn’t even hand any out. Or the prospect immediately throws it away…because of poor quality.

Either way, most companies should have one, whether virtual or in print. Why? Because they’re cost-effective, that’s why! For less than one ad in a major publication, you can have a nice-looking piece of marketing that will last an entire year or more. It’s also an effective way to ensure everyone is communicating the same message.

However, it’s time to re-think what a brochure actually is…and what it is not.

  • It is not a replacement for personalized marketing and sales efforts.
  • It is not a place to communicate everything you do ad nauseum. If you do that, your copywriter won’t even want to read it.

A brochure, a good one at least, is only a supplement–an in-depth ad you can touch. It serves as a catalyst to spark interest. Or, more than likely, a visual reminder of your company’s services a week or two after your sales call…a reminder to the prospect how your company can solve his or her company’s problems.

Despite the brochure’s bad rap, it does not need to be sad, lowly, boring or disposable. In fact, a brochure can be a downright good read.

Here are 10 tips on creating brochures that pop:

  1. Involve your designer and copywriter from the get-go. They should not be brought on at the last minute.
  2. Make sure the brochure is visually appealing. That means eye-catching. Normal is not eye-catching. If it looks like every other brochure, it will be treated like every other brochure: Promptly thrown in the trash…even if the content is wonderful. That makes content creators like me sad.
  3. Tell stories! Traditional brochures are boring. Stories are fun. Instead of communicating everything you do, include your pithy, top-level message but break your brochure into mini case studies. These short stories explain what you’ve really done for real clients. That, I ensure you, is more compelling than just explaining what you do. I’m working on two such brochures right now. They’re fun to write. And I’m completely confident they’ll be far more fun to read–and informative–than what my clients had previously.
  4. Provide tips. Yet another way to get your message out is to focus on helping the client, with the strategy that he or she will see your company as a thought leader.
  5. If you do go the traditional route, and that is fact sheets and such, make sure you aren’t just communicating what you do…but what you can do for the client. The difference? “I sell widgets that do x, y and z” Vs. “My widgets will increase your operational efficiency because of x, y and z.”
  6. Consider calling it something different. Lately, I’ve been calling brochures “guides”. A guide to me sounds a little better.
  7. Treat your brochure, or guide, as an extension of your branding campaign. If you don’t have a branding campaign, your company guide is a good place to start.
  8. Divide and conquer. If your company is diverse, why not create different guides for each segment? Potential customers of your services could probably care less about your widgets. And vice-versa.
  9. Hire a professional designer and writer. Your intern and printer are not professional designers or writers. True professional designers and writers know how to create collateral that gets noticed.
  10. Get key people involved in the process. If the writer and designer only talk with the head of marketing, they’ll miss out on the perspectives of your sales manager, CEO and others.

You should also ensure messaging fluidity. Not just with the brochure, but with all of your messaging. If your brochure  says one thing, and your website says another, it’s time to re-address your messaging.

In today’s information-saturated world, it’s a lot tougher for marketers to get the attention of people than it was just 10 years ago. But a well-done brochure will make your company look more sophisticated, further differentiate you from your competitors, and hopefully convert some fence-sitters. At the very least, if you are going to pay for some form of collateral, wouldn’t it be nice if your salespeople weren’t embarrassed to hand it out?

-Justin Rubner

Comment »

, , ,

Four Ways to Save Facebook from a Slow, Inglorious Demise

In social media on 10/30/2009 at 5:25 pm


Every day, millions of adult Facebook users interact with each other and learn a little about their friends and colleagues–as well as the world they live in.

Also every day, a growing number of users turn Facebook into a wasteland of corporate communications and a dumping ground for all of their social media feeds.

This latter sect will lead Facebook to either a slow, inglorious demise…or some place that only marketers go to talk about how great they are to each other.

icon_facebook

Is Facebook doomed?

Facebook is a great place to promote your company and to better engage customers. Setting up a business account or fan page is an effective way to release company news…and build new brand advocates. I also think, as does social networking blog Mashable, that Facebook has a strong potential for targeted ads.

But…

You may have seen the recent news that younger people are using Facebook less. Facebook has witnessed a 20 percent drop in college students. Really? Wasn’t Facebook founded by a college student for the purpose of keeping college students connected? What’s happening?

One reason is the fickle nature of teenagers; what once was cool is now passe. Another reason is the entrance of new social networks. Yet another reason is that when kids see their moms, dads, aunts and uncles posting vacation pictures and updating their statuses, Facebook is suddenly…lame.

Now, I fear, the same thing is starting to happen with 20, 30 and 40-somethings who are growing weary of their Facebook “friends” posting never-ending PR reports and automatically-regurgitated Twitter communications.

Twitter is a different site with a different goal. From a personal point of view, Twitter is an easy way to voice your opinions and learn from others. From a business perspective, it’s a great medium to communicate to clients in real-time, resolve issues, publish announcements, and enhance thought leadership.

However–and I know many disagree–these tweets should not be automatically linked to your personal Facebook account…at least if you plan on using Twitter as a regular communications tool.

It almost makes me not want to log in sometimes when the entire screen is filled with the pushed tweets of one person communicating to clients about their new software.

I want to read more about you than your software.

I’ve talked with people who have “blocked” or even “de-friended” users they highly respect because of this Twitter spam. And it is spam.

So, I have four steps we all can take to save Facebook once and for all:

  1. Examine why you’re on Facebook in the first place. If you’re not comfortable sharing personal information, or you have no desire to, then there are great business networks available such as LinkedIn and Plaxo focused exclusively on business.
  2. Launch your company’s Facebook campaign smartly. I view business pages and fan pages as “opt-in” marketing. When I become a fan of your company or product, I am saying “I want to stay in touch with your brand.”
  3. Don’t “friend” users you’ve never had interactions with. Seriously! What’s the point of having virtual friends you never interact with? The point with sites such as Twitter is mass exposure. The point of Facebook, at least in my opinion, and I know some will disagree, is interaction with people you know.
  4. If you plan on using Twitter as a place to communicate with customers–and Twitter is an amazing platform for this–seriously rethink linking those tweets to your personal Facebook page.

Facebook is a great network for both personal and business interaction…because people want to do business with people they know about. But if Facebook goes all business, it’s going to become a rather lonely place.

-Justin Rubner

Comment »