How Blogging is a Public Relations Tool by Kristin Gabriel

How Blogging is a Public Relations Tool by Kristin Gabriel

Short for web log, blog is web journals that allow authors to post thoughts, philosophies, and opinions to a website for public consumption. It can be excellent way to reach those in the target audience who are the most passionate about the subject. Blogging phenomenon poses both a new challenge and an opportunity for public relation practice (Lattimore, 2009).

In her article, Gabriel shares with us on how blogging could be a public relations tool to communicate with target audiences by making our blog looks interesting with a few tricks and rules to be applied in it.

To ensure better visibility, Gabriel has suggested, “…look for someone who can ghostwrite your blog, or train you on how to get the best return for blogging on the Internet…”

Gabriel has also shared some blogging tips to make our blog work very nicely such as:

1. Use newsworthy topics that tie-in to local, national or industry news if possible. Place these key words in your headline and body copy.
2. Link your key words and phrases in blog posts to a page on your website with relevant content.
3. Use about three links per blog post -- beginning middle and end. Also always link towards the beginning middle and end of each paragraph and/or sentence if possible.

4. Use statistics, site studies, and science when you can to lend authority to each blog post.

5. Add photos, diagrams, charts and videos, which should all be uploaded with names that include your keywords.

6. To be clear about a process needing an outcome, use steps or numbers.

In addition by installing the FB “Like” button, can not only share our likes from other places on the Internet it also would act as referral to publicize the posting that we like with our FB friends. According to Gabriel about 2,400 bloggers added this feature soon thereafter and started enjoying a 200 percent growth spurt in their referral traffic from Facebook.

According to Gabriel, previously, journalists need PR people to send them story ideas but not anymore in these days because almost everything they need could be found online through press room on the website. There is company backgrounder, press releases, frequently asked questions (FAQ), product profiles, and photos, videos, etc in a press room. In order to get covered by the media, all the thing need to do is get on the Internet!   

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Blogging-is-a-Public-Relations-Tool&id=4882607

Public Relations Campaigns - Social Media PR is on the Rise by Karen A. Newton

Ron Jones’s definition of social media is a category of online media where people are talking, participating, sharing, networking, and bookmarking online. Most social media services encourage discussion, feedback, voting, comments, and sharing of information from all interested parties. It is more of a two-way conversation, rather than a one-way broadcast like traditional media. Another unique aspect of social media is the idea of staying connected or linked to other sites, resources, and people.

Many social media sites come in the form of a blog, microblog, podcast, videocast, forum, wiki, or some kind of content community. It can be categorized into groups such as:

• Social news: Sites like Digg, Sphinn, and BallHype let you read about news topics and then vote and/or comment on the articles. Articles with more votes get promoted to a more prominent position.
• Social sharing: Sites like Flickr, You Tube and Jumpcut let you create, upload, and share videos or photos with others.
• Social networks: Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, and Twitter allow you to find and link to other people. Many people are connecting to friends and business associates with whom they had fallen out of touch. It's bringing the world together like nothing else has.

Instead of using common PR campaign tools such as press and news release to create awareness, PR people should get with social media due to its wide attention around the world. Social media allows a business making direct contact with its constituencies especially prospective clients who later will become loyal customer towards selective products and services offered by the business. After all this actions could save cost and time doing market survey upon customers’ preferences. Newton (2010) stated that with social media you reach potential customers that can be missed with traditional marketing. Social media public relations campaigns allow you to really connect with your targeted audience. You can open the lines of communication and see what the public has to say about your business. Ways to improve what you arr doing or offering, even if a certain product is just not picking up that well, the public will let you know.

The bonding between the business and constituencies will long lasting as it keep updating the customers and public any development or improvement about the products and services. This will ensure public’s confidence on the business. According to Newton (2010), your customers need to be confident in your business otherwise they are not likely to buy your product or service. If your current customers start losing their confidence and trust in your business you will lose those buyers and the word will spread thus leading to the loss of potential customers. This matter is crucial for any business because a constant confidence will grow the business’ reputation among its existing customers as well as prospective clients. However, customers may begin to lose their confidence once they lost their trust on that business. Thus, it will affect the business in the future or come to worse the business may doom.

Newton (2010) mentioned that the social media is a great public relations resource. It needs to be taken advantage of and not over looked. You can build the awareness of your business and the confidence in your customers. All of this while building a personal relationship with your targeted audience, you can learn what they want and need and what you can do to improve your overall business.

Facebook is an amazing social media resource where you can easily communicate and build relationships with the masses. Creating fan pages and getting interested, targeted potential customers is an amazing way of building this awareness. The awareness of your company is an important part of your entire public relations campaign as the customers need to be aware of your business regarding the  expansions and updates to increase their knowledge upon your products and services. This again just comes back to confidence and trust in your business, all of the updates and such will build that confidence in your business with the public (Newton, 2010).

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Public-Relations-Campaigns---Social-Media-PR-is-on-the-Rise&id=3777162