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B2B PR: How The Times Are A Changin'

Written by: Wendy Marx

Article Overview: The changing nature of media and how it affects the intricate balance of the PR world.

B2B PR: How The Times Are A Changin'

I was reminded of how fast some of the simple tactics of business-to-business (b2b) public relations are changing when I read a post by Sarah Skerik of PR Newswire. Skerik makes the point that we now need to create "tweetable" headlines in our releases or pitches that reporters and others can easily tweet. [Email me if you want her post, which requires registration.]

It's all part of the changing nature of media that feels like it's moving faster than a speeding bullet. And, yes, we do need to be somehow superhuman to keep up with it all. And, yet, at the same time in our rush to embrace the new, we should not disband what's old and still working.

Press releases, which have been around for a mere 93 years,still work. They're a quick, effective way in the b2b sphere to tell the news. And, with a little updating for a web 2.0 world still work fine, thank you very much. However, you need to do more today than simply writing up a quick announcement. You need to insure your release:

• Is optimized for the engines. That means having a headline and keywords (typically three is recommended) sprinkled within your release. It means having a short headline that will be visible within the 65 characters Google displays. It means having hyperlinks and a call to action. Your call to action can be a special offer or the opportunity to get a new article or white paper or book chapter. Ideally, you'll have a landing page connected to your call to action making it easy for someone to get to and easy for you to track your results.
• Has a social media version. We find a good way to do this is to use PitchEngine, which not only lets you quickly create a social media release but lets you propagate your release online via sites like Delicious and Stumble Upon. This makes it easy for others both to find and share your release.
• Have a Twitter and LinkedIn version. For Twitter, we're talking about having a headline that's eye-catching and fits within Twitter's 140-character limit. Skerik makes the point that to stay within the limit it's also helpful to use a service that shortens your URL or in web lingo "tinies it." Here are two sites that do just that: tinyurl.com and bit.ly. The headline for this particular post is just 39 characters (counting spaces). And yes, please feel free to Tweet it. For LinkedIn, it's helpful to post releases in the "news" section of relevant groups. There are thousands of groups devoted to b2b topics. To find groups, simply search under the drop down "groups" on the LinkedIn search bar. Be sure if you link to your release it includes a compelling summary, which LinkedIn will pick up.

At the end of the day, none of this of course matters if you don't have an interesting, compelling story that will make a difference to your target audience. If you add a new manager, no one but you, the manager's mother and maybe your local paper cares about. However, if you can tie your new position to an overall growth or expansion story that's indicative of your success in a down economy, that gives your story a little context and interest. Add to that what you're doing differently that is making you successful and you have the beginnings of a story that will resonate.

So what are you doing to get the word out about your b2b business? I'd love to hear from you.

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Article Tags: business b2b, google, headlines, hyperlinks, li li, new article, p press, pitches, pr newswire, press releases, public relations, rush, skerik, special offer, speeding bullet, sphere, twitter, ul



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Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":1d29sdv1]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to. I just want to mention that all these magazines are NOT franchisee oriented. I mean these magazines are for franchise professionals. If you're looking to buy a franchise, you won't find much information in there. To answer your question, getting published in Franchise Times was fairly easy. I don't want to brag too much but I think I am known in the franchise industry. I was the marketing guy at Franchise.com for a few years before joining my new company, the World Franchising Network. So people know me and I have a very good relationship with Nancy Weingartner, the Managing Editor at Franchise Times. I was talking with her at the last Franchise Expo South in Miami and she mentioned she'd like me to be profiled. I was like "ok, sure!". I like this franchise executive profile thing in Franchise Times as it is rarely BS. People are usually really natural in there.[/quote:1d29sdv1] Thanks for the follow up Sebastien! And I can't say that I'm surprised that networking with the right people and managing your relationships with them properly are the keys to being published. I guess the old adage holds true of "it's not who you know, but who knows you" that's important.
Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?
Re: Does a New Company need a "Big" PR firm? - [quote="OmnivoreInk":dmj1i0sv]I've started work with a brand new company that is going to do loss mitigation. My boss intends to hire a "big" PR firm - ie one that costs a lot of money - because he wants press releases sent out to the New York Times, the LA Times - all the major papers around the country - and he think they'll be more likely to print them if they come from a "big" firm as opposed to a one-person PR firm. I think it doesn't matter where the press release comes from as long as its well written. What are the opinions here?[/quote:dmj1i0sv] I think the most important factor is whether your press release will reach the most number of your target audience or not. It won't matter if the press release is well written if no one has the opportunity to read it. I also believe that credibility comes with having your press release in an established source like The New York Times, LA Times, etc... For instance, if you enjoyed playing tennis, who would you trust more? The advice from a recreational tennis player who has his own column in [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] [u:dmj1i0sv]or[/u:dmj1i0sv] the recreational tennis player who has his own blog? I don't know about you, but I'd listen to the guy on [i:dmj1i0sv]Tennis Magazine[/i:dmj1i0sv] over the blog owner at least 9 out of 10 times.
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Re: Info for would be franchisers... - I concur with the above posters. Franchise Times is a very good industry publication.


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