How Do I Get a Reporter to Know I Even Exist?
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We recently wrote about the importance of having strong relationships with reporters to get our clients “ink.” But obviously, we don’t have one-on-one relationships with every reporter out there.
Sometimes you see an article that’s about a national trend or offers helpful tips, and it includes quotes from someone in the same line of business as you. A quote that you could’ve given if the reporter had just asked you instead. And you really wonder how did they get in THAT article???
We don’t know every reporter on Earth, but there are a few tools that really do help us connect with reporters around the world.
One tool that public relations professionals use is a public relations software subscription/service. Our comprehensive public relations software service has a media database with profiles and contact information of hundreds of thousands of journalists and bloggers, allowing us to build connections with people that we might not have otherwise ever known about. We are also able to share news directly with those contacts as well as publish information online where it can be found by anyone.
Another valuable tool is utilization of an online community that reporters use to find expert sources. Say, for example, you’re a custom home builder. You and your staff could be a great source to reporters writing on topics from construction to design trends to industry changes. The problem is that reporters don’t know you exist. These online communities help reporters find you!
Our staff also has subscribed to an email query service that delivers three emails per day, Read More→
5 Common Reasons Your Website Doesn’t Rank Well
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Ever wondered why your website isn’t showing up at the top of a Google search? Here are some common mistakes people make when it comes to search engine optimization:
1. Your website wasn’t built with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in mind in the initial design process and is missing key components that Google and other search engines look for.
2. Assuming your website was built to be search engine optimized, if your website doesn’t have enough unique content to demonstrate Read More→
Facebook Timeline Cover Photos: Prime Real Estate For Your Company
Posted by: | CommentsNow that all Facebook Pages have been switched to timeline, you may be wondering how to best use this prime real estate location on your page. However, before you start the creative design, there are a few simple guidelines you need to follow.
- Cover photos should measure 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels tall
- Price or purchase information may not be included
- References to interface elements i.e. “Like” or “Share” or any other Facebook features cannot be used
- Calls to action are also not permissible
- Contact information including email addresses, mailing addresses, website URL, etc. also may not be included
If you are interested in reading all of the Facebook guidelines related to Timeline, click here. Read More→
How’d They Get in That Article?
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Many of our blog readers, Twitter followers and Facebook fans know mRELEVANCE as a company focused on marketing strategies that revolve around blogging, social media, search engine optimization and website development. You probably know us for our internet savvy staff, staying on the ever-changing, cutting-edge of online marketing. You might picture us sitting in front of our laptops, iPad to our left, smart phone to our right, connected 24/7. And you’re right.
But what you might not know is while we are a bunch of techies living in the world of Yelping, keyword ranking and website analytics; we also know the importance of one-on-one attention, careful media relations strategy and how to differentiate our clients from their competitors in the eyes of the media and the public. What you don’t see is when we turn OFF the email to write a bylined article. Or when we pop out of bed at 3 a.m. because we came up with a great story lead. Or the hours we spend each month scouring through editorial calendars trying to come up with the perfect pitch. Read More→
Me Too: Google Plus Adds Cover Photos
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Google+ says, “Me too” and adds Cover Photos. In an ever changing world of social media, sites are constantly vying to have the latest and greatest thing. However, it seems that one of the newest members, Google+ is playing “Me too” with one of its older predecessors.
This scenario is similar to the one that probably occurred when you were a kid. Whenever Johnny the older boy next door got a new toy, had the most delicious cereal or something equally as envy-inspiring, you had to have one too.
In the latest “I gotta have that too” moment, Google+ has redesigned their site. Just like Facebook, Google+ now has a cover photo section, ribbon of navigation icons across the top of profiles and side of the main page, an increased emphasis on photos and a streamlined design. Also similar to Facebook, the new “explore” section is a news feed of recent activity from those in your circles. There are also other updates to the site including a new Hangouts page, and Read More→
Optimizing Google Plus for Business
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Google+ debuted for the general public in late September, and is already an eighth the size of Facebook. With 100 million users, Google+ could over time become the next hot social networking site. Mashable reported in February that Google+ users spend an average of 3.3 minutes per month on the site. Compared to the 7.5 average hours Facebook users spend per month on the social media giant, Google+ obviously has room for improvement. However, Google+ is continuing to gain users and is now a crucial aspect of Google search, so business owners should not ignore this social media platform.
The recent launch of Search Plus Your World, which tailors your Google search results to meet your needs, has made Google+ a powerful factor in Google search. Anyone who is signed into Google when conducting a search will notice that the top of their search results now displays a “personal results” section, which is derived from information on Google+. This means that companies need to step up their Google+ game, so that they too can appear in people’s “personal results” section during a Google search. Read More→
How Yelp Can Affect Your Business
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Have you Yelped lately? Yelp is a website that allows people to write reviews on local businesses. Your restaurant, shop or even real estate company may already be listed on Yelp and have user reviews without you even knowing it.
Yelp has become increasingly popular since its conception in 2004, and it had 66 million monthly unique visitors in the last quarter of 2011. Plus, Yelpers have written over 25 million reviews on the website to date. With a growing presence like this, you need to take the next steps in updating your internet marketing strategy to make sure your business has a positive presence on Yelp and the other review sites.
• Every business owner can create a free account on Yelp where they can post photos of their place or business or products, update their business information, track how many people view your page, create a deal and even message their customers.
• Businesses can also place an ad on the website for a small fee. Read More→
How to Use Postagram as a Marketing Tool
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Postagram is one of the many free apps for iPhone or Android smartphones that is becoming increasingly popular among consumers. Postagram allows a user to take photos from their Instagram, Facebook or phone gallery and turn it into a personalized postcard for just 99 cents.
The resulting product is a glossy, black postcard with a 300 dpi photo that can be popped out of the postcard and kept as a souvenir or keepsake.
Sounds pretty cool, right? Well what makes this app even cooler is that businesses can use this as an innovative marketing tool. Here are some ideas on how your business can use Postagram in its marketing strategy:
- Snap a picture of happy customers with your product and send it to them as a thank you.
- Send a potential customer a photo of your goods or services as an enticement to visit and buy.
- Hosting an event? Use an eye-catching image and include all of the event details in the personalized message to invite attendees.
- Send postagrams of attendees after the event, so that they have a keepsake.
- Need to promote a new product or service? Feature it in a photo and include highlights in the postcard’s message. Read More→
Facebook vs Twitter: Why You Should NOT Link These Social Media Websites
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Maintain Social Media Sites Effectively
I don’t know about you, but every time I get on Facebook, I find that my wall is full of tweets and when I visit Twitter I can see everyone’s Facebook status updates. It just goes to show you that all of our social media websites are becoming a lot more interconnected these days: every time you log into one account, you’re asked to connect it to another account. While I LOVE all social media sites, I believe that there is a time and place for each (and not necessarily plastered all over my Facebook wall or Twitter stream). Connectivity is great, but it has to be relevant. Below are a couple of reasons why you should think about what you post where. In most cases it is a good idea to keep your Facebook and Twitter as separate accounts.
#1: At mRELEVANCE, we’re in the business of driving traffic to your websites, and Twitter and Facebook are two of tools that we use to accomplish that goal. However, when you connect your Facebook account with Twitter and vice versa, you’re sending all of your traffic to Twitter or all of your traffic to Facebook. Don’t you want traffic on your website instead? Read More→
Social Media for Business: New Facebook Timeline for Pages
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In an ever changing social media for business world, nothing stays constant for very long. Facebook is notorious for making changes to their website design on a regular basis with or without their users support. Facebook announced this morning that all Pages will be switched over to the new Timeline layout on March 30.
Timeline for Pages looks very similar to Timeline for user profiles with the layout including a cover photo at the top and a timeline of your pages’ history since its creation. Page admins are able to highlight, hide or delete stories from the pages’ timeline as they wish. Admins are also able to take advantage of a revamped admin panel that shows the latest notifications, newest page likes and the insights graph. Other features of the new admin panel include the new manage section in which admins can edit the page, use the activity log or see banned users; a build audience section in which admins can invite email contacts or friends and share the page with others; and a help section to answer all of your questions.
With the Timeline feature for Pages now available, page administrators should start thinking of how they can take advantage of all of the new layout’s features to Read More→
