What you need to know about Online PR

I loved this recent article by Jasmine Sandler on PRNews “What PR Pros Need to Know about Online PR”

So what do we need to know about Online PR?

First, what is it:
Online PR is the culmination of traditional PR and viral online marketing. To do online PR right, meaning to do so to drive online brand lift, client/customer engagement and positive social sentiment, it must be managed by a team that is experienced in both PR and online marketing.

Thus the equation: Online Branding = PR Strategy/Tactics + Effective SEO + Optimized Social Media Marketing.

Second, our online PR audience consists of the media, influencers (bloggers) and the primary consumer audience.

We get to directly interact with these audiences… we listen to them, respond and make conversations. Thus, Multimedia is a MUST!  To keep your conversations effective (and timely so you can work on other projects), you should create a weekly content plan with details about types, frequency and destinations.

Your PR tool bag holds all the familiars: press releases, blog posts, webcasts, webinars, podcasts, photos, articles, interviews, videos, presentations and white papers. Using these tools effectively will help with qualified lead generation, eNewsletter registration, new blog/social media followers, sharing and downloading content. All key pieces in building relationships and brand perceptions.

From the Jasmine: Social is a double-edged sword; and can drive negative mentions or bad press, so to speak. Any PR pro using the web to market will need to become aware of any and all mentions of their clients brand so as to provide online reputation management. Social tools that any PR pro needs to have engaged at all times include www.socialmention.com and www.google.com/alerts.

Finally, SEO. Create powerful and effective keywords/titles/tags on your site, use backlinks to drive up your brand impressions and engagement. Find directories, sites, forums and networks that are on par with your topics and themes in your online PR strategy.

There is no Golden Key for anyone to have a successful online PR strategy (or I’d be writing this from my new beach home). Find the tools that engage you best with your audience and provide meaningful content.