Online Pr Basics

By Sinead Cochrane

This article introduces public relations online, from press releases to blogs and forums, article distribution, search engine optimization, email newsletters, podcasts and webinars. You can directly communicate with your target audiences, rather than always having to go through the media using Online PR, and here you can learn what the other benefits are.

Online PR (public relations) takes advantage of the Internet to connect a business or individual with their target audiences (or key publics), in order to raise awareness about an issue, develop an image and brand trust, deal with crisis communications, or to disseminate news through blogs, press releases, or other tools.

Benefits of Online PR

1. You can directly communicate with your target audiences, rather than always having to go through the media.

2. Messages can be distributed to the public quickly, making it ideal for direct crisis response or major breaking news stories.

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3. The Internet allows you to quickly and efficiently gather feedback from your audience through that direct interaction, making it an efficient method of evaluating PR campaign effectiveness.

4. Online PR makes it possible for small and online businesses to compete on the same level as larger corporations in getting their messages out.

Many online PR tools are available, including:

Press Releases – You can use press releases in online PR models similarly to how you would use them offline, by distributing press releases to the media (and in this case also bloggers and small niche websites) manually via email, through newswire services offering online submissions, or through online press release distribution sites. By having press releases picked up by news engines, the general public can find and access that news through keyword searches, even if the story was never picked up by the media.

Blogs and Forums – Blogging and participating in online forums and communities can be effective ways of demonstrating expertise within an niche, to brand someone (or a company) as an authority source on a subject. They can also be used to address public or customer concerns quickly, and lend credibility to a company using them to demonstrate transparency.

Article Distribution – Distributing articles on a niche topic to article directories, e-zines, or niche websites can be a free and effective way to brand a professional as an expert in their field, and build name recognition.

Search Engine Optimization – SEO is a very specific niche in online PR, where you can increase your exposure and visibility by improving placements in natural search engine rankings. You naturally increase awareness in a brand when it is ranking well for highly-searched keyword phrases relevant to the industry or niche.

Email Newsletters – Email newsletters are an effective and direct way to send your company’s messages to your target audience. One of the oldest forms of online marketing and still effective today.

Podcasts and Webinars – Podcasts and webinars can do for online PR what seminars and presentations do for offline PR: they demonstrate an expertise in a niche, which in turn helps to build an image, reputation, and trust.

About the Author: Sinead is the operations manager of the Dublin based

Online Marketing Company

Redfly. Apart from Web Design, SEO, Analytics and Training, Redfly offers industry analysis and popular in depth marketing advice on the Redfly

Online Marketing Blog

. Head on over for more juicy internet marketing tips and tricks.

Source:

isnare.com

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