What does SEO have to do with public relations?

First off, unless you've done a great deal of web promotions already, you might not even know what SEO means. The acronym 'SEO' stands for search engine optimization. The process of SEO is to make it as optimally easy for Internet consumers and the search engine's "spiders" and "bots" to find your information. It helps with the rank your pages also can attain in searches. Think about what appears first on a Goggle search for a specific topic. Ever wonder how it got there? SEO is a big part of the reason certain information will appear first, above other similar pages.

OK, so what does this have to do with public relations? Remember before, when we discussed how the various tools of the Internet are means to ends when it comes to communication? Utilizing these tools on the Internet takes a bit more than just slapping a release up and hoping it gets picked up. To optimize your content, it means finding which keywords and phrases are the most popular and being searched the most (as they relate to your topic) and including them in the text of the pieces your are using the Internet to distribute.

For example, let's say you need to produce and distribute a news release about a new widget your company has developed. Using SEO tools like Google AdWords Keyword Tool, you can search for what is most popular around the word "widget." When I did a search, the most popular search term related to "widget" was actually the word "widget," with more than three million searches of the word per month. Ok, so we know we're on track with that word. It can and should be used in the release. An interesting fact: the second most searched term for "widget" was "Samsung widget." Looks to me like Samsung has been doing quite a bit of information distribution via the Internet about a widget related to their products. However, this term was only netting about 165,000 searches per month. Quite a bit less than the more general term.

Mind you, keyword optimization is just one part of the entire SEO repertoire and process. Take a close look at the graphic included in this post. Notice that it can involve everything from article submission and link building to social bookmarking (like Digg or Delicious) and blogging.

YOUR TURN
Again, take one of your previously created news releases. Think about the topic, the words used to describe it, so on and so forth. Using a keyword tool (whether you use Google's or another one is your choice), discover the keyword popularity of the words you've used. In your post, describe 1) what keyword tool you used, 2) why you used that tool, 3) what words you searched for, 4) the top five (5) most popular searches surrounding your searched words, and 6) how you could improve the SEO of your news release with this information. THEN, in the same document, show your fellow students (and I) the original version of your release, and the OPTIMIZED version of your release. Create a PDF of the overall document and upload it to the class forum for review.

Using the Internet for News Release Distribution

This is going to be one of those "back in my day..." discussions.

When I was first starting out in public relations, e-mail and the Internet really hadn't come into its own yet. When I needed to distribute a news/press release, I either mailed it (as in, used the U.S. Postal Service) or it was faxed. I can remember camping out at the fax machine with my media list in hand, repeatedly faxing the release to the media outlets in which I deemed our coverage necessary. Tedious does not begin to explain how laborious this process was at the time.

The beauty of the Internet are the variety of release distribution services available. Higher-quality distribution tends to come with a fee, while other "wire services" tend to be free and enable your release to be picked up by the Web spiders/bots. PRWeb, for example,  is a release distribution service that has grown over the years. Previously a free service, it now has a tiered pricing structure to distribute your release. You can also e-mail your release to the Associated Press. PRNewswire is another highly visible service.

Why would you use an Internet-based distribution strategy for a news release? Well, does it have national or international appeal? What is your topic (will it have a more mass appeal?)? Do you need to reach a dearth of media outlets? Or, are you trying to reach a very focused target audience that is best reached via technology and the Internet?

YOUR TURN

Look at the Associated Press page about submitting your news release. Notice that you cannot attach the release to your message. How would you format your news release to be included in the BODY of your e-mail, rather than as an attachment? What considerations will you need to take to guarantee your intended reader scrolls down for the information? Discuss this in your post. THEN, take a recently created news release (one you have created in class) and create a mock e-mail news release with it. Create a PDF of your example and upload that PDF to the class forum in the appropriate thread.

Can Wikis Be Used Successfully as PR Communication Tools?

Getting started with Internet communication tools can be an overwhelming experience if you've never used them (or even heard of them before). One prime example of a much-bandied-about online PR tool is the wiki. Many of us are used to consulting Wikipedia on occasion, but most probably view the online compendium in awe as we sit in front of our computers trying to figure out how all that information came together.

Collaboration has become the buzz word in communications during the past decade - much to the chagrin of some practitioners. Especially in the advent of the "citizen journalist" and the fact that everyone and their parakeet can add to, post to, blog about, or commentate about whatever the issue of the day is, maintaining some sense of expert authority or being considered the "go to" resource about an issue is becoming harder and harder.

Many individuals are turning to wikis to find non-commercialized information - that is, information without all the advertising that sometimes seems to come with other sites.

YOUR TURN
Find an example of a wiki (NOT Wikipedia) being used, and that is open to the public. Include the URL for the wiki in your post. Explain: why or why is this wiki not useful and effective? How could it be improved? What are some of the pitfalls of maintaining "expert authority" in this specific wiki? How do the wiki's founders maintain that expert authority?

Ethics of Push vs. Pull Communication

Push or pull?

Before the advent of Internet technology, the typical model for mass communication was of a "push" mentality. What does this mean? Newspapers, television and radio typically utilized a top-down focus..."we create the news and 'push' it onto or down to you." With the continued development of Internet communications, news and information consumers started to realize they had choice in how, what and when they consume information. Ratings, circulation and readership were no longer guaranteed.

The new 'pull' model works like this: News outlets, PR practitioners, you name it, put the information out into the Internet (in various forms...the Internet being the medium en mass) and allow news/information consumers to 'pull' the information they want to consume to them when they want it and in what form they want it. Kind of a game changer, don't you think?

At the same time, Internet communication has opened up the abilities of "citizen journalists" and just about anyone, with or without training in public relations and mass communication, to publish and convey information. While the 'pull' model does allow better individual choice, the anonymity of the Internet also allows opportunities for slightly less-than-ethical practices to occur.

YOUR TURN!
What opportunities are there for bloggers to act WITHOUT an ethical perspective? You might read A Bloggers' Code of Ethics. Have you seen corporate blogs or other blogs use non-ethical blogging practices? What do you think are going to be the long-term effects of non-ethical behavior in using the Internet for PR communication?

The Social Media News Release - Why It's Relevant

About four years ago, PR firm Shift Communications developed the Social Media Press Release (I call it a "news release" because I believe "press" limits its perceived usage). This tool represents an evolution in the way we, as public relations practitioners, communicate our information to news and other communication outlets.

One of the hardest lessons for those of us in PR who came into our professional "own" before the advent of the Internet was an understanding that the Internet was just another medium to communicate a message. For a long time, I believe many practitioners (and even those outside of PR and other mass communication forms) felt the Internet was going to be the universal communication bandaid to solve all our problems. You need to think of social media tools - social networks, blogging, videos - as additional mediums, like newspapers, magazines, television and radio are thought of in this vein.

YOUR TURN!
Give the Social Media News Release a review (it is a PDF, and easily downloadable). Also, be sure to review Shift Communications' blog posting about the release. What do you think about this new release form, after learning about the traditional news release? How is it best distributed? Do you think it works (in form and process)? Why or why not? Please post your comments about the release.