... Social Media Releasev1.0 Social Media Releasev1.5www.pr‐squared.com22www.pr‐squared.com23SoIrecommendyouputout a well‐written“traditional”releaseover the wires,with a built‐inlinkto the social media version”at the company’sonlinenewsroom.Thusyoucanbypass the wireservices’outsizedSMRfeeswithoutgivingupontheirdistributionplatform.Todothis,however,youfirstneedtocreate a Social Media Newsroom,using a bloggingengine. The social media versionof a pressrelease,postedto a social media newsroom,canallowforeverything from rippablemultimedia(video,audio,graphics,etc.)tomoderatedcomments.Additionally,witheachnewsitempostedas a blogentry,youcanaggregateallconversationalelementsaboutthatnewsinonespot,viatrackbacksandother social media trackingtools.Thisapproachoffers the addedbenefitsofbeing a lotlessexpensive;maintainingfullcontrolofbrandidentity;andturnsyournewsroom’s“version”of the releaseinto the trulyofficialversion.Withsomuchpotentialactivityhappeningaroundeachrelease,it’smorelikelythatanyonewhowritesaboutyournewsonlinewilllinkdirectlyto the newsroom,versuslinkingto the heretofore“official”releasethatcomes from the professionalnewswires.ThisboostsSEO.(Infact,youmightalsoconsideranAdWordscampaigntodriveadditionalwebtrafficdirectlytoyourmostimportantnewsreleases.)Socializednews,socializedcontent.It’sjustsomuchmorefriendly!Needexamples?Hereare Social Media Newsrooms from GeneralMotorsEurope,Cisco,Ford,Electrolux(andSHIFT)!www.pr‐squared.com24Edgework. The scarystuff.WhatdoImeanby“edgework?”“Edgework”is a fancynamefordirectinteractionwithend‐users.Thisisrisky.Proceedatyourownrisk.Yourmileagemayvary.“Traditional”PR/marketingprostendtodealwith a narrowbandofprofessionalinfluencers(i.e., the mainstream media and the better‐knownbloggers)‐withwhomthereareunstatedbutwell‐known“rulesofengagement.”Operatinginthis media filteredworldislikeworkingat a zoo.Follow the rulesandyou’llbeokay;butpoke the bearandyoucouldloseanarm.But“edgework,”directcontactwith the people,”carriesall the risksyou’dexpect.You’rein the junglewhere the WildThingsAre.Inthisrealmyoutreadlightlyandleaveyourbigstickathome.Thisisaboutsubtlety.For the purposesofthise‐book,we’lltalkabout the ... If the newsrelayedin a newsreleaseissuperimportant,maybeconsiderusingNewsAdstodriverelevanttraffic? A littleSearchEngineMarketingneverhurts.Yourcontentmaybelively,butit’snotalive.Helpitalong.Evangelize.Unlessyourcompany/clientalreadypossesses a baseofrabid,highly‐networkedandvociferousfans,thensimplypublishing a pressreleasetoyourwebsiteand/orvia the newswiresisjustnotenoughtogetanyattention.Yourfabulouscontentwillliefallow. A corporateRSSfeedwithpaltrysubscribernumbersain’tgonnabring the fame.Whatabout Social Media Releases?Idon’tsupposeIcouldwriteane‐bookabout Social Media Marketingwithoutmentioningmy“baby,” the Social Media Release(SMR).Whatis a Social Media Release,inessence? A Social Media Releaseconverts the 100‐yearoldtext‐heavypressreleaseinto a blogpost,withallof the coolfunctionsof a blog–includingmultimedia, the abilitytocommentandaggregateinboundlinks,etc.SMRscanpower a directconversationwithstakeholdersaboutyournews,andgivethem the contentelementstocarryyourmessageforwardontheirown.Cool,right?Buthere’s a radicalsuggestion:don’tputany Social Media Releasesoutover the newswires.WhileIsincerelyapplaudhowfar the wireservices(BusinessWire,Marketwire,PRNewswire,etal.)haveprogressedinall‐things‐ social, Iamunconvincedthat“distribution”is the BigIssuefor Social Media Releaseadoption. The powerof the Social Media Releaseisnotaboutdistribution,it’saboutempowermentandconversation. ... www.pr‐squared.com1Hi.IthinkIknowwhyyou’rehere.Letmeguess?You’re a long‐timemarketer,andyouareherebecauseyou’veheard a lotofrumorsabout“that Social Media stuff”andwonderifit’stimetoexploreitforyourcompany?Or,you’realreadywayoutinfrontof the Social Media wave.Youarehopingthatthise‐bookeitherhassomethingnewinitforyou,orisatleastgoodenoughtoforwardalongtoyourcuriouscorporatecolleagues?Maybewith a personalnotealong the linesof,“Checkthisout…weshouldtalkaboutsomeof the possibilities?”Yes,TraditionalMarketer,youshouldprobablybeexploring Social Media foryourcompany.Andyes, Social Media Smarty‐pants,theremaybesomechoicenuggetsinhereforyou,andyoucandefinitelyforwardalongthise‐book.I’lltrynottoletyoudown.Mygoalistotouchonsomeof the fundamentalconceptsrelatedto Social Media, butin a tacticalwaythatwillhelpyougetyourhandsdirtyrightaway.Allinunder40pages.(Youprobablyjustskimallthose Social Media Marketingbooksanyway,right?Sowe’lljusthit the highlights.)Beforewegetstarted:whoamI?MynameisToddDefren.Iam a bloggerand a principalat a PRagency,SHIFTCommunications.I’mcreditedwith“inventing” the Social Media NewsReleaseand the Social Media Newsroom.AndSHIFTis a 100‐personagencythatworkswithtechclientslikeQuantumandwithconsumerbrandssuchasCanadianClubWhiskyandVirginMobile.AllofourclientsengageSHIFTfor a hybridofPublicRelationsand Social Media Marketingdesignedtoengage the media, theircustomersandprospects.Theytrustus.Youprobablycan,too.Ready?Let’sgo.www.pr‐squared.com29Now,whatshould“AmazonMP3”tweetabout?Becauseonce“AmazonMP3”hasstarted“following” a fewdozen(orfewhundred!)twitterers,wecanassumethat a decenthandfulwillreciprocateandstart“following” the Amazonemployee’stweets. A communitywillform. A community“founded”byAmazon’srep,sure,yetalso a communityofpeoplewithsimilarpassionswhomightalsostarttohelpeachotherout(e.g.,withmusicdiscovery).Here’swhat@AmazonMP3shouldNOTtweetabout(atleast,nottoomuch): the AmazonMP3service.Rather, the Amazonrepcoulduse the “@AmazonMP3”accounttomicroblogaboutmusic.IfthisbecomesanAmazoncommercialinexecution,it’s a campaignthatdeservesexecution–asin“death.”WillMP3salessoaratAmazon.com?Notclear.ButwillmoreandmorepeoplebegintothinkofAmazon.comasanauthenticcommunitymember,worthyoftheirsupport,andsales?Nodoubt.ThereisonemoreWeb2.0serviceworthyourconsiderationifyouarejazzedbythis“edgework”concept...