On their own, SEO and social media channels offer attractive opportunities for reaching industry influentials as well as end-consumers through push and pull public relations. Together, SEO and social media combine to create a competitive edge that can boost online public relations results.

Why is this so? Changes in the way the media and end-consumers discover, consume and share content illustrate the intersection of opportunity for both the search and social Web. Today’s increasingly social media savvy content consumer not only expects to find what they’re looking for on search engines, but to interact with the results. Those interactions take many forms including: commenting, voting and sharing. As a result, social media can affect search engine visibility in numerous ways, creating new promotion opportunities for public and media relations efforts.

Of course, throwing keywords at social media tactics isn’t quite the same thing as developing and implementing a plan to reach specific goals. Dropping links to news being promoted on social networks can have impact but is difficult to sustain. For long term value from effort with SEO and social media, public relations professionals should follow best practices as well as the fundamentals:

1. Identify the specific audience to reach. What are their behaviors and preferences for content, sharing, media types, etc? What keywords are used in a social AND search context? Empathize with their content preferences and the context in which they consume and share. A blogger often has very different preferences than a TV reporter or a newspaper journalist.
2. Set specific goals and objectives that can be measured. Mentions, comments, links, rankings, traffic, media coverage or other “engagement” metrics. Leverage tools from search engine optimization and social media marketing to track Web-based metrics.
3. Develop a strategy for reaching those goals with the intended audience. Content creation and promotion is essential for an SEO and Social media public relations effort. Today is not just the age of “Brand as Publisher” but “PR Practitioner as Publisher”. One effective strategy for gaining unsolicited media coverage is to become the media. Or at least perceived as such through attracting a significant audience to a brand news portal or blog.
4. Figure out which mix of tactics (blog, social networks, media sharing, microblogging, etc.) will support and execute the strategy. Original content is ideal but often not practical or sustainable. Content curation mixed with original content can scale. Develop social networks and build channels of distribution for promotion of news.
5. Identify which specific social tools to use. If social networks are the right channel, which social network? Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace or niche networks? If video is in the mix, does distribution need to be limited to YouTube or does it make sense to syndicate to Vimeo, Metacafe and others.
6. Put proper measurement tools in place and identify what events and outcomes to analyze. Web analytics and social media monitoring services are essential for collecting useful and reportable outcomes from news SEO and social promotion.
7. Identify individuals and resources necessary to implement. Forecast time, internal reporting, and feedback mechanisms for participants. The most effective social media SEO efforts for public relations involve the agency or public relations practitioner working together with content creators, SEOs, marketers and others in a position to publish and promote content online.
8. Plan for success and what it will take to scale when you succeed. Be ready to address issues or failure as well. Test, test, test! Social media SEO can amplify reach but it takes work and resources. Find out what has to be displaced or subordinated in order to incorporate social media and SEO into the online public relations mix.

This post originally appeared in the PRSA TechConnect Newsletter Jan 2011.

Her presentation at OpenCa.mp started with an admission of being somewhat hungover, we are at a tech conference after all, and a rate of speech that was more like East Coast than South West. She was engaging and entertaining.

A lot of companies are doing “Third world social media”. They’re doing things tactically and not integrating into their overall business.

1. About jaw dropping reports:  Sure, servies like Radian6 can create nice looking reports, but what does it mean?

It’s not all about the numbers. What is the data trying to tell us? What are we tring to prove or accomplish. What should we be doing differently. Who cares about this insight?

2. Launch an all out PR assault – tell everyone about your social media program

3. Make executives love it. Dazzle them. Scare them. Do what you have to do.

4. Get your house in order: Who “owns” social media. This includes people, policies, processes and plans. Social media strategy and task forces are the biggest killer of social media in companies. Develop a philosophy and move forward.

Takeaways:

• Brands don’t communicate with people, people do.
• Becoming a social business takes time.
• Social media is not a burden, it is a gift.

@paulaberg

Forward thinking companies would do well to assess the SEO and social media readiness of their marketing and PR resources.  Is the current digital PR effort leveraging improved visibility through search engines? Do current PR and Marketing staff or vendors possess the digital PR tools they need to offer competitive consulting in a “PR 2.0” world? Consider the following questions to assess the SEO and social media readiness of your digital PR assets:

1. Is social media participation conducted without attention to SEO?
   According to the iPressroom Digital Readiness Report, social media adoption outranks organic SEO. Yet more than 82% of Internet users surveyed in “When Did We Start Trusting Strangers” (published by Tom Smith, one of the researchers of the Digital Readiness Report) stated search engines are the tools most frequently used to source information about products, brands and services. That disconnect reinforces the need for search engine optimization as a key digital marketing and PR tactic.
2. Do social media and SEO efforts work together?
   Some companies are indeed implementing social media and SEO programs, albeit separately. SEO and social media have a clear intersection, and if both are in place, they can work together to compound results. The outcome of many social media interactions and sharing is content. One of the most important concepts to grasp when exploring possibilities with search for PR is that, “If content can be searched on, it can be optimized for better performance.” Therefore, content creation should factor in search optimization whenever relevant. Social media marketing efforts that factor in keyword optimization of content can directly influence the discovery of communities and social content via search engines. Additionally, social content can boost links to your website, improving search traffic and Pull PR results. In other words, if you’re going to create it, why not optimize it?  Implementing social media and SEO as silos misses a significant opportunity.
3. Is a search and social media friendly website part of the digital PR strategy?
   The 2009 Edelman Trust Barometer indicates that companies’ own websites are viewed as more credible sources of information than blogs, social networks or advertising.  The positive effects of frequently updated, quality content on search rankings present a strong case for investing in a search and social media friendly content strategy.  Whether PR professionals have influence over content creation on an entire web site or limited to an online newsroom, keyword optimization of news content creates entry points to stories through search for journalists, analysts and bloggers researching online.
4. Where does a blog fit within the social media content strategy?
   The highest-ranked digital skill for large organizations, according to the iPressroom Digital Readiness Report, is blogging.  Blog savvy PR efforts should include the ability to develop a blog content plan that not only publishes news that the company wants to distribute, but information of specific value to target audiences. Such a blog content plan might include a scheduled mix of posts on subjects relevant to an industry niche in formats that are journalist and/or blogger friendly. Now that every company that is promoting themselves online is in effect, a media company, it’s important to begin to think like one by leveraging an editorial plan and to package information that is useful to customers as well as journalists and other bloggers.   Search optimized and social media friendly blog content can extend the reach of company news to search engines as well as social media news and bookmarking sites.
5. Are target audiences profiled and what is the best way to reach them?
   Analyzing survey results is a great start to determine best practices, tools and tactics for a digital PR strategy. But it’s just that—a start. Profiling the target audience should be an early and integral part of the process. Who is the target audience? What are their preferences for types of social content? Which social media sites do they visit, and how often? What type of search do they use for story research?  Answers to these questions and more will make a digital PR effort that leverages both search optimization and social media participation more efficient.  A good model for understanding social behaviors is the Forrester Technographics report. If consumer social behaviors can be profiled, why not journalists and bloggers?
6. What is your PR firm’s true core competency: traditional or digital PR including social media and SEO?
   The demand for traditional PR skills by many accounts is slipping.  18% of respondents in the Digital Readiness Reports said they have no interest whatsoever in traditional PR.  For the vast majority of respondents, knowledge of social networks (80%), blogging, podcasting and RSS (87%), and micro-blogging (72%) is either important or very important when it comes to PR and marking hiring.

The big question for companies that want to stay ahead of the digital PR game is, “How do your online PR resources (in-house or agency) measure up?

On their own, SEO and social media channels offer attractive opportunities for reaching industry influentials as well as end consumers through push and pull PR. Together, SEO and social media combine to create a competitive edge that can boost online PR results.

Why is this so? Changes in the way the media and end consumers discover, consume and share content illustrate the intersection of opportunity for search and the social web. Today’s increasingly social savvy content consumer not only expects to find what they’re looking for on search engines, but to interact with the results. Those interactions take many forms including: commenting, voting and sharing. As a result, social media can affect search engine visibility in numerous ways, creating new promotion opportunities for public and media relations efforts.

Of course, throwing keywords at social media tactics isn’t quite the same thing as developing and implementing a plan to reach specific goals. Dropping links to news being promoted on social networks can have impact but is difficult to sustain. For long term value from effort with SEO and social media, PR professionals should follow best practices as well as the fundamentals:

1. Implement a listening program using social media monitoring, search engine ranking and keyword research tools.
2. Identify the specific audience to reach. What are their behaviors and preferences for content, sharing, media types, etc? What keywords are used in a social AND search context?
3. Set specific goals and objectives that can be measured. Mentions, comments, links, rankings, traffic, media coverage or other “engagement” metrics.
4. Develop a strategy for reaching those goals with the intended audience. Content creation and promotion is essential for a SEO and Social Media PR effort.
5. Figure out which mix of tactics (blog, social networks, media sharing, microblogging, etc) will support and execute the strategy.
6. Identify which specific social tools use. If social networks are the right channel, which social network? Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace or niche networks?
7. Put proper measurement tools in place and identify what events and outcomes to analyze.
8. Identify individuals and resources necessary to implement. Forecast time, internal reporting, and feedback mechanisms for participants.
9. Plan for success and what it will take to scale when you succeed. Be ready to address issues or failure as well.

A set of guidelines and a focus on strategy is always important, but don’t let that get in the way of experimentation. There is no substitute for learning about effective SEO and social media as communication channels than through participation. Social media optimization is the convergence of SEO and social media that allows media relations and PR professionals to optimize news content and leverage social media channels to promote it.

Listening and continued engagement. This is how Craig Newmark, creator of Craigslist, explained the success of his business during a PRSA International keynote address: “How Social Media Creates a More Democratic Society”. Newmark explained that you have to do what makes sense and continue to engage your community. By engaging you build a culture of trust where shared values are expressed and followed. Success is achieved.

Craigslist is almost 99% free, with only 1% being charged for a services. To be successful Craig Newmark realized that he didn’t need to overtly charge the public who viewed and used Craigslist, but instead offer services to help cultivate and aid in the public’s growth. By helping to shape your community you are helping people try to succeed. You are doing well. Craig Newmark beleives by doing well in his business strategy he is doing good in his community.

“To do well in business by doing good,” is the simple business philosophy of Craigslist. PR and Social Media has a bad rap as not being a service for anyone but ourselves, as not being honest, but we are doing well in business, we help promote small businesses, we encourage growth of communities. Aren’t we doing good for society.

Transparency and accountability: PR and Social Media are made up of people who get “stuff” done and get results. We are transparent in what we do and we are held accountable for how we got there. We open doors for people to blog about what they like, what they don’t we give a voice to those that were not heard before.

PR and media relations does a service, we help create a personal brand for our clients and the public. We listen to what they want and we give it to them. Craigslist  listens to their public and as they have stated they do not want Craiglist to change, they want the site simple and easy. Craig Newmark and his staff listened and this is what they have given. Craigslist gives its public democracy, the power to flag an unwanted site, to rate what works and what doesn’t. Most importantly Craigslist continues to engage its community, shouldn’t we?

If Craigslist can become so well known and successful by giving a voice to it’s public and by doing good by them can’t we in PR and Social Media do the same? “Do well in business by doing good.” PRSA International 2008 is a way we are doing good by people, we are fostering each other’s creativity and shaping they way we each view our industry. Democracy at its finest, wouldn’t you say?

PRSA International 2008 brings with it a new found respect for our industry and how we are helping shape our communities. I cannot wait to see what tomorrow’s sessions have will bring.

Be sure to check out the posts on PRSA International 2008 over at Online Marketing Blog’s Public Relations Conference category and the official PRSA ComPRehension blog.

By Lee Odden

In the world of using search engine optimization tactics for extending the reach of media relations, optimizing press releases alone leaves a tremendous opportunity untouched.

Increasing numbers of companies have realized this and are adopting more formal holistic news content optimization strategies. Digital Asset Optimization is a SEO Point of View that our search marketing agency, TopRank started developing in early 2007.

Limiting news content optimization to press releases with a web site rich with news, media coverage and digital assets leaves a lot of the “good stuff” out of the scope of SEO attention. There’s a tremendous opportunity for a competitive advantage in search engine PR when all of the news content digital assets involved with the SEO effort.

The first step to managing a news digital asset optimization program is to take inventory of the media assets and content types that are currently being created. It is important not to discount content because it is not published online. Many types of press clippings, news coverage, digital communications, video and image assets can be repurposed for news content optimization and promotion.

It’s important for a successful news DAO program to create a matrix of inventoried digital assets and the corresponding promotional channels. This is helpful when a strategic online PR promotion plan is put in place because it’s easier to see what individual parts of a program can be promoted on their own.

Next, the media and content types being promoted are keyword optimized. Ideally, a process and training is put in place with the various news content creation sources including press releases, media coverage, white papers, archived webinars, newsletters or other PR and news communications content in order to enable news content to be optimized and promoted on an ongoing basis.

Digital news assets and media like video can be extended and optimized for promotion on multiple channels. For example, a video might normally be submitted to YouTube or a few other video sharing web sites. The video optimization and marketing opportunity can be extended by:

• Publishing the video with embed code into a blog post. Optimize the blog post with keywords in the title and references to the video from other relevant pages using anchor text.

• Transcribe part or all of the video and post the text along with show notes into another blog post entry or in the original post under the video.

• Take screen captures of important parts of the video and submit them to image sharing web sites. Include portions of the show notes in the image description. Link back to the blog post hosting the video.

Another step in the digital asset optimization process for news content is to create a digital content promotion and outreach plan. Consider both the strategic DAO promotion opportunities as well as the promotion of individual media whether they are text, image, video or audio.

For example, an entire viral campaign can be deployed leveraging not only the buzz building and word of mouth benefits, but also the ability for individual components of the program to drive news related search traffic on their own.

Like all online public relations and marketing efforts, campaign activity and content interactions should be tracked with web analytics software. Each overall campaign as well as individual promotional efforts should be monitored to see what’s working and what’s not.

Moran’s tone is optimistic, and not at all condescending, which is a refreshing change from many speakers on this topic, who seem to want to tsk-tsk us for not having discovered social networking years ago. Oh, and they are eager to inform you that whichever social media platform you have succeeded in engaging was obsolete in 1999. Moran eschews alarmism to good effect.

PR types tend to view new media as a sort of death knell for Public Relations. Moran sees them as an opportunity. The new model allows Public Relations to deliver hard results where we know we are making an impact on behalf of our clients. We can target more closely, measure results more accurately, and respond more quickly to customer feedback.

He cites the example of B2B companies, many of whom were shut out of media relations in the past, for lack of cost effective avenues. This is a perfect example. A small widget manufacturer can now afford to earn media by targeting only those people who like to buy widgets. That’s an almost entirely new market. If you’re afraid of it, and afraid of the new ways to solve problems, well, you always dreamed of opening a wine bar one day, right?

If we believe Moran (I do), new media opportunities play to our strong suit. We are story-tellers by nature, or at least we should be if we are any good at this stuff. And bloggers need stories, and so do their readers. And you need their readers. So it all works out.
He follows up this point with a disastrous example, in which bloggers discovered that Kryptonite locks could be picked by Bic pens. Company officials refused to even acknowledge bloggers, and the story festered (all the way to the New York Times).

Dell, on the other hand, responded to blogger critiques, and tailored their own corporate blog to address the complaints they introduced. Is this really anything new? Is this 2.0? Not so, says Moran. Again, I have to agree. This is simple crisis communications. It’s customer relations. It’s earned media. For us, it should be second nature.

Okay, so he engages in a bit of alarmism. The head of marketing at FTD was fired for poor search results. That’s pretty alarmist, but reasonably so. There are plenty of people who have no problem embracing the new paradigm, so why wouldn’t companies find them?

But change is hard. Why is that so? According to Moran, it is because change requires sacrifice. There are only so many hours in a day, and choosing to pursue social media means TAKING TIME AWAY from that which has been our bread and butter. Outreach to a blogger means a trade journal might not get a phone call. An act as simple as registering for Twitter means you won’t have time to do something else.

But, like Duncan Wardle, Moran tasks PR professionals with figuring it out. This is our job. We don’t get paid to be comfortable. We get paid to be good. So let’s be good, okay?

Read Lee’s coverage of the Mike Moran Keynote over at Online Marketing Blog

Among his Twitter friends are none other than Barack Obama, yet more proof that his campaign is making an earnest effort to engage new media. I suppose all the campaigns have some social media presence, but Obama seems to be the only one effectively using it. A blog is just a blog until someone reads it. Then it becomes a tactic.

I am familiar with sliderocket, but Scoble illuminates perhaps its most valuable feature, which is version control. Presentations tend to be collaborative efforts, and revamping existing presentations to accommodate edits can be a chore. PowerPoint in real-time is a powerful idea, I think.

Upcoming (now brought to you by Yahoo) is a compelling new technology that seems to hold promise for the average Joe’s out there who want to use Social Media, but need tools to help organize their life and keep up with their friends. The ability to select your own social calendar will have broad appeal to those for whom platforms like Twitter have limited appeal.

Scoble makes an interesting point. Anyone jumping into the newer social networking sites would still be considered an early adopter. That should be a challenge to media relations folk who might fancy themselves permanently out of the loop, or on the outside of what they hope is a passing fad. It’s not too late, and there is no excuse. Put the phone down for a second.

Someone asks a question that gets Scoble on a roll. His company’s IT department acts as a bottleneck for video production. As a result, his company simply doesn’t produce video, and he was wondering if Scoble had a solution. Of course he does. He whips out his cell phone and immediately broadcasts the room live across the net via Qik, and he doesn’t need approval from the PR department to do it (his words).

But this is a very important consideration. Many companies adhere to processes that simply fail to take social media into consideration. As such, an ambitious marketer can do an end-run around process. This can be a (contentious) path to efficiency, but it can also lead to pitfalls, not to mention hurt feelings.

That said, I think the lesson here is for companies to have processes that take burgeoning forms of media into consideration when honing processes. We should be leveraging new technologies to make our jobs easier, if we can, and deliver more efficiently for our clients. If bottlenecks are impeding what’s next, well, let’s break some necks. Can I trademark that phrase?

Speaking of which, the session ends when Mr. Scoble is cut off, just as he was getting to the good stuff. It’s 10:00 am, and heaven knows I didn’t just come all the way here just to see some super-influential blogger. Doesn’t new media require a new rethinking of time? That sounds like fodder for a future post.