Musings of the Social Media Mommy

Guest Post Written by Elena Verlee

If you want to get PR, you need a media list. When you have your press release or story about your business, product or service, you’ll want to send it to a reporter. This is where your media list comes in.

A media list is simply a list of reporters, their contact information and the name of the magazine, newspaper or website that they write for. A good media list is customized and researched so that each reporter or magazine covers the type of product or service that you offer. In turn, your product or service is appropriate to the readers of that publication.

When planning PR, know that consultants and agencies can charge thousands of dollars to put together a media list for you, since there could be hundreds of editors and their magazines to research and target.

If you have the time and want to build your own media list, take 30 minutes a week and do some research.

• What do YOU read? List your favorite papers, magazines, websites and even TV and radio shows that may be interested in featuring your company.

• What do your customers read? If you can find just one website they are reading, chances are that website will have sponsors, partners or a resources page where you can find other media that your customers may be browsing. And so on, and so on.

• Who accepts submissions for new products? Most likely it will be a new products editor, news editor or in smaller publications, the editor-in-chief.

• Read the magazine and note if there is a columnist or reporter that is most likely to cover you for a feature story or interview.

I can bet that you have your favorite set of writers you follow and often think, my product or service would be perfect for them…if only they knew about it!

If you do this every week, by the end of the year you will have built up 52 solid contacts that may be writing about your company.

Update: 50% off sale on Mom Media List – they’ll be gone after Feb. 28, 2010

If you’re a mom entrepreneur wanting to jumpstart getting PR with no time to waste, do check out my media list for moms with hundreds of reporters. I won’t be doing an updated list for 2010, so this is your last chance to get a copy. You can download a free sample from the page if you’d like to see what it looks like.

Elena Verlee is the creator of PRinYourPajamas.com where she shares publicity and buzz-generating tips for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

Too often, the term “public relations” comes up after a disaster has happened. Tiger Woods is caught having multiple affairs? “What a PR disaster!” we exclaim.

The truth is, public relations or PR is an important aspect of running a business and one that entrepreneurs should regulary use — not only to avert branding and image disasters.

It should be a regular part of building your brand, establishing your credibility, attracting prospects, and converting leads into buyers.
http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?af=1125590

What Is PR?

Public relations is the process of building awareness and credibility for your company, product or service among your target market.

The process involves working with key influencers – traditionally journalists but now also including bloggers and other content producers.

Key influencers are those who regularly reach your target market, are trusted by them, and are known to provide accurate and reliable information. They are an objective third party, not paid by you.

Because this awareness comes from a trustworthy source, your credibility increases. Notice the effect of a product review published by a magazine because the reporter genuinely believed in the product.

Compare that to a paid advertisement for the same product. Which one will have more impact on a prospect?

The reporter’s review will have more weight, because readers know it’s her honest opinion, one that wasn’t influenced by the promise of monetary reward.

How Can PR Help Your Business?

Aside from achieving credibility, you can reach potential partners, investors, and of course, customers, through PR.

Online publicity, for example, will enhance the search engine rankings of your site and bring more organic, targeted traffic.

An increase in sales and profits is the ultimate benefit of effective PR.

So You Wanna Do Your Own PR ?

Big companies either have in-house PR staff or hire PR agencies or consultants to the tune of thousands of dollars
every month. This is out of reach for the average small business entrepreneur.

However, this doesn’t mean that effective PR should be out of your reach as well. As a matter of fact, most entrepreneurs can manage their own publicity needs – if they have the basic PR skills and mindset.

Short of browsing hundreds of websites a bout PR or enrolling in a PR course at the nearest university, you can learn the basics of PR at your own pace and in the comfort of your home.

One course I recommend is “How to Do Your Own PR” by Elena Verlee, a sought-after PR consultant, serial entrepreneur and certified business coach. It’s an audio course you can load into your mp3 player to listen to while you drive around.

Or, if you’d rather read, full transcripts are available as well.

Aside from knowing PR inside and out, Verlee is an excellent teacher who’s able to simplify PR concepts and explain them in layman’s terms. Just try and fail at this course.

If you’re interested, here’s the link to “How to Do Your Own PR” again. Check it out:

http://www.marketerschoice.com/app/?af=1125590

Today, I spent a few minutes on You Tube to discuss “Five Quick Facebook Professionalism Tips.” This has been on my mind for awhile now. I have assisted at at least three social media conferences where I have consistently seen people make some of these mistakes while setting up both their personal and professional Facebook pages. And the other tips are things that I just see happening across the Facebook universe. So here is a quick run down of what’s in the video:

• Capitalization: Don’t forget to capitalize your name and your business name. Also, don’t write you business name in all caps!
• Mis-spelling: Find a way to spell check your content.
• Bad words: Don’t curse like a sailor on your personal page or your professional page. Don’t let your friends do it either!
• Unbecoming Comments From Friends: Best practices on how to handle them.
• Bad Reviews: You can’t please everyone; now what are you going to do about it?

I would love to hear your comments!