New Venture Marketing

"Why Online Matters More than Print"

Paul Gillin (who writes Newspaper Death Watch and wrote a tremendous book on Social Media Marketing) recently wrote a very insightful piece on “Why Online Matters More than Print”.   His observation was that most PR folks still consider Web coverage to be nice, but what their clients want is ink.  And that from his point-of-view, the opposite should be true.  I couldn’t agree more.

 Depending on the publication, an article may last no longer than the issue it was printed in, but online that same piece will last forever, be searched, and linked to as long as the subject is of interest. 

 The power of the Web over the power of print can not be overstated, and yet it is rare that press releases or any of what I would call more traditional PR collaterals (white papers, articles, case studies, testimonials) are optimized for online distribution.

 What do I mean by that?

 Write a press release and get it picked up in several publications, and you will have some ink and some coverage.  Write a press release whose purpose is to draw in readers on the web, be targeted to online media outlets, and search engine optimized, and it will do 3x the job of a traditional release.

First, the release will draw attention when it is distributed.  Second, it will continue live on the Web, drawing in readers via the search engines, and third it will actively help to draw readers to the customer’s site.

If you think about it, it only makes sense that press releases, articles and other kinds of copy be designed for the Internet.  But we grew up on newspapers, magazines and TV and for many of us those still count.  And to a degree, a lesser degree, they still do.  But what really counts is drawing readers to your business over the Internet, and giving your copy “feet”.

The most effective articles, press releases and any other kind of copy has been designed for pick up on the Web.

Should Every CEO Blog?

I had lunch the other day with 3 friends, and before I knew it we were talking about blogging.  The others had all heard about this new phenomenon.  Everyone wanted to know if I thought there was anything to it.  And, if so, should they be blogging?  Now I do not think blogging in business is a fad but a whole new way of communicating.  But as much as I am a blogging enthusiast, I also feel that the decision on whether to blog, should be predicated on the objective.  In other words, the person should consider blogging only if it enables him or her to do something that they could best do via a blog. 

Blogging for Business
I do not believe everyone should blog, especially every CEO.  First, it requires a great deal of time and commitment, commitment that might be better spent addressing some more important concern.  Second, it requires some comfort with writing and not everyone will have that ease. And third, it means you will be making in yourself more accessible to customers, vendors, business partners, and even competitors. 

3 Great New Books for the Entrepreneur (and anyone else)

I'd have been remiss in not recommending three terrific books.

The first, Growing Your Business with Google, by Dave Taylor, I've just finished reading and it is excellent.  Taylor, who writes a highly regarded technology blog, column and many other things has spent the last decade developing the experience and insight for this book. And it shows. The book, whose title doesn't do justice to the content, is really about how companies can -- and will -- use search engines to maximize their business in the future.  It provides a great deal of insight into how Google operates, how search engines find you and "promoting and growing your business online."

Taylor says, it's about visibility or how easily a company can be found or what he calls "findability".  "On the Internet," says Taylor, "visibility revolves around the question of when people search for your product or service, do they find you or your competitors?  How you achieve and use that findability is the essence of his new book.

 

The New PR: It's all about Findability

I had an interesting exchange with a potential new client, a Finnish high tech company with an exceptional product that is already becoming recognized in its field.  The company has only about 300 potential clients around the world, all at very large companies. Their head of marketing wanted to know what PR could do for them.  Moreover, like many start ups who have bootstrapped their success, customer-by-customer, this company was doubtful that something as mass market focused as public relations could have any impact on them and more importantly their customer.

I agreed.  A traditional PR program which builds credibility and visibility by "influencing the influencers" and extending that base of influence to customers is becoming less and less effective. Both in terms of what it costs to build such an effort and its likely impact today.  In a world turning increasingly to search engines for information and research meetings with analysts and editors, traditional press releases carry less and less weight.

So what does a small company in a small town in far away country with an exceptional technology and highly targeted, customer base do?  I would suggest they start with their web site and see how well it is built to leverage what the Internet has to offer.