Getting started with online public relations

15 August 2011

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The internet offers small businesses a cost-effective way of spreading the word about their businesses and nowhere is this more true than in the world of online public relations (PR). Read on to find out how distributing your press releases online can get your business increased media coverage plus more traffic to your website.

What's the difference between traditional and online PR?

Traditional PR is about getting coverage for your business in ‘offline media' such as newspapers, magazines, TV and radio. However, more and more, these channels have online versions too – so if you get your story published in one, you can often get it published in the other.

Online PR is more about producing press releases that can be distributed online to journalists and that customers will find when they search online, or through social media.

The added benefits of online PR

Offers excellent search engine optimisation (SEO) benefits. By getting an article containing well-placed links your website published on other websites, you're creating valuable back links that build your website's authority with search engines. This means they're likely to rank your website more highly.
Online press releases are interactive. If people want to know more about you or to read more, they can simply click on a link to your website, blog, video, etc.
Helps you to reach a wider audience. The media is no longer just restricted to newspapers, magazines, TV and radio. There are now millions of websites and blogs worldwide that have just as much influence on their audiences.
Your return is measurable. See how many people have read and shared your article, plus track how many people were referred to your website from an article.

Optimise your press releases for search engines

To make sure your press releases get seen online you need to optimise them for search engines. To do this, you need to choose the keywords people are using to search for products and services like yours (you can do this using Google's Keyword tool) and then work these keywords into your press release's title, introduction and link text. Paid-for services, many of which include press release writing services, will usually help you with this.

Make your press releases more interactive

The beauty of online PR is that you can link to all kinds of resources from your press release including images, your website, video content, forums and other social media. In many cases, busy online journalists will use your press release verbatim and often include links to your website, which is great for SEO.

Distributing your press release online

Once you've written your press release, you will need to distribute it online. You can either use a free or paid-for service.

Free press release distribution is an attractive option for small businesses on a budget. You simply upload your press release online, add links to your website and tags for the search terms you want to be found online for.

They are not as effective as paid-for press release distribution sites and, though they will send your press release to their subscribers, very few free sites will actually distribute your press release to a list of verified media contacts. However, posting your press releases here with links back to your website can help to improve the position of your website in search engine results and get your press release seen online.

Paid-for press release distribution services offer the same SEO benefits as free services by posting your press release to their online directories, but they will often also distribute your press release to verified media contacts and other subscribers by email, plus online news and social media sites. This can include journalists in industry-specific and specified geographical areas. Generally, the more you pay for, the more targeted and relevant your distribution becomes.

Spread your press release via social media

Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to spread your press release even further by sharing the release to your press release with all your contacts and followers.

Measure the return on your investment

Most press release distribution services will give you some statistics for your press release, such as how many times it's been viewed or shared. Plus, if you include links to your website in your press release, you can use a free package such as Google Analytics to measure how much traffic is referred to your website from news sites, and what visitors do when they get there. This can quickly tell you whether your PR campaign has been a success.

To find out how the Forum can help you to grow your business using marketing and PR, call our member helpline now on 0845 130 1722.

Members of the Forum can make substantial savings on press release distribution and writing services, plus get a complimentary marketing consultancy session to establish your business's needs.