If you have researched your industry and developed a creative PR plan to promote your products, services or company you are ready to start promoting. Your research has indicated
best places to appear online and you're hoping that your creative PR plan will work and get you listed. So how do you achieve your online public relations campaign goals? Tenacity.You know where you need to appear, right? So go get listed and don't take no for an answer. The key to successful online PR campaigns is tenacity with which you approach your goals. Of course, without knowing "Rules of Game" for each medium you are trying to get your message to appear in you might be just chasing your tail. Each online medium has its own unique rules that you must abide by in order to be successful with your online PR campaign.
Here is a quick Rule guide for newsgroups/forums, press releases, email inquiries, etc.
Newsgroups:
Find right forum - If you sell Widgets, it won't do you much good to spend time in Gidget forum. Thorough research will keep you up to date on most used and visited newsgroups and forums and you should participate in only those that might be constructive for your organization to participate. Instead of being a member of hundreds of forums, it's best to focus on those industry leading forums that can impact image of your business.
Lurk before posting - Unless you have some social disorder which compels you to speak out of turn without knowing much about your audience or topic at hand, you should always lurk before posting in forums or newsgroups. The reason for this essential rule should be obvious: if you know a lot of information about topics being discussed and people that are suggesting them you are better positioned to be well respected in that forum. Always take advantage of any "Introduce Yourself" sections and make an effort to inquire about other people, their products as well as questions that they introduce for discussison in forum.
Share only your expertise - If you've started a website you probably did it because you have some expertise in something. If you are contributing to forums or newsgroups, always present your site as an expert within an industry. Put simply, remember that "What you say, says a lot about you!" Focus on providing helpful information in a timely manner and you'll achieve expert status over time. Doing so can result in reams of qualified traffic for a long time to come.
Respond online and offline - Want to really be taken seriously? Send other members personal messages. Member forums usually provide some means of contacting other members. Build partnerships and relationships that are mutually beneficial; work together for online PR success.
Don't advertise - There are too many newsgroups and forums to count. Just a handful in fact for even most popular areas of interest. So it's important not to alienate your audience. Take great care to craft a message that will initiate discussion and not directly advertise your products. People come to newsgroups and forums for information, not advertising. So take first step and start giving people what they want. That will put you right in front!
Use a Signature file - Remember to "Tell 'em what you told 'em" within a Sig or signature file. Signature files are what follows any message and is a excellent way to reiterate any point. Most forums and newsgroups enable you. This message is created by the, who else, creator of message. This is perfect opportunity to "sell" what you do. Promoting a new e-book this week? Mention it to your readers and date it. Tell them you'll give them a discount if they saw that ad and signed up with that week.
