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Here’s a great blog posting referenced in the New Media Release group about lessons learned on a recent new media release produced by GeoCommons’ agency. They blogged about the experience and provided a link to the release.

In particular, they seemed to do a pretty good job with their online editorial outreach (OEO) outlined in the following paragraph:

“Further, our outreach to the blogging community was value-based, not simply pitch centric, inviting the community to use the maps for their own purposes in whatever way they wanted. As such we started a dialog with several bloggers, and anticipate they will give GeoCommons a whirl. We really see this as a peering technology, and as such the world of social networks will drive the actual usage of GeoCommons maps to their tastes. So we anticipate that GeoCommons will be found valuable to bloggers and other social network users, and that the maps will start being used in place of older push-pin types of mash-ups.”

The traditional press release was a primary PR tool designed to help journalists understand an organization’s point of view surrounding a specific announcement. It was a conduit to help get the message across to media. Media were a conduit to reaching the audience, be they consumers, investors, local authorities or any other number of potential targets. It worked well. But times have changed.

First of all, let me confirm that the press release still has a place and remains an invaluable tool. Its function has evolved though. This seems the most difficult thing for many PR pros to understand. The questions I typically get include:

• Why should we distribute a release online?
• Are reporters accessing news information online?
• How does a news release need to be rewritten for the Web?
• Who actually reads our news online?

I’m not going to answer all of these questions right now. But there are two important things I thought I’d share that help PR professionals less versed with online strategy start to “get it”.

1. A new media release allows organizations to bypass traditional channels and create a factual, undiluted news destination. It is also a great way to enhance an organization’s search engine visibility, especially when it embraces the language of the Internet and its users. This leads into my second point.
2. Traditionally we have been focused on distinguishing a company, product or executive through unique messaging. The Internet is about identifying and aligning with commonalities. When we create truly exceptional releases, we lead with common and popular terms and quickly move to the point of distinction. If your news materials use terminology specific to an organization or unfamiliar to the average customer, people won’t find it. It’s as simple as that.

PR has an incredible role to play online. Professionals also needs to assume an incredibly high level of responsibility and accountability since in many instances a journalist is not necessarily filtering and analyzing the message. It’s up to the author to create context and establish credibility by understanding the audience and what really matters to them.

Technorati Tags: pr, new media release, social media press release, public relations

Once again, Todd Defren and the team at SHIFT Communications have released an incredibly useful template for communication professionals seeking to embrace social media and make their online news presence more contemporary. They call it the Social Media Newsroom Template. We have been working on similar initiatives, but the SHIFT team manages to nail the simplicity and logic behind new communication concepts.

Here are some of the things I love about this concept.

• Tag Cloud: The ability to search the news by tags adds another layer of accessibility. It also allows a visitor to instantly see the most popular keywords an organization uses to describe its own news and media coverage of its activity.
• Multimedia Gallery: Audio, video and other types of visual content create incredible opportunities for communication professionals to package stories, spokespeople and testimonials in exciting ways that have new legs online.
• Executive Corner: I love the integration of LinkedIn profiles. There could be some drawbacks but I think it will force professionals to take greater control over their networks.
• Contact: Being able to indicate the status (i.e. online, on the phone, away) of a PR contact is very smart. Visitors, especially those on deadline, want to know that someone is instantly available to respond to a request. It may not mean an official spokesperson is immediately available, the potential interviewer knows that they can get the process underway right now.

There are a few things that I think would further enhance the concept.

• Topics: Similar to blog categories, most organizations can bundle their news by business unit, brand, product, service or news type (e.g. financial, people, etc.). This would reinforce the way the organization talks about itself.
• Experts: Expanding the availability of “executives” to include subject matter experts is something I always like, especially if they’re already blogging or speaking at industry conferences. The authenticity and genuine nature of experts comes through well online.
• Analysts: Those that monitor an industry or organization who can offer greater context are welcome sources for many journalists. The ability to create an access point (with permission) to analysts and others beyond the organization who can contribute insight offers great value.
• Quotes: Picking up on the “analysts” theme, consider packaging quotes from third-party commentators and having them tagged and readily accessible in multiple media formats. This would probably be part of the tag cloud since many quotes would be specific to an individual release.

The one item I question with the template as produced by SHIFT is the prominence of “Media Coverage” which is top and center. Media links often go dead, or require subscriber access, unless an organization purchases a Web reprint (which is always recommended to respect copyright). I am not sure what the intent is behind the term “Media” in this instance, but I think this feature is better served by expanding it from just mainstream media to incorporate prominent blog coverage. Maybe “Media” is all encompassing.

Anyway, these are exciting times for communication. There are so many great ideas out there.

Technorati Tags: social media newsroom, new media release, social media release, social media press release, public relations, media relations