How Blogging is a Public Relations Tool

By Kristin DeAnn Gabriel

PR has morphed into a combination of old school traditional media, and the latest social media marketing strategies. I have been blogging for a variety of different clients over the last eight years. Some of the first tricks that I first learned still apply, but there are many new rules too.

A number of communities are forming all over the Internet, and blogs increase the search visibility for online audiences. The following blogging tips to work very nicely for our clients including:

1. Use newsworthy topics that tie-in to local, national or industry news if possible. Place these key words in your headline and body copy.
2. Link your key words and phrases in blog posts to a page on your website with relevant content.
3. Use about three links per blog post — beginning middle and end. Also always link towards the beginning middle and end of each paragraph and/or sentence if possible.
4. Research and use statistics, site studies, and science when you can to lend authority to each blog post.
5. Add photos, diagrams, charts and videos, which should all be uploaded with names that include your keywords.
6. To be clear about a process needing an outcome, use steps or numbers.

Today’s journalists do not need PR people – as much as in the past – to send them story ideas because they can find almost everything they need online. But that just means that if you are a company that is trying to get covered by the media, you have to be all over the Internet so the media will find you. The press room on your website must have everything they could possibly need to begin writing about your company right away.

The items in a press room should include a company backgrounder, press releases, a frequently asked questions document (FAQ), product profiles, and photos, videos, etc. Plus today’s press rooms also might have RSS feeds or links to Twitter and Facebook fan pages.

If you have a blog but need help writing and performing the right search marketing strategies and tactics for better visibility, look for someone to can ghostwrite your blog, or train you on how to get the best return for blogging on the Internet.

Most businesses that are using Facebook already know about the little “Like” feature, which enables you to click on something someone posts that you like and then share that with your Facebook friends. Facebook wants you to share your likes from other places on the Internet, such as blogs and other websites. Start watching for other web publishers to begin installing the FB Like button everywhere. More than 1,500 Type Pad bloggers installed Like buttons on their blogs when the widget first launched.

The Like widget became available in early May, then soon thereafter a second feature was released allowing users to attach a Facebook “Like” button to the bottom of their blog posts. About 2,400 bloggers added this feature soon thereafter and started enjoying a 200 percent growth spurt in their referral traffic from Facebook according to Type Pad. We test out most all of the revenue boosting social media tactics that we hear about. We have also seen some good results with Facebook ads. These are Facebook’s pay per click (PPC) revenue center, but the ads usually work and are low cost.

Kristin Gabriel is writer and social media marketing professional with a Los Angeles SEO firm. Her company also handles marketing, public relations, and online advertising. Visit MarComNewMedia.com or call 323.650.2838.

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