Rembrandt’s Blog

Do you think of social media first when it comes to word-of-mouth-marketing?

Well, before you start tweeting, posting photos on Facebook and adding videos to YouTube, tell your story to the media.

After all, if your business is featured in a major news-story on radio, television, print, or online, you can build buzz while obtaining third-party credibility you simply can’t purchase.

With this in mind, here are a few activities to consider prior to posting your news via social media:

• Research specific media members.

Who will be interested in your story and reach your target market?

• Figure out a unique story angle for each press member.

Do you have a client “before-and-after” story to share?

How do your products and services relate to a current trend, holiday or industry event?

Think of a specific story idea for each media member on your list.

•  Pick up the phone.

Contact the media members on your list and pitch your story. You have nothing to lose and some free publicity to gain!

•  Write a press release.

Take your story idea and create a press release. Optimize it for the search engines with the appropriate keywords, or hire a freelance, SEO expert to do this for you.

Post your release on free, press-release sites, http://www.rembrandtwrites.com/FreePressReleasePostingSites.htm, and industry sites or use a press-release distribution service like PRWeb, www.prweb.com, or PR Newswire, www.prnewswire.com.

Also, post the release on your site, and give it a specific website address. And if you haven’t set up Google Analytics to monitor your site activity, you’ll want to do this right away at http://www.google.com/analytics/.

• Use social media.

Once you’ve pitched your story to the press and posted it online, then tell the world about your news using social media. You can provide a link to the specific website address you created for your press release and monitor the results.

Social media is a great way to build word-of-mouth, but don’t forget about public relations in the process. After all, with a simple call or press release, you may garner a feature story that catapults your business to the top of the news fast!

Do you need help with your SEO copywriting, public relations and social media activities? Please let me know here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’m here to help!

When you prepare to contact a reporter, it is essential to conduct some research first. Media members receive hundreds of calls and e-mails each week, and you want to make a good, first-impression without being annoying.

To stand out and get your story heard, here is a simple reminder of ten questions you should never ask a reporter:

1. My client just created a new product, will you write about it next week?
2. What are your columns about?
3. How do you spell your name?
4. Will you write a feature story about our small businesses?
5. We are having a press event tonight, can you come?
6. Did you get my fax?
7. Are you going to write about the press release I just faxed to you?
8. Our CEO is available to speak to you now. Do you have 30 minutes to hear his story?
9. Can I proof your story before it goes to print for errors?
10. The local paper and CNN just did a major story about my client. Would you like to do the same story too?

These are just a few of the many annoying, time-wasting questions reporters receive every day. What others do you have to add to this list?

Instead of asking dumb questions, please do your homework first. Research the appropriate media venues and review archived and current articles, television programs, radio shows, etc. Discover appropriate beats, deadlines and as much information as possible before you pick up the phone.

You’ll save time and increase your chances of getting some good publicity. But most importantly, you’ll start to build a reputation as a valuable resource for future stories.

Do you need help increasing site traffic, getting media mentions and increasing sales fast? Please contact me here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you!

Chocolate. Jewelry. Cards. Ethical Roses.

Ahhhh. All nice things for Valentine’s Day… Wait, ethical roses? What the heck is an ethical rose?

Well, that’s exactly what I thought when I was driving home from a meeting and listening to a very interesting radio spot.

According to the announcer, we need to buy “ethical roses.” No, a dozen roses from just any florist or store are not good enough. In fact, you may want to just throw them out if you get them and consider it an insult.

Yeah. Right.

I don’t know about you, but isn’t it difficult enough just to remember these holidays when you’re trying to run your business – let alone, get your significant other to remember them?

Now, we are not supposed to “settle” for regular roses. No. After all, who knows how they were treated?

Snapped off the vine as a mere bud.

Ripped away from family and home never to see another raindrop again.

Stripped of their thorns and left to stand in a depressing bottle of water waiting for delivery.

Oh, the horror!

Good grief. But you know what? I’ve got to give the agency that came up with this idea a hand. The advertisement caught my attention, provided a unique niche to stand out against all of the other Valentine’s Day commercials, and here I am talking about it.

It just goes to show the importance of words. People like me, the media and your customers, really do pay attention to what you’re saying.

With this in mind, how much old information is on your Website right now?

How many grammatical errors are going out in customer e-mails, newsletters, blogs, and other correspondence?

Are your team members using the appropriate language to build buzz about your products and services?

If you don’t have time to check the words being using in your organization, find someone who can review them for you. This is the only way to keep track, and fix, the messaging that is being distributed.

After all, if your competitor is taking the time to create and share memorable phrases like “ethical roses,” they may be stealing your customers, and valuable publicity, from you right now.

Do you need help writing SEO copy for your e-mail auto responders, newsletters, blogs, articles, and more? Please write to me here or at www.rembrandtwrites.com. I’d love to hear from you. In the meantime, have a Happy Valentine’s Day! (and please forgive my ignorance about “ethical roses”)