PR Spamming- what not to do.

PR Week’s article titled PR Spamming Doesn’t Create Results by Melisa LaBancz-Bleasdale, in the May 2008 issue, reminds readers about the importance of increasing media coverage through targeted pitching. The article demonstrates that sending a mass media message, known as “spam”, is an ineffective way to reach your audience. “Spamming” is often defined as an e-mail or press release that gets distributed to whole media lists which are outdated or lack the knowledge about fundamental interests.

Most importantly, spamming rarely results in coverage of any kind, decreasing the chance to showcase your clients’ news. PR professionals who spam do not produce results or uphold their integrity. LaBancz-Bleasdale asks the readers to put themselves in our client’s shoes and decide, ‘Would the CEO of a Fortune 100 company send 300 indiscriminate invites for taquitos and martinis?’

Melisa also included additional tips in order for successful pitching, including:

• Personalize your pitches.
• Understand the company/product/issues you are pitching, because you only get one chance to capture the writer’s attention.
• Always follow through.
  

For further guidance and insight on how to avoid spamming and produce more front page results, read the full article PR Spamming Doesn’t Create Results.

Expand Your Web Site By Using a Content Management System

Craig McGuire of PR Week recently wrote an article titled “Expanding Web sites helps readership.” McGuire found that updating Web sites to offer easier and effective tools brings in a broader audience and I couldn’t agree more.

McGuire used FedEx’s Online Newsroom as an example of how an organization can take regular press release, news and company background content and turn it into an interactive, Web 2.0 hub for all Web site users from the press to shareholders. FedEx used a permission-based content management system to apply such effective and descriptive tools as videos, images, social bookmarking, multimedia flash video and many more. FedEx went from having 4,500 unique visitors per month to 65,000 per month.

The Furia Rubel site is also built on a content management system foundation and we completely stand by McGuire’s analysis. Your company’s Web site is your store front or as quoted in this article, “one centralized, 24-hour official company online newsroom.” You want your store front to look good and feel clean, offer the most recent and desired goods and entice customers to keep coming back. McGuire lists some key Web site guidelines that may help you expand your Web site.

Do
- Track audience interest and allow feedback
- Lean toward simple, clean navigation
- Offer a means to subscribe to news

Don’t
- Follow the herd
- Produce a variety of Web sites
- Let your content grow stale – timely content is vital

Furia Rubel Enjoys Continued Expansion and Welcomes New Clients

We are pleased to announce that numerous companies, from shopping malls to a media production company, have joined our growing client roster. We will provide planning and public relations services to Allied Pixel; Elephant’s Eye Bucks County Artist Studio Tour; Franklin Mills Mall; Montgomery Mall; and Oxford Valley Mall.

• Allied Pixel: Allied Pixel is a next-generation integrated media production company with a client list that includes some of the country’s best known companies and institutions. They create interactive Web sites, mobile applications, Web- and desktop-based applications, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and kiosks, all marked by Allied Pixel’s passion and dedication to excellence. As Allied Pixel’s media relations partner, Furia Rubel will help build awareness of the company’s offerings and its wonderful reputation.
• Elephant’s Eye Bucks County Artists Studio Tour: For two weekends in May, some of Bucks County’s finest artists will participate in this first ever tour, which is slated for May 9 through 11 and May 17 through 18 where participating artists will open their private studios to the public, giving art lovers an inside glimpse into each artist’s world of creative magic. Artists include: Cedar Maze, Chris Bonner Studio, Ellsworth Studios, Ken Vavrek Studio, Lisa Naples Ceramics, Smith/Chamlee Studio and Steve Tobin Studio. Furia Rubel is handling event promotion and media relations for this exciting inaugural tour.
• The Simon Property Group-owned Franklin Mills Mall : Franklin Mills features some of the best names in manufacturers’ and retail outlet stores. Located just off of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, the mall’s offerings include Off 5th Saks Fifth Avenue, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store and Last Call Neiman Marcus as well as high quality entertainment venues such as AMC Theaters and Dave & Busters Grand Sports Café. Furia Rubel will work in tandem with the Franklin Mills Mall marketing team on event publicity and media relations.
• The Montgomery Mall and the Oxford Valley Mall: Both Kravco Simon properties have selected Furia Rubel as their agency of record. Furia Rubel will handle the malls’ event publicity, media relations and other strategic communications. Both malls feature four department stores – JCPenney, Macy’s, Sears and Boscov’s – and offer specialty shops for every interest, including Hollister, Gap, GameStop and The Disney Store. Extensive food courts and numerous eateries are also available to mall guests. The Oxford Valley Mall is situated in the heart of Lower Bucks County, while the Montgomery Mall is located in North Wales, Pa.

Stay tuned for more Furia Rubel news!

Harnessing the World of Social Media and Client Relationships

The Wall Street Journal Online recently published an article by Marshall Loeb of MarketWatch titled Improve Client Relationships Through Social Media.

In this article, Loeb discusses the growing popularity of social media platforms like MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn, and how all types of businesses are embracing these tools to build community and strengthen consumer interest.

Loeb then highlights the co-founder of ThePort Network, Dan Backus. ThePort Network is a firm that focuses on creating software tools for virtual communities. Below Backus outlines the following four tips on how to use the power of social media to support your company's advantage when dealing with consumers:

- Know your audience. The tools you will want to invest in should be directly related to the online behavior of the people you are trying to reach. Ideally, you will want to conduct audience research to determine how often potential customers are online, what other sites they visit and how comfortable they are downloading podcasts or setting up RSS feeds.

- Align organizational objectives with social media tools. Different tools are better at accomplishing specific goals. For example, blogs are a great way to get feedback on potential programs from large groups of readers, while photo-sharing programs are useful for building a sense of community and excitement around new programs.

- Establish procedures. Social media require companies to have a higher level of trust in their publics than other communication tools. At the same time, it is important to retain some oversight to ensure communications remain appropriate and continue to focus on your company's key goals. You might want to begin by identifying forum moderators and establishing rules for posting.

- Identify resources and bring everybody on the same page. A successful social-media strategy requires participation from many constituents, as well as from the organizational leaders themselves. Before initiating, make sure the internal personnel support the idea and are willing to integrate social media functions into outreach activities. Ideally, those same leaders will want to participate in the online communities themselves – both to learn more about their customers and to use that knowledge to shape future goals.

These are great tips on how to harness the world of social media to your company’s and/or your client’s advantage.