Wire Services in the Social Media Age

With the advancements and changes in the world of communications, many are pushing news and announcements through social media rather than traditional wire services.

Considering the results from wire services the best case scenario for getting news out is not to use one or the other, but both. Traditional wire services have an established presence and feed the media news and updates. Social Media is a fast new way to push news through Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, LinkedIn, Tumblr and more.

The best of the available wire services from our experience is Business Wire, for which we have seen noticeable results. Another good service with nice results is PR Web. Many like to use PR Newswire, but at Maxima PR we prefer Business Wire over PR Newswire. Some of the new services like PR Web are a little lower in cost than Business Wire or PR Newswire which are very close in pricing, but the reach of these bigger, more established wire services is significant and in most cases worth the higher price.

For the Social Media a well networked and followed Twitter account or accounts is key, along with a presense on Facebook, LinkedIn, Tumblr and other sites such as StumbleUpon, Reddit, Technorati, Digg, Focus, Small Business Brief, Wikipedia, YouNoodle, and video posts on YouTube. With Social Media you want to establish a presence on all relevant sites and services, and update on a regular basis, daily if possible.

When using wire services and social media sites and services, do your homework to choose and use the best of the services available. In some cases you may want to use more of wire services while in others you may focus on social media.

Which is Bigger, Better and More Important? Traditional Media or Social Media and Blogs

Over the last year I have been asked by many as to the importance of traditional media compared to social media and social networks.

Which is bigger, better and more important? The answer is... Both.

Some favor one over the other, but the best strategy is to use both to take advantage of every tool and resource available. With some sticking to traditional media, press releases and wire services, and others believing all you need is a Tweet or two and a Facebook post, the truth is those beleiving in only using one or the other are wrong. By using only one or the other you are potentially missing out on audience(s) and market penetration, and this could lead to a lower market share, customer or user base, sales and revenue stream.

With public relations and media what counts most is results. With the new age of social media making big moves in the digital world of today, along with the strength of traditional media, press releases, wire services and good old fashioned distribution, the best strategy really is to use both. Once you have determined company goals and objectives, as you build the marketing and PR plan, implement the tools that will be most beneficial for your client. For each campaign and project you should use a combination of both traditional and social media, using every aspect of PR tools and services online and offline. In some cases you may determine that traditional is more important than social media or vice versa, but with many using both will be the most effective way of meeting goals and increasing market share and revenue. Using all available resources and tools increases the chance of success and quantifiable results.

When it comes to traditional and social media they are all important and should all be included, and by prioritizing the list with main focus given to your top key targets you can take advantage of both traditional and social media. Traditional media includes: print, daily and broadcast such as Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Businessweek, NBC News, etc. Social Media includes: blogs and bloggers, online news, podcasts and use of social media and social networks such as TechCrunch, Mashable, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Digg, and more.

Don't become a creature of habit and ignore either the new or the old traditional ways, as both can be very effective and when it comes to getting results and success, embrace every possible way of meeting your clients goals and objectives.

Knowing and Understanding the Media: The Key to Successful Media Relations and Story Placements

Over the years many people have asked me what is it that makes a PR campaign a success, and what is the best way to handle media and media relations?

My answer is simple and very important:
Know and understand the media. Know who the media are, identify the appropriate reporters, editors, writers, producers and bloggers, and understand their beat and coverage. Know how they prefer to be contacted, by email, phone, Twitter, etc.? Understand them by researching their beat and stories they have written for last 6 months to year. Know them and know their beat, what they cover, and if you have a chance ask them what they are most interested in.

By knowing and understand media, what they like or don't like, how to pitch them or how not to pitch them, you will be far more successful with media and story placements.