Techcrunch recently published a long post by Brian Solis, with 12 PR secrets for web startups.
You can follow the link above to read the full post, but I’ve taken extracted the 12 points below for quick reference:
- Understand You’re Not the Only Story in Town
- Pick the Right Person or Team to Lead PR
- Participation is Marketing
- Identify The Target Audience For Every Step Of Your Growth
- Don’t Launch on Mondays
- No Two Bloggers or Journalists are Created Equal
- Measure Success, Not Traffic
- Customize the News For Each Influencer to Make His Or Her Job Easier
- Get a Spokesperson
- Your Company Blog is More Powerful Than You May Think
- Blogger Relations Extends from the “A-List” to the Magic Middle
- Follow the Conversations and Join In
If you are a seasoned communications pro, I think the points serve as a good set of guidelines for your online marketing/ PR campaign. For those reading the post without marketing or PR experience, a DIY approach based on Solis’ recommendations may get you somewhere, but nowhere as far as good PR counsel can get you.
If there’s one thing Solis nailed spot on, it has to be this comment:
PR is now more than ever, something more capable and influential than simply writing and sending press releases to contacts generated by media databases. The media landscape has been completely blown open to not only include traditional media, but also bloggers and most importantly the very people we want to reach, our customers.
The Digital Vibes 