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by
Marsha Friedman
EMSI Public Relations
 With
all the movies coming out in 3-D these days, I started thinking
about how a good PR campaign also has its own 3-D elements.
Well, really, there are four types of
media outlets today – TV, radio, print (offline and online) and
social media – so you really need a 4-D strategy (a point I am
sure I will be arguing online at some point with a smart-aleck
physicist who takes issue with my science).
In PR, unlike movies, 4-D is the only way to go. I mention this
because people frequently ask me which of the four media outlets
I think is better.
I try to explain that each one is effective in its own right,
however, as the media feeds off of itself, the most effective PR
campaign will include using all elements in a strategy that
leverages a 4-dimensional approach.
Here are some ways the different elements of a 4 dimensional PR
campaign fit together, kind of like a marketing Rubik’s cube.
Print/Online – I put print and
online in the same category because they both encompass written
articles, and just about everything that appears in print is
repurposed online, so written articles have a dual impact. Most
importantly, every article or column that includes a mention of
you, your book or your company will eventually appear online in
such a way that they will turn up as a search engine result on
Google and other news aggregators. For this reason, print/online
interacts beautifully with just about every other media.
For instance, when your PR firm pitches you as a guest for TV
and radio interviews, some of the more enterprising producers
will Google you to see if you are a reputable person in your
field. The more articles that pop up on Google or Yahoo that
feature you as a source, the more likely they are to recognize
you as a credible expert and want to schedule an interview.
In addition, your articles are great fodder for social networks.
While you don’t want to be too commercial or promotional in your
tweets and Facebook updates, there is no harm in tweeting a link
to a news story that might be of interest to your friends and
fellow networkers. If you’re featured in it, that’s just a
bonus. Every time you get an article that pops up online, you
can circulate the links on your social network and drive more
views, which also drives your credibility with your peers.
Radio – for so many reasons,
this is one of my all-time favorite mediums. One critical reason
is that talk radio is a place where you can typically have a
more in-depth conversation about your topic than other mediums
allow. And now that the vast majority of stations are streaming
live on the Internet, the promotional value is endless. For one
thing, you can alert your social network followers as to when
the interview will occur so they can hear it live. If they miss
that exact day and time, most stations archive shows on their
Web site, so people can listen whenever it’s more convenient.
Before the Internet, shows just disappeared into the
stratosphere after they were recorded.
Also, technology is such today that you can download a radio
interview off the station’s site (or you can ask the producer to
do it for you) to post on your own Web site and distribute to
your social network followers.
Another added value is that stations record, podcast and
distribute shows via their own social network connections, so
this becomes another layer of promotion for you. In fact, just a
few minutes ago, we found that an interview we scheduled for one
of our clients on America’s Radio News Network (one of the
fastest growing networks in the country) featured his interview
on the front page of their Web site – an additional avenue of
promotion for you.
At the end of the day, telling your social media followers when
you’re featured in the news and on the air, makes you more
credible to them and will help drive more followers to your
social network and your Web site.
Television – TV, as with radio,
used to be a fleeting experience, because once the interview
aired, its influence was over. Now, many news stations will keep
links to your interview active on their Web site for a short
period of time after the interview took place. Of course, you
always want to obtain a digital copy to post on your Web site,
extending that appearance’s shelf life and also for the viewing
of decision makers in other mediums who may be vetting you for
potential coverage. Nothing screams credibility like an online
video of you appearing on a TV show.
Today, some TV producers are even asking potential guests if
they have a large social network following, because that makes
them more attractive as guests. If you have 10,000 followers,
your outreach to let them know about your appearance could drive
bigger ratings for the show you’re on. The key thing is to get
access to a digital copy and leave plenty of breadcrumbs in your
online footprint for people to find them.
Social Media – While building
your social media connections has its very own reward, it can
also help drive readership, viewership and listenership to every
piece of your PR campaign, helping to grow your numbers and
brand you as an undisputed expert in your field.
So, when you approach PR, don’t view it as a flat,
one-dimensional experience. Put on those 4-D glasses (if they
don’t make them yet, they should), change your perspective and
watch the results of your PR campaigns grow exponentially.
Marsha Friedman is a 21-year veteran of the
public relations industry. She is the CEO of
EMSI
Public Relations, a national firm that provides PR strategy
and publicity services to corporations, entertainers, authors
and professional firms.
marsha@marshafriedman.com
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