Social Media News Release

A Social Media News Release (SMNR) is an online version of the traditional print press release that takes advantage of the linking, multimedia and social media outlet capabilities of the Web to make releases more reader-friendly and useful.  Based off of the traditional news release, a social media news release aims to completely rethink the narrative, text-focused approach to news announcements.  Anyone from traditional journalists to bloggers and podcasters and even consumers and readers may use or format their own SMNR. The basic parts of an SMNR include: headline, secondary headline, overview, body, facts, about, multimedia links, relevant links and tags.

Many advantages are associated with SMNRs.  One of the biggest pros is the size of the audience that you can reach via the internet that the traditional release isn’t capable of doing.  Because anyone can find your SMNR via search engines, SMNRs are optimised for search on the internet, accessible to anyone at anytime on the World Wide Web.  Another advantage is the amount of conversation that can be genrated from an SMNR.  People who read your release can contact you and converse about your release, ask questions and get fast, immediate feedback via email, phone, etc.  Anyone can share your release with different media outlets, organizations, companies, etc.  Another pro is the ability of the SMNR to tell the entire story through this multimedia outlet or others including Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Providing context on complicated stories allows for better understanding of the story and for better dissemination of it to the public.  Visually, the SMNR makes a better impression than a wire or print release.  People are able to get a better feel for your story this way because of its versatility online.  Disadvantages of the SMNR include because it’s available to the public, anyone can access it via search engines, not necessarily the target audiences you want to reach.  Another con might be that information might be distorted or read improperly by an audience who is not familiar with this type of release and feedback might show that the release needs some fixing or that conversation generated from the SMNR might not neccesarily contain the key points and focus that your SMNR is trying to achieve. 

A PR practitioner should consider using an SMNR when wanting to reach a global or large audience that the internet allows for.  Anyone with internet access would be able to read yuor release and gain insight into your story and organization, furthering the public awareness that any PR practitioner surely wants to achieve.  Big social events that the PR firm wants the public to know about should be relased via an SMNR because of the versatitlity and quickness with which audiences can be met.  It’s also more convenient and possibly less troublesome for a practitioners to use than the traditional release. 

Many different websites are available for anyone interested in creating an SMNR.  One is http://www.press-feed.com/, an RSS syndication service  that allows for anyone to create RSS Feeds, publish and distribute content and increase search engine visibility.  Another good website for creating SMNRs is http://pressitt.com/, a free user-friendly SMNR service that allows you to create your own social media news release and publish it to an online community of journalists, the blogosphere and the general public.

An example of an SMNR that an organization has created through the Pressit site deals with Book Marketing, a community for authors that allows them to actively engage in promotion and publicity for marketing purposes.  The link: http://pressitt.com/smnr/Book-Marketing-The-Authors-Marketing-Powerhouse-Announces-The-Authors-Show-Lineup-For-The-Week-Of-May-9-2011/4581/.

The SMNR that I created can be found at http://www.prxbuilder.com/link.aspx?p=1601.  It’s purpose is to raise awareness for Georgia Southern University’s Men’s Club Soccer team by anouncing a tournament at Florida State University back in February.  The goals of this release include to raise public awareness for Club Soccer but also to get the community involved with GSU and its athletic program.  The traget audience for this release include the Statesboro/Bulloch community, GSU students and faculty and specifically anyone interested in soccer, club sports or becoming a member of the Club Soccer team. 

Tips for successful SMNR creation include:

1. Persuasive and Clear Content: Make sure the reader understands exactly what you are addressing. Try to focus on one topic and expand on it to make your point clear.

2. Optimum Release Length: 400-600 words keeps the reader digesting the information smoothly.  Also, it contains enough information with detail.

3. Anchor Text: These are the links that connect words and phrases to relevant web pages. A good rule to keep in mind is 500-600 words in order to focus search engines.

4. Language: Plain, accurate, and descriptive language.  Audiences need clear understandable language to be interested in the product.

5. Headline & Subhead: Let your headline be the most important keyword in your press release.  Keep the headline 60 to 80 words.  Subhead should be longer, but it is best to keep to two lines or less.  Make sure you repeat in the body of the press release what was mentioned in the headline and subhead.

6. Publish Shareable Information: Needs to be of reader’s interest!  Make sure it is good enough to share in social media. Provide a sharing button.

7. Add Picture Gallery: Go graphic crazy. This enhances your release and draws people in.

Sources:

Social Media Training. http://socialtraining.wetpaint.com/page/Social+Media+News+Release 

Social Media Today. (2010). How To Write A Social Media Press Release. http://socialmediatoday.com/index.php?q=sarah-hartshorn/147284/how-write-social-media-press-release

Leu, Kelsey. (2011). Social Media News Release. http://kelseyleu.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/social-media-news-release/

 

Comments for the Week of April 25

This week I commented on Ashly Ennis’s blog at http://ashlyaces.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/bucket-list/#comments and on Kelly Dale’s blog at http://kmdale.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/my-bucket-list/#comment-56

Topic of the Week – April 25

I have seen the movie “Bucket List” and thought it was a really good movie because it made me think about my own bucket list and what I want to do and accomplish before I die.  The things that are on my bucket list would have to include the following: 1.) graduate college with a degree in PR 2.) Move somewhere warm and interesting, such as Florida or California 3.) Be able to support myself and begin a family 4.) Travel all over the world (this is one of my favorites) 5.) Go skydiving 6.) Learn how to scuba diving 7.) Go to a SuperBowl – preferably one where the Falcons actually make it there and win it 8.) Learn how to play guitar 8.) Learn a new language 9.) Open my own restaurant later on in life 10.) Write a book about my life and my bucket list!

I want to be remembered as being a good, kind person because people remember who you were in terms of your personality, your character and morals. Nothing materialistic matters because happiness isn’t materialistic.  I want to be remembered as being able to make people laugh and lastly I want to always be remembered as a southern boy from my hometown of Savannah, Georgia because I love Savannah, it’s my home and always will be.

Comments for the Week of April 18

This week I commented on Blane’s blog at http://bhumphries.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/texting-while-walking/#comment-60 and I said:

I like your series of reasons why its not such a big problem until something serious happens to someone while walking and texting which rarely if ever does happen. It would be very hard to convince the public that this is a “problem” that needs to be addressed unless it becomes as serious or more serious than texting while driving but I don’t see that ever happening.

I also commented on MaryBeth’s blog at http://marybethcal.wordpress.com/2011/04/20/confessions-of-a-walking-texter/#comment-28 and I said:

I like how well you can multitask while texting and walking! haha I have been very fortunate to not run into someone or something while walknig and texting but I would def. be more prone to do it if I had a smartphone too!

Topic of the Week – April 18

I personally have been guilty on numerous occasions of texting while walking.  I think its ok to do as long as you pay attention to where you are walking so as not to run into anyone unexpectedly.  I think it also kind of looks obsessive when people feel like they don’t text enough as it is so they feel like they have to text 24/7 even when they are walking and not driving, something many people are guilty of doing at one time or another.  Sometimes texting someone back just cant wait so people do it while they are on the go.  I have been guilty of walking and texting but I don’t do it all the time or when it’s uneccessary but I never run into anyone because I always make sure to pay attention to where I am going. The PR tactics that can be used to alert the public of this problem would be to write a possible news release or have an editorial put into the local newspaper, campus newspaper or what not to alert people of this growing trend/problem (if it does end up being a problem as bad as texting while driving). A PSA might also be of good use but i honestly feel nothing needs to be done about it until it begins to lead to death like texting while driving does in which case the public will grasp the concept better and learn to become more cautious.

Link to my Twitter Account

http://twitter.com/#!/FredH2k11

Twittering for a Week – Topic of the Week

Twittering for the past week was definitely a new and exciting experience for me as I am new to Twitter and have never had an account before with this social media website.  I am more used to social media websites such as Facebook and so I felt like it took me awhile to figure Twitter out and how to manage the site once I began using it.  It felt a lot like Facebook in the essence that I had to “follow” people in my class and reply on their posts, the same as on Facebook where I have friends that I can follow on their statuses and profiles.  It was fun to use over the course of the past week and taught me that there are other websites out there that I can use to my advantage in order to keep in touch with people in my major.

What I got out of it is that it’s a useful website to use when trying to stay in contact with friends and fellow classmates.  It is a good exercise to learn how to navigate the internet and use sites like Twitter to my advantage.  Even though it was only for a week and I have never had to do this for any other class, I felt like it was less of a homework assignment and more of a fun, learning experience.  It was fun to see what everyone was up to as some of the posts that  I read related a lot to my life and what I was doing in and out of school.

One way I find value in continuing my Twitter account is simply through the connection with all of my classmates who I can continue to keep in touch with.  They can keep me informed about school assignments in this class and others as I have a few other classes with people who are also in this PR Writing class. I also find it useful to continue to follow the PR organizations and people on Twitter so as to use as resources when scouting for PR news and information that can help me in my major and possibly provide a future career in PR upon graduation. 

As far as the question, “Will you continue to use Twitter following this experience?” my answer is yes, to some degree as it is resourceful for school and my major.  Socially, I think I will stick to Facebook as I like this social website more because of its versatility. Professionally, it is useful for me to know what is going on in the world of PR through the organizations I am following and constant up-to-date info. from all of the PR personnel.  Twittering was fun but I cannot see myself becoming an avid user of it, always getting on and chatting as I can more easily do this with Facebook. It was fun and a learning experience but I don’t see myself continuing my use of Twitter unless it deals with class or the PR field as it relates to my major today.

Comments for the Week of April 4

This week I commented on Taylor Edwards’s blog at http://tedwar22.wordpress.com/2011/04/04/back-to-the-future/#comment-19 and on Ashly Ennis’s blog at http://ashlyaces.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/back-in-time/#comment-46.

On Taylor’s blog I said:

I like your description of how you were in high school to how you are today. I didn’t change who I was, as I beleive I am still the same person today but a lot has changed in my life!

On Ashly’s blog I said:

Good answers, I was so ready to get out of school because I went to a private high school and was so ready to start a public college! My music and friends have changed, I still have friends from high school, but I haven’t changed who I have always been. I would have told my high school slef to focus more on the future also and not live day by day although it seems easier that way!

Topic of the Week – April 4

If i could go back in time and observe myself in high school compared to now I would think how much has changed.  First of all the biggest difference would be going from an all guys, catholic, private, military high school in Savannah where i graduated with a class of 83 guys to a 19,000 plus students public university. It’s certainly a big change. I would be proud of myself for sticking with college and coming this far, only a semester away from graduation. I have also learned a lot more and taken a variety of classes I never had the chance to take in high school. And of course there is the friends that I have made along the way, many good friends of mine I met in college and never would have thought to have met in high school.  Many guys i went to school with didn’t go to college or couldn’t cut it in college and are working part-time jobs in Savannah, barely getting by. Oh yea and my hair is longer, no more of the short, above the ears miltary hair cuts that i was so used to in high school.  The things that have stayed the same are who I am as a person, my personality and sense of humor havent changed one bit.  If I could say anything to myself back then that would change where I am today it would be choose PR as a major right when you come into college Fred because I have been here for 5 years already and if I knew I was going to end up as a PR major, I would have taken classes from the get-go and have already graduated.

Comments for the Week of March 28

This week I commented on Noele Crooks’s blog at http://noelecrooks.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/teen-mom-vs-gilmore-girls/#comment-39 and on Tera Bell’s blog at http://terabell.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/teen-pregnacy/#comment-44.

On Noele’s blog I said:

I have never watched Gilmore Girls but I am guessing your points are valid making a show like that seem that pregnancy is ok but I do know about Teen Mom and shows like that and 16 and Pregnant do show the hardships of being pregnant but I also believe those girls like the idea of being pregnant and makes aspects of it seem ok to do. MTV is mostly full of crap shows anyways nowadays but so many people, especially teenage girls, watch these pregnancy shows and some of them look up to these moms because they are on television and in a way are inspired to get pregnant themselves. It’s all dumb and makes no sense at all to me but I’m a guy and we think completely differently than most girls when it comes to pregnancy.

On Tera’s blog I said:

Fully agree with everything you said! Showing the true side of pregnancy that fathers leave, the girls being unable to financially support their baby and parents disowning their child after being pregnant would really show the truth behind teen pregnancy and make other think twice before having unsafe sex.