Photo by David Salafia
The wonderful world of online public relations can help get your message out there, get coverage and create a place to not only connect with others, but expand your reach and awareness. However, there are some things that you should never do when it comes to your brand, company and/or client’s online reputation. Below, I list five of those no-nos you should avoid:
1. Irregularly update.
Whether it be that you only tweet once a week or you post to Facebook every four days or so, irregularly updating your social media accounts is a huge no-no. You need to be updating every account on a regular basis, even if they don’t receive regular interaction or engagement (like Google+, for instance). If you stay anti-social, you’re defeating your online efforts from the get-go.
2. Concoct a lazy, unorganized strategy.
Laziness with your online public relations strategy is a major, major downgrade. You should really delve deep into what is going to get your news or client noticed. Catriona Pollard over at Marketing Magazine states that you should never, ever, ever be lazy when it comes to a PR strategy. She advises that “writing a media release and then sending it out to every publication vaguely within your target market is not a way to do PR. Spend time reading the publications you want to get coverage in, finding out the interests of different journalists, the different sections of a publication, watch TV news or morning shows, listen to a range of different radio shows.” Great advice! (You can read the full article here.)
3. Don’t respond…EVER.
With many available places online (like a blog) and social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, people pretty much have free reign over what they can say and what they can share. If a fan posts a disgruntled message on your Facebook wall or tweets out four or five angry messages toward you, you need to respond to 1) avoid conflict and 2) show you actually give a hoot. Unanswered comments, no matter if they’re good or bad, shows your audience you truly don’t care.
I believe the same idea holds true for emails from clients, reporters, etc. You need to respond to everything that’s important to helping your client and growing your business.
4. Forget the online media kit.
Online media kits are the perfect place to hold your previous press spots, latest news and provide an easy resource for the media to come back to, if need be. It’s vital to have a page on your website dedicated to an online media kit. But it’s also important to have a traditional press kit, too. (See some examples of excellent online media kits.)
5. Disregard editing.
Incorrect grammar, spelling and punctuation will seriously hurt you. You need to edit, whether it be an in-house editor or three to five employees with strong written and verbal communication skills, and look over every written document being shared to the public. (Pat Parkinson at PRMarketing.com agrees this is an important one, too.)
So, there you have it! Five no-nos PR pros should avoid (that we think even your grandmother would agree with). Do you need some advice on online public relations? Contact us at Agency Entourage, a Dallas marketing firm, and visit our Capabilities page for more info on ways we can help you.
What are some other no-nos PR pros should avoid? Did I miss any on this list? Let’s discuss below!
