Media Exposure is Marketing Gold – If You Know How to Use It
At a glance:
- Implicit media endorsements make you stand out from the competition.
- It’s not advertising; it’s building credibility.
- Maximize your exposure by posting it on your Web site and sharing it via social media.
A colleague of mine, who’s a former newspaper reporter, tells a story about a savvy attorney she knew. He’d tip her off whenever he had a particularly juicy case if she promised to include his name alongside that of his client in her story. Whether he won the case or lost it, people remembered his name and associated him with high-profile cases. He’d figured out that having his name in the paper bought him something no amount of advertising could: credibility.
Are Press Release Services Worth It?
Why Free or Low-Cost Press Release Services Might Not Deliver What You Really Want
Since the early days of consumerism, there is one catchphrase that is still difficult to deny: you get what you pay for.
In the PR business, I’ve had experience – as have some of my clients – with the free or low-cost press release services that seem to have proliferated all over the Internet. In fact, if you Google press release services, you’ll find a wide variety of them. Moreover, a reasonable number of them can deliver on the promise of getting your press release picked up by a good number of Web sites with hits that will show up on your Google and search engine profile. And, once in a while, a release on these services may indeed garner the interest of one or two sizable news outlets. Read more
So, How Many People Am I Going to Reach?
It’s a More Complex Question Than You Think
Irony has a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.
One of our clients was at a convention this week, and among his activities, he was hosting a panel on the digital revolution in the entertainment industry. While his credentials in the entertainment business are solid, he has yet to figure out how to operate his new Droid smartphone.
So one of my staff emailed him, pointing out the irony and the client emailed back, “I thought ‘digital’ meant they were going to talk about fingers!”
What Can I Expect From My Online Exposure?
It used to be that people went to a neighborhood coffee shop in the morning, with their morning paper under their arm, ordered a large coffee and sat down to read the news of the day. Nowadays, the paradigm has shifted just a bit. Today, they go to a Starbucks with an iPad or smartphone in their pocket, order a large coffee (just to have the barista tell them it’s not called large anymore – it’s called Vente) and sit down to check the headlines on their phone.
Years ago, if PR firms got a news placement for their client online, it was like a little bonus — a cherry to put on top of the sundae. Today, it is the very life-blood of PR, with online news coverage making up the majority of how people get informed today. Read more
So, What’s The Value of All My PR Efforts, Anyway?
How To Measure The Results of Your PR Campaign
I tend to use this space as a “how to” venue. I like to share my insights on how to get the media excited about you, your message, your products, your services and books. My hope is that the information I offer will enable you to generate media placements for yourself to further your public relations efforts.
However, I’m frequently asked about the value of PR in relation to the business goals it’s designed to enhance. People wonder what will happen if they’re able to achieve a picture-perfect PR campaign and get the media to notice them and generate coverage for them. They wonder if the upside is increased sales, or if it’s in the branding or maybe it’s just the increased exposure for their company or projects or their book.
The short answer is yes, but the long answer is a bit more complicated than that. First thing’s first. When we do a print campaign, for instance, we rate it based on the reach of the publications in traditional print outlets and online outlets. We use two key terms – circulation and visitors per month (VPM) – and while one of those terms is old and the other is new, they are based on the same principle. Read more
Marketing From the Outside In
How the Presentation of Your Book is as Important as Your Message
Writing a book can be one of the most difficult things in the world to do. While each author’s experience is very different, the process is almost always the same.
Winston Churchill, the author of many books in addition to being one of the most significant world leaders in history, once summed it up by saying: “Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.” Read more
So, You Want to Be The Next Big Talk Show Star?
There Are Two Ways In The Door, Depending On Your Resources
We’ve all said it at least once in our lives.
It usually happens when we’re watching TV and a talk show host is stumbling over their words or simply not being articulate, and we say either out loud or to ourselves, “I could do better than that.”
In my business, I get a lot of people who are of that belief, and many of them genuinely can do better than that. The disconnect is they believe that because they can be good on the air, it automatically means if they hire a PR agency to attract attention, they’ll have their own talk show and be a national celebrity. Read more on so, you want to be the next big talk show star? →
Get Customers Influencing Stores to Stock Your Product
Usually, I like to dispense advice from the standpoint of having been in the media for 20 years, but this week’s advice is more in the land of common sense.
When you go to the store and you can’t find the exact product you’re looking for, what do you do? Do you just go home empty-handed? Or do you ask a manager? Most of the time, I ask a store or assistant manager if they carry the product, or if they can order it. And, most of the time retailers want to work with customers, so they’ll find a way to get what you want. After all, if they can service your needs, hopefully you’ll keep coming back. Read more on getting customers to influence stores to stock your product →
Why Getting Published Will Help Your Business
You know what hard work is. You’ve put in the long hours, worked late into the night, done more working than eating during the lunch hour—all to ensure the success of your business.
You may be thinking about what else you can do to get the news of your products or services more broadly known within your target market. Or, you might be brainstorming future steps to expand your business and make it even more successful. Read more on how getting published can help your business →
How Do You Plan For the Unexpected? Why Crisis PR Can Save a Company
There is a new price tag for failure, approximately $21.5 billion.
That’s the amount financial analysts say the Tiger Woods PR debacle has cost the companies who had hired Tiger as a spokesperson. The personal loss of credibility goes far beyond affecting the $100 million man, and has substantially affected the value of the companies who depended on his image to sell their products and services. Read more on why crisis PR can save a company →
Darlene Quinn – Author, Winner of the 2009 Indie National Excellence Award for Fiction
Darlene Quinn came to EMSI with a unique challenge – use PR to promote a novel. While non-fiction books are a perfect match for the media because their authors provide valuable information about their areas of expertise, there are very few quality media outlets for fiction authors.
Keep in mind, there are over 400,000 new books published each year, and every one of those authors is clamoring to get air time and ink to push their books, as well. Read more on Darlene Quinn, author of Webs of Power →
Inventors Digest: The Magazine for Idea People
Inventor’s Digest on Celebritize Yourself by EMSI CEO, Marsha Friedman. View the online version here: Inventor’s Digest Article on Celebritize Yourself by EMSI CEO, Marsha Friedman.
Or, click here to download the pdf version.
Embrace the Celebrity Within
Why Everyone Has a Little Celebrity in Them – And What to Do About It
Everyone is a celebrity at something, and by “celebrity” I’m not talking about movie stars, professional athletes or those overnight sensations that are here today, on the cover of People tomorrow and gone by Friday.
True celebrities are experts. In a lot of cases they’re experts at acting, putting a ball in a hoop or looking sexy in next to nothing. But believe it or not, most celebrities these days – the ones that keep auditoriums and hotel conference rooms and even bookstore shelves full – are folks like you and I; people who realized what they are very, very good at and put it to use by celebritizing themselves (or putting their expert status to use as a modern celebrity). Read more on embracing the celebrity within →
Genuine Curiosity (Dwayne Melancon Blog): You Can Become a Celebrity
Genuine Curiosity blogger, Dwayne Melancon, writes about Celebritize Yourself and EMSI CEO, Marsha Friedman.
Read his blog here: You Can Become a Celebrity.
County News: Is Pay for Performance PR for Real?
County News on the EMSI Pay for Performance Public Relations model. View the online version here: County News: Is Pay for Performance PR for Real?.
Or, click here to download the pdf version.
Celebritize Yourself: How to Build Your Brand as the Leader in Your Field
It’s one thing to talk about becoming a celebrity in your field. It’s quite another to actually begin the process. To make celebrity an authentic goal, we must first desensitize ourselves to the very word “celebrity.”
The best place to start is to refocus away from Hollywood or the Big Apple and turn it inward, toward yourself, your company, product, service, or expertise, and your industry. Celebritizing yourself from the ground up brings to mind two of my favorite domestic goddesses turned celebrities: Julia Child and Erma Bombeck. I point to these two iconoclastic women because we’re talking about specific industries, and these two virtually created their own. Read more on how to build your brand as the leader in your field →
CastRoller Podcast, “The Engaging Branch” – Interview with EMSI CEO, Marsha Friedman
CastRoller Podcast, “The Engaging Branch” – Interview with EMSI CEO, Marsha Friedman.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
BlogTalkRadio, Host Jon Hansen – Celebritize Yourself: How To Stand Up and Stand Out
BlogTalkRadio, Host Jon Hansen, interviews EMSI CEO, Marsha Friedman on Celebritize Yourself: How To Stand Up and Stand Out.
New Jersey Star Ledger/Business News – Author Marsha Friedman reveals the secrets to playing the fame game
The New Jersey Business News Online posted their interview with EMSI CEO, Marsha Friedman.
A Little Quiz to Show You How Big a Deal You Really Are
Joe the Plumber.
Dog the Bounty Hunter.
Bill Nye the Science Guy.
While plumbing, bounty hunting and science might be worthy industries, few would have ever thought they might be the breeding grounds of some of today’s unlikeliest celebrities. But such is the case when we live in a world where the popular media, indeed popular culture, is plugged in and turned on 24/7, 365 days a year. Read more on how big a deal are you really →
-
You Can Enjoy Expert Celebrity Status
Are you ready for your own brand of celebrity? Public relations expert Marsha Friedman teaches you how to Celebritize Yourself! Learn the secret to becoming an expert celebrity. Her book is the manual for becoming well known as an expert in your field! -
Share
