services

social media news release

What the Social Media News Release is

The Social Media News Release (SMNR) is a press release designed specifically with the online media in mind. It does not include the 'spin' of the traditional press release, but provides multimedia content in an accessible format that can easily be repurposed and shared on blogs, websites and social networks including MySpace and Facebook.
The content of the SMNR can either be produced in the “traditional” narrative style or be deconstructed so that the core facts, quotes, contact details and boilerplate are all individually segregated to allow users to disseminate its various elements. It can accommodate images, audio and video (including embedded social media video including YouTube) and incorporates many of the Web2.0 and folksonomy tools popular among social media users today.
Here is a video from our old days as webitpr in 2007 that explains some of the background.

 
Characteristics of the RealWire Social Media News Release:

  • Social bookmarking options to allow users to 'tag' the SMNR to popular social bookmarking sites.

  • The use of hyperlinks in the copy body.

  • RSS feeds to allow subscribers to receive updated content in real time as it is published.
    Optimised for visibility in search engines.

  • Links to related news for further background info.

  • Incoming blog links.

  • Technorati tags.

  • The ability for people to register and leave a comment on any particular SMNR - creating a two way dialogue unlike the 'top down' delivery method of the traditional release.

  • The ability to brand the SMNR with the client's logo.

  • The ability to ‘domain map' the release to the client's website URL (E.G. http://news.clientwebsite.com) giving the SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) benefits to the organisation.
     

What the Social Media News Release is not

Because social media is turning consumers into active producers of content, the SMNR is a tool that can assist in helping PR adapt to this changing media landscape in ways that were previously not possible. However, the nature of social media does not resonate with some existing PR methods which means the SMNR is not:

  • A secondary afterthought to traditional news distribution. Timing with a SMNR is just as important as other forms of news distribution. Outdated or already published news should not be used for distribution on a SMNR.

  • A tool used instead of conventional PR methods. While the balance of influence is shifting in favour of the individual, other communication channels should not be ignored. Any PR person worth their weight in salt will know this.

  • The shiny new thing that will change bad PR practice The SMNR is only the delivery mechanism and the real value lies in the content. Knowing what your audience wants and providing them with something of value is the first step to creating an effective and useful SMNR.

A tool to control the message PR in social media should not aim to spin or deceive the audience. The SMNR can, however, be used as a way to communicate with and gain valuable feedback from key audiences.