Social Media News Releases: A sticky situation with some sweet solutions
If you are from the South you might have heard of Uncle Remus. Uncle Remus was a famous story-teller who concocted tales of Briar Rabbit, a clever country bunny who would try to outwit his antagonists Briar Fox and Briar Bear. Back in the days of Uncle Remus decades ago folks back then understood the importance of telling certain information in order to get a message out. From then you could take valuable information from that message.
According to “RealWire,” whose motto is generate coverage, visibility and understand it’s value,” social media news releases or rather SMNR’s are defined as: a press release format designed for the online media world. The press release was written with just, “the press,” in mind, but in the online world your story needs to be told in a format relevant to a wide variety of people.
Content can be produced in the “traditional” narrative style or be deconstructed so that the core facts, quotes, contact details and boiler-plate are all individually segregated to allow users to disseminate . It can be company branded and can accommodate images, audio and video (including embedded social media video like (Youtube) as well as links to revelant websites and coverage of resulting online conversations. According to Real Wire the content of your story is the key and ensuring it is told to the right people. However, be aware that coverage analysis suggests the use of format can assist achieving around double the editorial coverage and 4 times as much on blogs.
And now I wish to address the advantages and disadvantages of using Social Media News Releases. Some of the advantages include: benefits to marketing such as using social media to spread the brand of your product. But it is not all peaches and cream when it comes to stirring up a SMNR. Disadvantages can stick to a SMNR like tar. Negative news can spread like wild fire, so one must always be careful of what he or she puts on paper or the internet. What you choose to put in your blog can benefit you or hurt you. Say for example, that you have a restaurant and you are trying to convince viewers that your food is healthier and taste better than your competitors’. You need to be careful of the words you choose to use because if you become tactless you may say something that will hurt you or your company. Keep in mind that self-serving content can damage your brand. Putting your foot in your mouth does not taste good, so I would not recommend trying it by being tactless with your words.
A practitioner should use SMNR when they need to reach a broad range of people because an SMNR will allow them to connect across different social networks. Creating SMNR’s is not that difficult at all thanks to the help of sites like website101.com and www.liberatemedia.com. You may also want to consider researching a website called Pressit Blog: All about us and SMNR’s. It is a free, user-friendly social media news release service. You can create, publish and share your news to an online, socially connected audience. Some advantages to using this site are: you can add up to 8 images to each release, all of which can be downloaded by the user. Your release does not expire after thirty days-it expires only when you delete it. You can add as many YouTube videos as you like to support your SMNR.
Creating SMNR is like putting honey in a jar, it is a simple process. And here are some tips that can help future PR workers get started: first, always look for new and creative ways to tweak an SMNR, after all there is always room for improvement. Second, use high-resolution multimedia. Third, focus mainly on conveying your message and then add bells and whistles. Fourth, use headlines or first paragraphs to position key terms. Fifth, make sure the brand name is consistent across all social networks. Write edible, interactive content that stands out and make sure the press release is interactive. And lastly, don’t use too many graphics, videos or links, it will throw the focus away from the key message.
In conclusion, if you follow all these tips and pay attention to the message that you are trying to get out you will most likely be able to encourage or inspire people to respond positively to your information. You want to get a story out to the world. Remember the purpose of a SMNR and pay attention to the tips used to make that release catch people’s attention and stick in their minds. Keep in mind the content of your SMNR and do not try to use it negatively toward others in order to benefit yourself. The five steps, which I gave of creating a PR will be useful, but additional research can also be found from other sources to create the SMNR. Remember to keep the message in mind. Writing PR is like telling a story. Try to stick to what you know is important in the message. By doing this your ideas will spread like wildfire and you won’t have to worry about burning anyone’s reputation.
website101.com/social-media/newsroom
http://www.realwire.com/servicesSMNR.asp
http://www.theoceanagency.com/blog/20100329/3-tips-to-mastering-the-social-media-press-release/
Blrollings2010's Blog 
Leave a comment