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The Commoditisation And Ownership Of Social Media
A new report from Bite Communications this week revealed that the single greatest digital challenge facing PR is the need for engaging and stimulating content. Here Tom Berry, the agency's director and head of consulting services, explores the commoditisation and ownership of social media. read more
Online PR — Is It Really That Different To ‘The Olden Days’?
Fifteen years ago, sending out a press release was a labour-intensive process. Paper copies of the document (formatted to fit the client’s stationery) and a bundle of labels printed with the addresses of target journalists (sourced from a vast paper directory) were sent to the distribution house in north London. There they were photocopied and stapled, put into envelopes and posted for next-day arrival at the publication. read more
What Does Google +1 Mean For PR?
The answer to this question is, at the moment, not very much! Google +1 is still very much in an early beta. You can turn it on by visiting the Google experimental page, but it only works on Google.com at the moment and won’t be rolled out further until later this year. The functionality is also still very much in its infancy. Having said that, Google +1 has the potential to revolutionise the social web and that would have a massive impact on how PR professionals handle online strategies and campaigns. read more
Six Tips For SMEs To Get Their Digital House In Order
More and more businesses are appearing online in some way, shape or form every day. Naturally, this means it is harder for businesses to compete online and stand out in a world that never sleeps. You only have to look at the furore around the Royal Wedding to understand this, with people trying to cash-in by purchasing savvy domain names, ensuring these are highly optimised through proven SEO techniques and then selling merchandise or advertising space. Where there’s a communication channel there’s an opportunity for commercial gain. read more
Unbranded Content – A New Form Of Advertising Or A Fad?
‘Unbranded’ content seems to be gaining momentum in the UK amongst marketers and agencies alike. This is content that is visually powerful, entertaining and therefore viral but that doesn’t contain any reference to the brand or the product that it is representing. One of the strongest examples of unbranded content is the Eurostar film, ‘Somers Town’, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeEbjV4bzkE created by Mother and directed by Shane Meadows. read more
I’ve Got A Question About Quora: How Do Businesses Make Use Of It?
Quora. A sign that dotbomb 2.0 is around the corner or the most innovative social media tool since Twitter? Whatever you think of it, it has certainly got people talking. Set up by Adam D'Angelo and Charlie Cheever in 2010, the question and answers website is estimated to be worth a staggering $300 million and has attracted top talent from the internet heavyweights, particularly Facebook. read more
SEO Is Giving Way To Social Search
Search engine optimisation (SEO) has become mechanised to such a point that we’ve boiled down our audience to keyword terms. In this world, the company with the largest search budget and the smartest agency wins. The issue is web spam. We’ve become so obsessed with SEO that we’ve filled the web with useless content and links in a bid to game search engines. read more
Corporate Blogs: If you create it, they might come...
In a world where small businesses with corporate blogs receive 55 percent more traffic than small businesses that don’t blog, and benefit from a laundry list of PR advantages, the business rationale behind launching or evolving your blog in 2011 is clear. But corporate blogs often don’t deliver on expectations. So, before retiring your corporate blog as a “good learning exercise” here are five tips on how to make this powerful tool work harder and perform better: read more
Social Media: Old School Techniques Meet New School Technologies
The last decade or so has thrown up its fair share of the “next big” technology innovations/trends and the media publicity that has surrounded them has made most difficult to ignore. Some have warranted the attention and have achieved the predicted heady heights, take the iPod for example. Others however, such as the millennium bug or WAP have turned out to be little more than hype. read more
Be Advised: How Online PR Can Transform Your Business!
Be advised. If you haven’t realised it already, online PR can transform your bottom line and boost your company’s image way beyond where you would be without it. And as it’s relatively low-cost, it allows even the smallest organisations to reap the benefits too. read more
