FEELINGCONTENT

A FRESH LOOK AT DIGITAL PRVOLUME 2

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1 March 2012

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INTRODUCTION: - REACH MILLIONS MORE READERS, LISTENERS AND VIEWERS - GET THE MAXIMUM MEDIA COVERAGE FOR THE MESSAGE YOUR MANAGEMENT CARES ABOUT MOST - SEE A BOOM IN SALES

SECTION 1: - THE EVOLUTION OF PR - GET IT OUT THERE - ITS NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT’S HOW YOU SAY IT - WORD-OF-MOUTH

SECTION 2: OFFLINE VERSUS ONLINE

SECTION 3: - GET IN TOUCH - BEING HEARD - PLUG IN - POWER SOURCES - MAKE A PLAN - RULE OF THUMB - GET VIRAL - TAKE A LOOK

CONCLUSION

INDEX

See your messagespread like wild fire!“ “

Public Relations is an industry that companies have been relying on for years but with the introduction of the internet to businesses and their publics, many companies have taken it upon themselves to handle their own PR. We at Digital by Design are about to tell you why getting an expert to take care of your Digital PR for you is the best way to go.

REACH MILLIONS MORE READERS, LISTENERS AND VIEWERS

See your message spread like wildfire. The internet is a big place – it takes experience and a certain finesse to effectively communicate within it. Your online activity shouldn’t feel like throwing content into an abyss. It is possible to see results and good ones if you handle your online presence correctly.

GET THE MAXIMUM MEDIA COVERAGE FOR THE MESSAGE YOUR MANAGEMENT CARES ABOUT MOST

Not only should your online activity yield results, it should stay true to the ideals and brand characteristics that your company first began with. Becoming fully integrated with the 21st century doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your company’s traditional values – in fact, it can mean emphasising them to your target market.

Public Relations companies know who would be interested in your company and its goings on and we can ensure that what you have to say reaches the ears it should. Ensure that people who care about your brand hear about it. What better way to promote yourselves than through people that are truly passionate about what you do?

SEE A BOOM IN SALES

Expand your target market. The online world is filled with many different people – don’t see this as a hurdle to overcome. In fact, this is an opportunity for the word about your company to reach an even greater audience without employing more sales people, opening up a new branch or physically expanding your employees – it’s simply about smart internet involvement.

It’s simply aboutInternet involvement

Become fully intergratedwith the 21st century

INTRODUCTION

Get an expert to takecare of your online PR.

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The BasicsSection 1:

WHAT IS PR?Defining the term ‘Public Relations’ could take days; there are so many different facets to it. For the sake of this e-book, we’ll use this interpretation: Public Relations is the method of adver-tising your company’s brand, ideals, news and developments to the public in hopes of furthering business as well as retaining an open line of communication between your company and your target market.

Digital Public Relations companies (like Digital by Design) establish and maintain relationships with offline media (billboards, TV adverts, radio time, etc.) and online media (social media, websites, online journals, online PR plat-forms, online PR news, forums, article platforms, article directories etc.) and potential partners on behalf of our clients. Online public Relations companies are there to

ensure that the way you’re going about your online PR is effective. Are you communicating properly with your target market? Are you furthering your sales and expand-ing your client base? Is your company’s brand being correctly represented? Does the public know about the latest develop-ments within the company and the newest range of products that came out a week ago?

WHAT DOPR COMPANIES

DO?

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Offline=BillboardsTV adverts, Radio time

Online=Social Media, Websites, Online Journals, etc

The specific roles of a PR company will be explained within every section as we go along, in order to give you a more holistic understanding of the industry and what it’s all about.“ “

THE EVOLUTION OF PR

Then Get It Out ThereGenerally speaking, public relations companies used to consist of sending out press releases. This was the majority of their interaction with the public;•They wrote up press releases. •Maintained relationships with influential people in the media industries .•Tried to communicate effectively with their market without directly interacting with them.

Press releases were sent out whenever there was ‘substantial’ news about the company that the general public should be informed of. This kind of news involved; •New products and offers.•Report-backs on conferences that company representatives attended and largely impacted on.•Anniversaries for the company as a whole. •Major company developments or reorganisations. •Initiatives. •Competitions.•Events hosted by the company, community-related drives.All things that were considered important and sent out a very obvious and heavy mes-sage about the company’s brand. Any news that justified a press release had to mean something to the community, drive home a sales pitch rather heavy-handedly, shine a flattering light on any part of the company and/or its employees or impact directly on the company’s clients.

This was because the only way the public was able to hear about any of the company’s news was through the printed press. If the press release didn’t make it to the newspaper or if their powerful journalist contact didn’t deem it fitting, it never reached the public.

Now

PR

Since the beginning of PR, the industry has gained bags of finesse.

Take the infamous press release. We’re no longer just sending it to our contacts in a few newspapers, printed media companies, and magazines – we’re sending it to online journalists, newspapers, blog-gers, and blogs. The internet has provided us with dozens more mediums through which we can retain the integrity of a brand and still communicate our news.

Companies are now able to talk about news that isn’t necessarily ‘press worthy’ but that would interest their clients through their own online mediums. This means companies are no longer relying on the printed press’ approval to be able to communicate with their market – gone is the indirect approach to PR. We now have a chance to communi-cate directly with the people who keep our businesses afloat, which is an incredible opportunity to really make your company’s brand a reality to your clients.

Over time, once your company has established an online presence, it will be able to branch out and begin communicating with its markets and publics through videos, podcasts, webinars, vlogs – written media (whether it’s online or offline) won’t be your only means of getting your message across. This will result in an even bigger online audience, therefore leading to an even larger online response.

Online media has the ability to float your business

Print media: no longer thetop of the food chain

Online journalists,bloggers and blogs are the future

The tone of PR was also rather ‘journalistic’ in its approach to creating content. The mediums they used determined the language they chose to communicate their messages with. Because print media is still today quite a formal means of communication, all press releases were written to adhere to a higher standard of writing.

This formal level of communication limited their receptive markets, to some extent – certain publics would not have responed effectively to that means of corre-spondence. This inhibited the reach of their messages.

Then

It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It

The altered mediums have affected the tone of communication, too. It’s far more relational and (to some extent) personal as well. This further enables bonds to be formed between the company and the clients, therefore further strengthening the loyalty between client and company, which will further business.

There are a number of different online platforms through which your company can communicate with your market and each platform has their own style of communication. This means that your PR content is no longer limited to reach a certain group of people due to something simple like writing style – a dozen different tones are now available to your company to use to get your message across.

With our expertise in social media and other digital platforms, we have the upper-hand when it comes to styling your content to reach the maximum number of people across many online communities.

Now

Online mediums have altered the tone of communication

Because the printed press was the primary offline medium that companies could use to communicate with the public, PR companies spent a lot of time nurturing relationships with journalists and influential people in the media.

There was also the problem of reaching as much of the public as possible. If you didn’t buy the newspaper that day, you would have had no idea if anything had happened. If you bought a different newspaper, you were again oblivious. Word-of-mouth has always been a large part of companies’ communication and this helped spread the companies’ news slightly further than the press releases but the mediums available at that time were limited.

Then

Word-Of-Mouth

In the past, the mediums available were limited

Relationships are still being built but with a wider group of different people. Relation-ships with your clients, online influencers, people who have clout in the printed press – companies are able to truly get in touch with every aspect of the people and commu-nities that define their success. Now a company’s success is tangible to them in every way and largely controllable.

Not only are you able to have a far more hands-on approach, the spread of informa-tion has completely changed. Companies’ main aim nowadays should be to go “viral”.

It’s like the pay-it-forward of the web. One person reads an article on your website that they enjoy. It’s simply a matter of a few clicks and they’ve been able to share it in three different ways on the internet. People they know on each of these sites are now exposed to your article. They then have the opportunity to tell everyone they know about it. Suddenly, your article could have spread to hundreds of people in a matter of minutes.

There’s no better way to expand your market. Every company wants to go viral. And the great part is that Digital Design’s team can help you get there.

NowYou have a bigger say in whether your company makes or breaks it.

Aim to make yourcontent go viral!

OFFLINEVERSUSONLINE

Section 2:

To truly display why online media is the way to go, we’re going to show you in a very hands-on way exactly what online media has that offline media doesn’t.

OFFLINE MEDIA ONLINE MEDIA

- Largely communicated through printed press- The ways in which to communicate the company’s message are limited to press releases, articles and offline adverts- The availability of your company’s message is determined by your con tacts within the printed press – if they don’t like your content, they won’t publish it- The tone of your company’s mes- sages is determined by the tone of the offline media that you use to communicate said message – this could limit the reach of what you’re saying due to a lack of responsive ness to the way in which it is commu nicated - Companies had to spend large amounts of time (and money) wooing potential and current con nections in the print-media industry in order to keep the relationships open and to give their content a better chance of making it into the printed press- Renting space on a billboard, buying space in a newspaper for an advert and creating TV commercials are all very expensive and it’s difficult to track the effectiveness of each of these mediums or to see if your com pany has made any progress or growth.

- Able to be communicated through many different online platforms- With each online platform comes a different medium through which you can communicate your message, therefore giving you diversity and a larger online audience- Your company now has its own online voice, therefore it has the ability to put whatever content it deems suitable onto their online platforms- Each online platform has its own tone, therefore your company is able to tailor its message to fit each online community. This opens your message up to a much larger online audience- Relationships with a number of differ ent influential people in online com munities can be maintained through the online platforms that they fre- quent. This saves your company time and money and gives you an added convenience that will serve you well throughout your digital public rela- tions experience- Setting up a website for your com- pany is far cheaper than buying radio time. Setting up a Facebook page is free. Not only will digital PR mediums save you money, they also provide you with many different ways to keep tabs on the response to your company’s online involvement and easily track the progress your com- pany is making.

- Largely communicated through printed press- The ways in which to communicate the company’s message are limited to press releases, articles and offline adverts- The availability of your company’s message is determined by your con tacts within the printed press – if they don’t like your content, they won’t publish it- The tone of your company’s mes- sages is determined by the tone of the offline media that you use to communicate said message – this could limit the reach of what you’re saying due to a lack of responsive ness to the way in which it is commu nicated - Companies had to spend large amounts of time (and money) wooing potential and current con nections in the print-media industry in order to keep the relationships open and to give their content a better chance of making it into the printed press- Renting space on a billboard, buying space in a newspaper for an advert and creating TV commercials are all very expensive and it’s difficult to track the effectiveness of each of these mediums or to see if your com pany has made any progress or growth.

- Able to be communicated through many different online platforms- With each online platform comes a different medium through which you can communicate your message, therefore giving you diversity and a larger online audience- Your company now has its own online voice, therefore it has the ability to put whatever content it deems suitable onto their online platforms- Each online platform has its own tone, therefore your company is able to tailor its message to fit each online community. This opens your message up to a much larger online audience- Relationships with a number of differ ent influential people in online com munities can be maintained through the online platforms that they fre- quent. This saves your company time and money and gives you an added convenience that will serve you well throughout your digital public rela- tions experience- Setting up a website for your com- pany is far cheaper than buying radio time. Setting up a Facebook page is free. Not only will digital PR mediums save you money, they also provide you with many different ways to keep tabs on the response to your company’s online involvement and easily track the progress your com- pany is making.

1. Who is talking about you? What is your current client base? Identify the kind of people that have something to say.2. Is it positive feedback? 3. Is it negative feedback? 4. Begin to take note of the issues that are being raised on the web. You want to address these later, therefore you need to know what they are5. Identify where you need to really impact on your current client base. Stay relevant to the people that you’re already dealing with and aim to fulfil a need of theirs through your company and its products/services.6. Look for opportunities where you can increase your client base. If people are talking about your industry but not mentioning your com pany, you now have the opportunity to change that.

Step 1: Find Out Where you stand

The altered mediums have affected the tone of communication, too. It’s far more relational and (to some extent) personal as well. This further enables bonds to be formed between the company and the clients, therefore further strengthening the loyalty between client and company, which will further business.

There are a number of different online platforms through which your company can communicate with your market and each platform has their own style of communication. This means that your PR content is no longer limited to reach a certain group of people due to something simple like writing style – a dozen different tones are now available to your company to use to get your message across.

With our expertise in social media and other digital platforms, we have the upper-hand when it comes to styling your content to reach the maximum number of people across many online communities.

THEPRACTICAL

Section 3:

Now that you know what Public Relations is all about, how do you get there? Here’s a simple step-by-step guide.

GET IN TOUCH

The first step when reformatting your Public Relations is for your public relations team to find out where you stand at the moment. We use our knowledge of online communities and platforms to look at the online conversations that are being held about your company at this moment in time. We get a real sense of where you are right now.

PR

1. Who is talking about you? What is your current client base? Identify the kind of people that have something to say.2. Is it positive feedback? 3. Is it negative feedback? 4. Begin to take note of the issues that are being raised on the web. You want to address these later, therefore you need to know what they are5. Identify where you need to really impact on your current client base. Stay relevant to the people that you’re already dealing with and aim to fulfil a need of theirs through your company and its products/services.6. Look for opportunities where you can increase your client base. If people are talking about your industry but not mentioning your com pany, you now have the opportunity to change that.

BEING HEARD

Look at your online presence as it is. Gauge how influential your company is in the fields that it should be influential in.

PLUG IN

Once you’ve figured out what people are saying about you, it’s time to figure out where they’re saying it.

This will provide you with heaps of information about the kind of people that are talking about you and the kinds of people you should be aiming your conversation towards. Forget people volunteering for surveys – the internet can provide you with all you need to know about your market and without them being at all inconvenienced.

Also, look at how your company can start jumping into the conversations in its own right. You have a way to solve a problem or fulfil a need within a certain online community – don’t merely rely on other people to advertise yourself for you! Become involved in relevant conversations and make yourself known.

1. How many people are taking note of what you’re saying?2. Is your market really hearing you? 3. What parts of your online conversation are they hearing?4. How big an impact does whatever you say online have on the people that matter?

Really understand how far what your company says goes. Be realistic about it; you can’t make an effective difference to your online communication if you can’t honestly work from where you are.

Once these questions are starting to yield answers, there follows a much better understand-ing of the kind of path your company’s PR needs to take in order to be effective again. Gain context in order to cater to the big picture.

POWER SOURCESYou now know what people are saying about you, where

they’re saying it and how much of what you say they hear..

Now it’s time to start identifying the individuals that carry a lot of influence. These aren’t necessarily the people with the most followers – these are the people who have opinions and judgements that others trust. Be sure you are correctly identifying this important group of internet maestros. Find the ones that are already talking about you and see what they alone are saying. See if they like your company or not. Is there a way for you to convert them if they don’t like your company? If they do like your company, how can you show appreciation in order to further encourage their positive influence on the online conversation about you?

Now look at those online names that are talking about an industry or area that relates to what your company does but isn’t talking about your company itself. Why are they not talking about your company? Is there a way for you to introduce them to your company?

Begin to build relationships online and not just with the ‘regular’ Jo’s that are talking about you. Connect with major bloggers, journalists, media personalities and the ‘traditional PR’ types of people. Except now, you don’t have to leave your office to begin networking correctly. Digital Design can cultivate relationships with online media and clients through meetings and correspondence, maintain master media/blogger list in order to ensure that your company’s message is reaching all the right ears in all the right places and develop and manage PR procedures as outlined by your company.

MAKE A PLAN

You’ve gathered information, you’ve done your research and you have an idea of which direction your company’s online

presence needs to go in. The next big step is planning a strategy.

It is essential that what your company says creates just the right picture in order to create just the right effect. It is not a matter of needing to have an online presence and therefore haphazardly attempting to become part of an online community by throwing information onto the internet that doesn’t connect and doesn’t accurately show off your brand.

With a well-designed content strategy, your company can go from being an unknown to causing a stir across the web. People enjoy sharing stories that are relevant to them, enter-tain them, interest them or use an interesting way of communicating themselves. Only once your content is intriguing can it hope to go viral – and viral is the only way to go.

We assist in creating and executing yearly PR online plans, objectives and goals. We partici-pate in planning meetings, providing strategic counsel and recommendations with regards to Online PR. We evolve with your company’s needs in order to provide the strategy for your company that fits like a glove. Our hands are capable ones and your company’s online PR strategies are safe with us.

RULE OF THUMB

It’s time to create the content you’ve strategized.

The content your company puts on the internet needs to grab attention, stay relevant to your market’s needs and desires, be short enough to communicate your message in its entirety without losing a readers’ interest and stay true to your company’s brand and ideals.

Well designed contenthelps your company

evolve

Outstanding Contentgrabs attention

Digitalby Design

- Develops and maintains ongoing PR Activity calendar.- Writes and distributes press releases, fact sheets, pitch letters, bylined articles, biographies and key message documents.- Helps to schedule and prepare PR materials.- Helps create online media outreach programmes for your company’s breaking campaigns, senior new hires, awards, accolades and new business wins.- Conducts online-media follow-ups in order to stay connected with what the online commu nity is saying about your company, how they’re responding to your new content.

GET VERBALYou want people to be talking about your company and

what you have to say. The best way to ensure that that is happening is to facilitate their conversations right on your

online platforms.

Start your own online conversations.

Enable people to like, share and connect via a whole host of online platforms and mediums. Let people comment on what you have to say, communicate directly with other people who are also interested in your content –This way, you have a much easier way of keeping an eye on a percentage of what people are saying about your company without half of the hassle.

With people being able to discuss your content easily, it has a better chance of reaching a larger audience and going viral. Social Media and online information-sharing thrives on the ease of the transaction of content.

Coordination with your company’s unique needs to fine-tune your company’s content strategy

TAKE A LOOKOne of the greatest advantages digital Public Relations has

over traditional Public Relations is its ability to be measured. It’s so easy to calculate your company’s ROI through digital

public relations and marketing campaigns. .

How can one accurately measure the number of people that respond to a press release in a newspaper or magazine? An estimate of the number of newspapers sold that day could be made but there is no way of telling how many people

a) read your press release, b) how they responded to it and c) if it lead to future business from those people.

The only way to measure the success of your print-media public relations attempt would be through market research and surveys. These need people to carry them out, therefore add further costs to company and many hours of manual (and menial) labour that the company does not necessarily have to spend.

With digital public relations, there are a number of websites and online tools that enable you to trace how often your company’s name is being mentioned on social media websites;- How many comments are being made on your posts.- How many people are actively following your company’s online involvement.- How many people do a Google Search on your company.- How much traffic is going to your company’s website

You can track every aspect of your company’s progress online, enabling you to see tangi-ble results. This also gives your company a better idea of which aspects of your content strategy are effective and which aren’t and that leads to your content strategy being tweaked for maximum impact.

Digital by Design believes in providing our clients with the effectiveness of our digital mar-keting campaigns. Showing their progress through statistics, graphs and other mediums. We constantly monitor what works for the company and what works for their publics and bring the two worlds together in order to deliver the ultimate growth in online participation, influence, publicity and sales.

CONCLUSIONSection 3:

Marrying your company’s offline and online public relations will lead to the best of both worlds. Digital PR is not replacing tradi-tional PR but merely complimenting it in an extremely effective manner that facilitates the best chances of your company growing and evolving to yield the best results.

With our expertise in the field of digital marketing, our knowl-edge of social media platforms, websites, online tools, online communities and online conversations as well as our passion for what your company has to offer the world-wide web, Digital by Design can partner with you to deliver truly spectacular Public Relations that will lead to reaching millions more readers, listeners and viewers, getting the maximum media coverage for the message that your management cares about the most and a boom in sales.

SOCIALLY YOURS

twiter: @DigitlByDesignblog: dbdblogs.wordpress.comfacebook: Digital By Designwebsite: www.digitalbydesign.co.zaaddress: No 10 Cheetah Crescent, Rivonia, Sandton, SAtel: 087 809 3221ISSUU: issuu.com/digitalbydesign

Choose a better future for your company. Choose to go Digital.