Online Marketing Company

Find out more about Ajax Union:

www.AjaxUnion.com

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Call Ajax Union:

800-594-0444

Sarah Mogin – Vice President

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PR & Reputation Management for Small Business

Find out more about Ajax Union's products at: www.ajaxunion.com

Agenda

• What is PR?• Establishing Your Publicity

Goals• Press Releases• Reputation Management

• Dealing with Negative Buzz

• Creating Positive Content• Final Thoughts

What is PR?

PR, or public relations, is the process of promoting your business on and off the web, while monitoring and reacting to external buzz as it emerges.

What can PR do for me?•Share company news/ UVPs•Score press coverage•Boost Search Engine Optimization (SEO)•Improve online reputation•Absorb consumer/client feedback•Stay competitive

Establishing Your PR Goals

Fact of life: No marketing strategy is complete without clearly defined goals.

Some ideas:

•Get in The New York Times•Get in my local newspaper, a blog covering my industry•Score direct leads from PR efforts•Clean up my online reputation•Boost my search engine rankings•Promote my industry as a whole

While you’re at it, establish a budget encompassing money and time.

Worksheet: What are your top 3 PR goals?

Press Releases

What is a press release?

20th Century: A document sent out to journalists with information that can be easily adapted into an article.

21st Century: That, and a whole lot more.

Modern press releases:•Can stand on their own•Are LONGER (400 to 500 words)

• End with general info•Still need all the good stuff up front•Do not need a boilerplate•May need two versions

PR Topics

Trust me, you have something to write about.

•New products•Special offers/giveaways•Seasonal products•Industry news•Advice (spring cleaning, energy conservation, etc.)•Scare tactics •UVPs•Genuinely cool stories

Goal: One press release per month/quarter.

Worksheet: Brainstorma potential PR topic for yourbusiness.

Headlines and First Lines

What do journalists and search engines have in common? ADD.

Good headlines have:•Company name•Keywords•NEWS

Headlines and First Lines

Blah title: Capitalize on the Cyber Monday/Black Friday 2012 Craze With Small Business Internet Marketing Plans from AjaxUnion.com

Better title: Ajax Union Offers 10% Off Small Business Internet Marketing Plans in Time for Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2012

Blah first line: In most industries, this time of year is extremely profitable, with many companies seeing a significant uptick in revenue during the last quarter.

Worksheet: List 3 standard keywords (i.e. online marketing) and 3 short-term keywords (i.e. Passover 2013) that would be good for your business.

Distribution

Online PR Sites•Free•Cheap•Premium

Personalized Distribution•Industry PR forms•Editors’ email addresses•Get help from a PR agency

Tip: Remember your PR goals.

Reputation Management

Reputation Management

Reputation management is the process of monitoring and improving the online image of a brand or individual.

Why should I care?•People Google•Stand out•Address customer issues

Things to look out for•Bad reviews•Competing/similarly named businesses•Bad press•Images/videos

Worksheet: Identify your #1 reputation management concern. Identify 2 additional areas of potential weakness.

Google Yourself

There are 10 spots on the first page of Google.

Can you conquer them all?

Tip: Use Google AdWords to claim the first spot in line ASAP.

Google Yourself

There are 10 spots on the first page of Google.

Can you conquer them all?

Tip: Use Google AdWords to claim the first spot in line ASAP.

The First Rule of Fight Club

You probably can’t get that review to go away.

Especially if it’s…•Old•On RipoffReport.com•An article

OK fine, but how do I get people to join my Fight Club?

The goal of reputation management is primarily to obscure/cancel out negative buzz with positive content that’s in your control.

(But don’t freak out, everyone has negative reviews. It’s realistic.)

Important Review Pages

Which review pages should I care about?

•What’s already showing up for your brand on first 2-3 pages of Google•Where your competitors are covered•Google Local•Yelp (but be careful)•Industry (TripAdvisor)•ResellerRatings•Testimonials Page

Worksheet: List the top 3 review pages/profiles relevant to your business.

Consumer Reviews

“Happy people don’t kill people.” — Legally Blonde

Problem: Angry consumers, disgruntled former employees, and your competition are more motivated to post negative reviews than happy people

Solution: Be proactive. Seek out your own good reviews.

How?•On your site•In follow-up emails•On the phone•Turn random praise INTO reviews (Facebook, letters)•Offer incentives

Worksheet: Brainstorm 2 ways you can recruit reviews from your customers or clients.

But back to Fight Club…

Okay, obviously people are talking about Fight Club.i.e., some reviews can be destroyed

•Be fast•Resolve, but don’t bribe•Post public response•Follow up + ask them to change the review

Smooth jazz:•“We apologize for your negative experience”•“We recently…” renovated, invested in a new customer support team, revised our shipping policy

If it’s fraudulent: Contact site authorities; refrain from holding breath

Second rule of fight club:DO NOT post fake reviews

Master of Your Domain

Expand your online presence with additional profiles you control.

•Additional domain• AjaxUnionBlog.com• AjaxUnionReviews.com

•Facebook•Twitter•Multimedia content

• Image Sharing• Videos

Time-tested trick: Google your more successful competitors and friends

Tools of the trade

1. Google Alerts – every daygoogle.com/alerts

•John Smith•“Johnny Smith”•“Cool Bike Shop”•coolbikeshop•cool bike shop reviews

2. Awesome Screenshot – every weekawesomescreenshot.com

•First two pages for cool bike shop and coolbikeshop•Red, green, yellow boxes•Google Images and Video, if necessary•Google news•Make sure you are logged out of Google.

3. Time.

Final Thoughts

• Set Publicity Goals• Write a Press Release!• Google Yourself ASAP• Combat Negative Content with Positive Content

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