When I asked Miriam Schaffer, Placemaking Group’s lead PR strategist, what was a new aspect of the web and getting press, this was her response…
We’re often asked by CEO’s and other business executives about how they can get their names in the news.
One publicity tactic we often recommend is an ongoing press release distribution program. Read the rest of this entry »
My colleague at Placemaking Group, Dianne Newton-Shaw, got me thinking about how to use Social Media during a conversation yesterday.
The important point she was making was that Social Media is a tool. It is not a rescue vehicle. Read the rest of this entry »
Video: Google gives bonus points for video, but use it sparingly on your site. Most visitors won’t watch unless there is a compelling reason. Something fun, interesting, insightful, visual, educational. Video can help ranking and drive traffic to your web site if you post on social media sites and provide entertainment to the visitor. If the videos are good their links will be forwarded to others, driving more traffic to your site.
White paper: One way to get more keyword density is to write a white paper and post it. Also visitors love the free information. You could possibly get them to sign up and give you their email in exchange for the white paper. But remember, it must be informational and not sell.
(e)Xternal Link Building: Also known as Back Linking - Links coming into your site. As mentioned above make sure you are posting on a well-ranked blog or a reputable and relevant outside site. Examples: Placemaking Group listed on the PRSA web site of top 100 agencies.
whY isn’t my site showing up when I search Google? There are many potential reasons but one likely reason is that it can take up to 6 months sometimes for search optimization activities to filter through Google. Also some keywords are very competitive and you might be better off using other marketing tools or focusing on special niche markets to drive traffic to your site.
Zero flash pages: Search engines need to find html text to determine if the site is of interest to searchers.
Do you remember the San Francisco concert promoter, Bill Graham? If you were anywhere near the Bay Area in the 60’s throughout 1991 you knew about Bill. Or if you were lucky like me, you knew Bill.
While I had seen him at plenty of rock music events in my teens and early twenties, I had the chance to interview Bill right after I started my music magazine, BAM. One of the questions I asked him was, “Why are you famous?” Read the rest of this entry »
If you’re reading a book about online marketing, you have to read it the day it comes out. Because the longer you wait, the more out-of- date it is. Well, I’ve got a good one for all of you to read. And it is one of the most sensible online marketing books I’ve ever read. That means it will continue to have value long after many of the books coming out right now. David Meerman Scott wrote “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” in a manner that tells you about all the newest tools and practices. Read the rest of this entry »
Press Release: Sending out releases over the wire services and posting releases for the media help add links to your site because other sites pick them up. Additionally they provide content to keep your site fresh.
Q&A: Add a Frequently Asked Questions page, even if you don’t like them; Search engines do.
Ranking: Avoid linking from a site below yours. To check a page rank for a site on Google you can use a free online resource: http://www.prchecker.info/check_page_rank.php Sites which have high rankings include: Forbes.com 7 (out of a possible 10), Prnewswire.com 8/10, biz.yahoo.com 6/10 and CNBC.com 7/10.
Site map: This is an old technique but having a site map still helps search engines index your whole site.
I got a great question from John Moyer of the Chicago Rush Arena Football team. You can see him interviewed on YouTube. He asked his question through LinkedIn…
“How to brand a person? What steps does a person take to create their presence?
My answer starts with the most important piece of the puzzle: what are your goals?
The first thing you have to know is why are you creating the brand? What do you have in mind? This is the same process whether you’re creating a brand for a business, a city or a person. And you have to remember—you aren’t really creating a brand, you’re uncovering it. It’s already there, you’re just polishing it a little. Read the rest of this entry »
I was asked recently what is the difference between Marketing Communications and Entertainment. Maybe they asked me that because I’ve lived in both worlds for quite awhile.
I’ll tell you, there are more similarities than differences. But you have to look at the best in both fields to see the similarities reveal themselves. At the core, Marketing Communications has to be strategic. There has to be a message that is delivered, even better if there is a call to action.
But at its best, Entertainment has to be as strategic, too. My favorite moment on the entertainment side is the day, back in the early 80’s, when Nikki Sixx walked into our offices at BAM Magazine in Hollywood. Read the rest of this entry »
The list of ABC’s of SEO continue! Now we’re talking about Keywords, Link Building, Media Rooms and Niche Markets. Read on!
Keywords are still important. How to decide what keywords to focus on? Read the rest of this entry »
Here at Placemaking Group we realized a long time ago that all PR and Buzz leads to your website. When people hear about an interesting company, the first thing they do is find the website. So, with our clients, that is one of the most important things on our to-do list… Make sure you have an excellent website that tells your potential customers everything they need to know about you and your company. And, equally important, make sure they can find you when they search for you.
I’m not really sure what got into Barbara Irias, our resident web expert, but as she was compiling a list of important things to be aware of when planning SEO (Search Engine Optimization), she noticed they were coming out in alphabetical order. So here are the ABCs Read the rest of this entry »