Showing posts with label PR. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

How To Build A Free Media List

Not everyone can afford a subscription to Vocus or Cision. If you are one of them, and you need to build a media list (and you don’t have a friend that will do it for you), I suggest doing the legwork yourself. You can find most outlets for free on the Web, as there are tons of free directories of media information out there.

If you need to build a media list from scratch, I suggest starting with identifying the outlets you want to target. Once you have a list of target outlets, visit the website for each outlet to research it thoroughly. Each media organization provides different levels of media information you can use to fine-tune your lists.

To get you started on finding outlets you might want to target, here are 14 or so resources you can use for free to learn about outlets that cover your industry or news in your part of the world:

The Internet Public Library

The Internet Public Library includes a list of popular magazines and newspapers organized by their respective subject area or geographic focus. Each individual listing includes a brief description of the outlet’s coverage area, along with a link to their website. Other similar directories include World Newspapers & Magazines (some of these listings are outdated, but it’s still a good starting point), the Yahoo! News and Media directory and Mondo Times.

LinkedIn Search

LinkedIn is a great resource for finding professional journalists. With LinkedIn’s new search features, you can dive deeper into user data to find contacts that fit your criteria. For example, I recently created a search to find contacts with “reporter” as their professional title within a 30 mile radius of my zipcode. There were more than 18,000 contacts, but I could easily narrow this search by limiting other fields or adding a keyword like “business”. LinkedIn also lets you save five searches, so you can be alerted to new contacts that join LinkedIn matching your criteria.

MediaOnTwitter Wiki

We’ve talked about the MediaOnTwitter wiki several times in this blog already, but it’s worth mentioning again. The database is currently going through an upgrade and will soon be much easier to use. As Twitter continues to experience explosive growth, no doubt will it continue to expand as a medium for reaching journalists and bloggers. You can learn more about the MediaOnTwitter wiki from PRSarahEvans.com. While MediaOnTwitter is the most comprehensive list, there’s also a Media People Using Twitter wiki that was created by My Creative Team (in case you wanted more).

Alltop

Alltop is an alternative to setting up RSS feeds for all your favorite blogs on a subject. Alltop has a team of keen-eyed experts that work to aggregate “All” the “Top” blogs on a particular subject. I regularly read the “PR” and “Journalism” categories on Alltop to keep up with current trends and developments relevant to the subjects I write about on this blog. With a few mouse clicks, Alltop will show you any number of the “top” outlets you’ll want to consider for your media list.

Technorati

Technorati is a blog search engine. You can use it to search for blog posts on any subject. The company also manages a list of the Top 100 Blogs, which is a great place to find the world’s most popular blogs on subjects you’re interested in. You can also explore Technorati by many different categories to find relevant blogs. Some of the more popular categories include Technology, Business, Entertainment, IT and Finance.

Congress.org Media Guide

This is a useful directory of media outlets organized by your geographic area. You can click on an interactive map to find newspapers in different areas of the country. Each listing includes a description of the outlet, along with some contacts for the publication (geared toward those that cover politics, but still useful).

Audit Bureau of Circulations

The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) lists its members on its website, including Business Publications, Consumer Magazines and Newspapers.

PRSourceCode

PRSourceCode provides a variety of paid PR services for agencies and professionals working in technology-related sectors. While the company provides paid services, it has a free listing of business and technology publications on its website, linked to the sites. This is an excellent place to start if you’re building a tech-focused media list.

FAIR’s Media Contact List

This organization provides a list of media outlets – really designed for you to voice your opinion (or complaint) about media bias and censorship. Most of the contact information is generic, so you could use it as a jumping off point for major outlets. This list has basic contact information for outlets like CNBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, USA Today, Newsweek and Time.

HARO (Help A Reporter Out)

I’m sure you’ve heard about HARO. If you’re not one of the nearly 80,000 people using the service, it’s a free service that connects journalists with expert sources. Each email (there are three a day) includes reporter queries that you can respond to (provided you have a relevant pitch or expert to offer up). But what if you’re not a fit for the opportunity, but are for the outlet? Keep track of journalists and bloggers that regularly write about topics related to your subject areas – then research those outlets and contacts to add to your media list. What better way to learn what a journalist is interested in than to see the types of experts they regularly reach out to through HARO.

Regator

Regator aggregates the best blog posts on different subjects. While Alltop will show you the best blogs on a subject, Regator shows you the best posts, saving you even more time. I’ve just started using this service (it’s another of our favorite Atlanta-based startups), and its useful for finding the most relevant posts on subjects I’m interested in. The best posts are hand-selected by experienced journalists, so you’ll find nothing but great quality here.

TradePub

TradePub works with business and trade magazine publishers to market free subscriptions to qualified professionals. This is your one-stop-shop for subscribing to a wide-range of free business and trade publications of interest to you. It’s also a great place to find outlets you’ll want to add to your media list.

TVA Productions

TVA Productions is a top independent studio that just happens to have an awesome directory of media outlets in many different categories. The directory is well-designed and easy to navigate. The only downside is the directory only lists the name and location of each outlet per category, so you’ll still have to find the outlet’s website to continue your research from there.

None of these resources will provide anywhere near the volume or accuracy of information found in commercial media databases like Vocus or Cision. It’s true that you get what you pay for when it comes to media research. If you’re managing media relations for several organizations, consider investing in one of these solutions. If you just need to create a media list for your small business or startup, you can do this for free with a moderate amount of effort, using the resources I’ve provided in this post.

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Thursday, March 27, 2014

How To Use Public Relations Strategies To Gain Patients For Your Medical Practice

You Can’t Spell Practice Without “PR”: 3 Public Relations Tactics That Gain Patients

When people think about public relations, they get an image of big-time entities paying big-time money to fix their image problems, like, say, the IRS recently offering $15 million for some public relations help. And while that image isn’t entirely wrong, it isn’t what PR has to be.

According to the Public Relations Society of America, PR is simply “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Nowhere in that definition is spending tons of money mentioned.

Now there are some healthcare public relations firms out there that will establish these “mutually beneficial relationships” with your public (current and potential clients), but the truth is, there are plenty of PR tactics your practice can independently implement for little to no cost.
Here are three easy in-house healthcare PR tactics you can start using now.

Get Social
Using social media for business purposes isn’t innovative anymore – it is now a standard. It doesn’t mean your practice should be on every social network that’s out there – it’d be too time consuming – but at the very least create a Facebook presence.

Considering that as of May, there were about 149 million Facebook users in the U.S., it’s likely that many of your patients are part of the Facebook community, making it a natural fit for your practice.
Your practice’s Facebook page should serve as a resource for patients, which will get them beyond just “Liking” and actually interacting on the page, key for engaging your current patients.

Also, whenever a patient interacts with your practice’s page, it shows up on their Facebook Timeline for all of their Facebook friends to see, placing your practice in front of an entirely new set of eyeballs, which could lead to new patients.

Obviously, patients can’t interact on a page if they are never on it. So, it’s important to cultivate an environment that is inviting and useful for patients, providing things like health tips, flu-shot reminders and answers to commonly asked questions.

It shouldn’t take too much prodding to get patients on your page, as a recent survey by the National Research Corporation showed 94 percent of people use Facebook as a source of health care information.

If you still don’t think your medical practice can gain followers on Facebook, check out seemingly obscure companies like one that sells paint that turns surfaces into dry erase boards that have over 17,000 fans.

Get Out of the Office
This one is simple, get out of the office and make your practice known throughout your community using community outreach efforts. After all, these are all your potential patients.

Having your practice take part in the local cancer walk, setting up a table at the carnival or partnering with a local nonprofit at its next event are all low cost ways of getting your practice out there in front of people in the community, particularly those who didn’t know your practice even existed.

Remember, there’s a good reason that small companies like the local pet store to large companies like McDonalds take the time to perform community outreach. It’s a relatively low cost, efficient strategy to increase the awareness of any business.

Let it be known
While not everything your practice does will be newsworthy, taking the proper angle on certain topics can garner attention for your practice. For example, switching your practice over from paper records to EHRs may sound mundane, but if you angle it as a move that will help you better serve patients and thus the community, it will be more relevant for the local paper.

Just take a look at Adventist Hinsdale Hospital, which received coverage in a local newspaper for beginning to take reservations for its emergency room.

Send out a quick press release or place a call to the local editor about something that might be story-worthy. If you don’t have the time, designate someone in the office to take some time doing this when needed, or hire a college intern.

Of course, not every story idea will be picked up, but the potential to gain mass exposure for your practice at a minimal cost is very much a possibility.

Remember, public relations tactics aren’t only to be used by large corporations. Whether you have a small, solo office or have practices all over the state, you can serve as your own healthcare public relations firm to cultivate fruitful relationships with current and potential patients.

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Sunday, March 2, 2014

How to Introduce a Company to New Regions

Personal contact plays an important role in introducing a company.

Introducing your company to new regions is an important strategy for growing your business. If you offer a product or service that sells successfully in your existing market, you may be able to replicate that success in other regions or in export markets. Although the Internet has made it possible for small businesses to offer products anywhere in the world, market success requires more than a website in multiple languages. To gain recognition and acceptance in new regions, you have to introduce your company and your people, as well as your products.

Step 1: Identify the regions that offer the strongest market opportunities. Look for regions in the U.S. that have similar market profiles but no strong competitors. Research potential export markets where your products or services meet local needs. Ask an organization such as the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce for advice and information on opportunities in different countries. When you have identified the regions with the greatest potential, you can plan the best way to introduce your company.

Step 2: Assign expansion responsibilities. Decide how you will market your products in the new regions and who will take responsibility for introducing the company. If you plan to set up a branch in a new region staffed by your own people, select an employee to take responsibility for managing the introduction of the company. If you appoint a representative to sell direct to prospects in the new region without setting up a local branch, the local representative is responsible for the introduction. If you intend to market your products through a distributor, brief the distributor on your company and provide communications material so that he can introduce your company.

Step 3: Build your knowledge of the important channels to market in the new region. Find out the dates of trade exhibitions relevant to your business. Check the reader data of local newspapers and business magazines to see which publications are suitable for introducing the company through advertising or press releases. Identify local trade associations or business groups that you can use for networking.

Step 4: Ask the U.S. Commercial Service for advice on the most suitable marketing approach to your chosen export regions. Local officers can provide market research and may be able to assist with introductions to influential local buyers or government agencies. Participate in trade delegations or exhibitions in export markets that offer major opportunities. As well as introducing your company to the region, you gain a greater insight into local market conditions.

Step 5: Hold a launch event to introduce your company with impact. Invite local prospects to the opening of your new branch or the premises of the local distributor you have appointed. Participate in an important local exhibition or trade event that targets prospects in your market. Offer to speak on business issues at meetings of local trade associations or business groups and take the opportunity to introduce your company.

Step 6: Notify local prospects that your company is now open for business in their region. Place an advertisement or send a press release to local newspapers and magazines announcing that your products or services are available locally. Invite local journalists to your launch event to improve media coverage. Create a page on your website that gives details of your new local operations. Contact key prospects by email, direct mail or telephone to announce your regional presence.