Businesses need to have an online presence in order to stay up to date with industry trends and gain the competitive edge that will allow them to stand out from the crowd.
An effective online presence consists of a user friendly website for your audience to find you, your products and services, consistent social media engagement to build trusting relationships with your audience and targeted advertising to encourage the transition between a passive audience member to an active consumer.
Within the digital world it is important to maintain a consistent and clear brand voice and brand messaging for your audience to gravitate towards.
The power of the press builds brand credibility and drives traffic to your business.
But what’s the next stepping stone to becoming the industry leader?
Align your business with the press. Whether that be bloggers, social media influencers or tradition editorial journalists. But to ensure your business is represented in a positive light, you need public relations tools to get started.
HARO
Help A Reporter Out is one of the most popular free public relations resources digital marketers use to connect their clients with the press. By signing up to HARO you’ll receive daily emails from journalists who are seeking information from industry experts to publish news stories.
You have the opportunity to submit information to HARO with the aim of a journalist publishing your insights or profile your client. Media coverage increases brand credibility as a third party has acknowledged that your business and services are reliable and valid within your industry.
With media outlets such as Fox News, TIME, and The New York Times using HARO, your have the opportunity to gain international coverage from reputable publishers.
Muck Rack
Muck Rack is a free online public relations resource that connects digital markers with journalists. However unlike HARO, Muck Rack focuses on social media journalists and uses geographic and subject filters that allow you to search for relevant journalists. You can also search for online magazine editors, bloggers and digital publications that are relevant to you and your clients.
With Muck Rack, find out which journalists are sharing your content on social media, organise media lists to stay connected with journalists for future campaigns and create media monitoring emails to track the progress of your content.
Join global business such as Hootsuite, Mastercard and Livestream in creating strong relationships with digital journalists. Muck Rack is an effective path towards ensuring your brand is being reflected positively in social media coverage.
Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a free resource that tracks news online based on the key word search or phrase you ask Google to monitor. When Google finds a relevant source with your business, brand or specific topic mentioned, you will receive an email notification with a link to the content.
Start your search by setting up a Google Alert then simply sit back and check your inbox regularly to see what Google has found. This is an easy to use and time effective tool that is ideal for monitoring your client’s reputation.
Never miss a news story with Google Alerts. Simply edit or delete your list of Google Alerts when campaigns are complete, or create generic alerts for Google to continuously track.
