Public Relations Principles for Small Businesses Online: Video News Releases & Micro-media

As we continue into our third week of Public Relations Principles for Small Businesses, we can reflect on our previous topics of Digital Press Releases and PR 2.0 knowing that there is a future in public relations online.  As a Denver Marketing company, we strive to not only help businesses succeed in marketing, but other subjects as well.

This week we are looking at two sections of online public relations: video news releases and micro-media.

The Video News Release is helpful to companies on many levels.  The first of these is that the story is presented effectively as the company wishes it to be produced.  We all know that stories can get lost from the print to recorded version.  When a company provides a film copy of their release then television stations already have a pre-made story that doesn’t require a whole lot of work.  Second there are SEO implications.  When a video is uploaded to YouTube specifically, it is archived before practically any other piece of information.  Having a company link directed back from the video helps boost the companies SEO rankings.  Third the company is presented in the light it wants to be shown in.  A company affords itself their own version of the story when they are the ones breaking it via video.  Fourth, a video is a great focal point for a web site.  Companies look more professional and put together when there is a video explaining what is going on, instead of a person, slide show, or document.

Micro-media releases are tricky.  Every company that is online feels the need to participate in social media.  This includes micro-media such as twitter and other mobile based applications.  Using these platforms are great.  However their uses come with some caution.  Posting is immediate.  There is no middle ground to remove a post.  Every post that a company puts out via micro-media should be watched carefully in order to avoid potentially breaking the wrong news or saying something politically damaging.  We have seen this happen many times since companies began using social media and it’s not helpful for the companies image.  Making sure that public relations content being shared via micro-media is key, however it needs to be double checked.  Being extra positive about every post is where a company can outdistance themselves in the future.  This helps not only the individual running the site’s nerves calm but also keeps people willing to participate in the discussion as well.

We could continue to talk about these two forms of sharing news and content however that would get exceedingly boring.  We know that every company should be releasing news via video and micro-media.  Taking in to account general ethics and what we know about traditional media we can now take the steps to implement these two other ideas into our strategies.  We all know that experience is really where we learn, so taking that first step is always crucial.  Once we take that step though, everything will begin to fall together.

If you have any questions about what steps to take or want more information about what we are talking about, leave a comment below and we will do our best to assist you!

Get the News Out!

RSS feeds help get the news out faster than any other mode possible. The unique thing about RSS is that it allows you to follow without much commitment to daily checking for new information.  Could this help your business?

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