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News in a Mobile World
Jane attended Liverpool Science Park’s knowledge economy Breakfast ‘Mobile Marketing from a creative perspective’ recently. Timing is an important success factor for any communications, especially news. As supposed experts in this, the onslaught of social media has presented an interesting challenge.
While everyone’s business has been forced to change in this 24/7 always-on, mobile world, PR practioners still tend to release news according to a schedule and timing, not that of the media. They knock on journalists’ virtual door fronts with news releases in hand, asking the media to endorse it by writing our stories – not theirs.
If you reverse this, as we advise and try to practice, instead of reaching out to journalists at the wrong time, you get them to find you. Digital devices, including mobile, have made it easy for reporters to find sources. And that source might as well be you. One of the best ways to do this is to mix mobile with social media to concoct a timely, enticing recipe that will be easily and readily digested by journalists. Or you can comment on a breaking story in a way that journalists will find you and want to use your opinions.
Here are 5 ways to achieve that:
1. Optimise for mobile. Index your site for the mobile search engines so people can find your content on their mobile devices. Make your content visible on the small screen.
2. Monitor keywords and phrases on Twitter so you are on top of the news and trends in your industry.
3. Monitor regulatory changes in your industry so you can comment in real time on Twitter about those changes.
4. Create content and comment in real time via a blog, media alert and/or Twitter when news is breaking so media will find you.
5. Create today’s version of the that old standby, the press kit – a mobile app with a feed of content optimized in an application for reporters that includes press releases, blog posts, video, and Twitter feeds.
And one caveat:
Don’t use all the new technology as an invitation to spam reporters on their mobile phone or Twitter feed. Don’t send an uninvited text message. That will only backfire.
The bottom line is that PR practitioners need to be as nimble and quick as a reporter or blogger on deadline and be anywhere they are likely to find you – on mobile, on social media, on a blog, on video.
