We always
hear about how Internet technology makes the world smaller, but it also makes
opportunities greater. With the advent
of search engines like Google and Yahoo!, our fondest desires have become but a
keystroke command. Think, for instance, if
you were an entrepreneur a decade or more ago — how would you promote
yourself? Or, how would you, as a
non-profit organization, make an announcement about an upcoming
fundraiser? If your business was
launching a new product that stood out from your competitors, how quickly could
you let everyone know without the Internet?
It was possible, but not as effective.
The Internet
improves pre-existing techniques for drawing attention, such as paid
advertising and marketing gimmicks, but it particularly enhances the primary
method to get noticed: the press release.
Because of tools like search engines, anyone seeking to reach a narrower
market can access that demographic just by including the right keywords in
their press release.
Furthermore,
a syndicated press release optimizes that distribution by appearing in all the
best places simultaneously. Portal
websites, or link pages, will publish press releases with the most relevant
text in order to direct web traffic to them—subsequently getting a lot of that
traffic to click on the link in your press release.
Today, syndication is even easier with the assistance of press release services
such as Send2Press (a service of Neotrope).
Send2Press (www.send2press.com) takes care of both the writing and the
distribution; it uses recognizable embedded text and makes certain your press
release finds the right news sources, social media networks and clipping
services. Plus, it ensures that the
press release stays out there, rather than becoming a casualty of a one-time
dissemination.
The investment of hiring a company like Send2Press is small fish compared to
the benefits you can reap. Getting
noticed fast is important with the breadth of competing information out there
today, and getting noticed more is just as crucial. Syndicated press releases
maximize the possibility for both, but only when done just the right way!
Facebook’s Privacy Policy – 1,000 words longer than the U.S. Constitution
by
Laura Eshelman
Anyone
remember Facebook circa 2005? Unless you were a college student, probably
not.In retrospect, the early Facebook.com was
essentially an exclusive club wherein the biggest issue was tailoring your
“About” section to sound supremely cool.
As
we all now know, those days are kaput.The former little sister to Myspace, now boasts more than 400 million
user profiles, and what seems like as many applications. Facebook is
so all-inclusive that its terminologies are now accepted as legitimate
vernacular in the English dictionary. For example, the terms “friending” or “unfriending”
people is commonplace. And, if someone says, “I’ll ‘Facebook’ you,” those of us with
profiles generally understand that they will be in contact with us via the
website.
Furthermore,
socializing in real life is facilitated more and more by Facebook; if you’re
hosting an event or party, Facebook is the fastest way to invite people. Just beware -- if you’re in any pictures, you’ll likely be tagged in one or more of them on Facebook soon.
Unfortunately, there’s no telling who else might see those pictures. Facebook
is currently under scrutiny from the ACLU and FTC after changes made in early
2010 regarding privacy policies.Unless
users navigate through the rigmarole of changing their
privacy settings and risk carpal tunnel syndrome with all the clicking involved, it's very easy for personal information to be shared
with third-party websites. How easy?For
starters (if you are a Facebook user), type your name into a Google search
engine, or do an image or video search. Chances are, something you’ve got on
your Facebook page will pop up.
When
Facebook changed its policies last January, it tacitly obtained the consent of
its users by allowing them to select new “recommended” privacy settings, which
most did rather than read the whole policy. (Nick Bilton at the New York Times
noted in a May 12th article that Facebook’s privacy policy is more
than 1,000 words longer than the U.S. Constitution).Even those who went to the trouble of locking
down all their personal information may still be accessed through third-party
searches via their location or school.
So,
while the ease of snooping on exes via social networking sites like Facebook
remains a relatively harmless joke, it isn’t quite as funny to consider the repercussions
of being passed up for a job because a potential manager disliked you listed political
views. Scarier still is the fact that the
accessibility of personal information is a new scavenging ground for identity
thieves, who can prey on more vulnerable profile users.
It’s a sad reality when joining Facebook carries such hefty liabilities; I
guess there’s always the phone.
Organic SEO - Perfect for Marketing on a Budget
What is organic SEO? No,
it’s not a new healthy eating trend. It is how you get people to visit your Web
site without paying huge amounts of $ for pay-per-click campaigns. It is done through article syndication,
selecting the appropriate key words – and content, content and yes, more
content! Content is king! It is important to change content and to share
content with many other search engines out there. Contact us and we will be
happy to explain more!
Public Relations Association of WNC
Public Relations
Association of Western North Carolina, or PRAWNC, is the region’s premier
professional organization for public relations, marketing, advertising and
communications professionals since 1983. Learn more about PRAWNC at http://www.prawnc.org/.
PRAWNC is a 501C3 not-for-profit
corporation providing practitioners with opportunities for education,
collaboration, networking and professional excellence.
7 Tips for Effective Social Media Use
Today, social media is everywhere... FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIN -- oh my! Where does one begin? Here are some tips to get you started:
1. Remember that social media is unique. It provides a new frame of reference - another way to communicate. Incorporate it with other marketing and networking strategies.
2. Develop a strategy. Who do you want to communicate wIth? What do you want to say? Set some goals.
3. Create good content. Content is king! Use words, photos and more to make your content informative and engaging. It will keep people coming back for more.
4. Make time to engage and to encourage feedback. You have to keep the lines of communication open.
5. Don't sell anything. Be members of the community.
6. Embrace the one-to-one that social media networking can offer. It can help to build important business and personal relationships.
7. Be authentic and transparent! Social media users are savvy. Openly share information and they will learn to trust you.
Business: 828-645+6447