Webmasters and Online PR / Social Media

PR as in "public relations" folks.

I'm gearing up to relaunch my PR blog at NakedPR.com, where I focus on online PR and social media issues. Before I can do that, I could use some feedback from webmasters familiar with, or interested in, using online PR and social media tools.

1. Online PR is still a relatively unknown concept with a lot of webmasters and online entrepreneurs who instead focus on IM efforts. Is there anything in particular that you would like to know? For example, in the past I've posted a list of free press release distribution sites, a short tutorial on the most effective free press release distribution methods, etc. (There's more to it than press releases, but that's usually the hot topic.)

2. I'd love to possibly interview a webmaster or two who has actively engaged in online PR - and successfully. If that sounds like you, get in touch. I wouldn't want to do more than one or two of these, and I'm not interested in stories that are simply "we posted a press release to PRweb and got a ton of backlinks!!!"

3. I'd also love to hash out some PR vs IM issues with an IM professional, especially regarding the use of press releases. Be forewarned, I've been known to be more than a little harsh on this blog, so if you're up for the discussion, you'll have to be able to hold your own.

 

It's great that you are bringing these topics to light on this forum. Thanks for asking for input.

I would say one of the real unknowns for me is quantifying the ROI of online PR and social media. It seems like, in the absence of clear ROI, such promotional mediums will be relegated to second-tier status behind traditional vehicles.

CHeers

 

That's an excellent topic Brent, and something I haven't talked much about on my blog (other than precisely what you're saying - in criticizing "false" metrics widely used). I'll put some thought into that, and see if I can come up with a nice summary post. Are there specific tools that you're most interested in regarding measurement?

Also, in the meantime, there's an excellent blog on this very topic by KD Paine. She is the true source on that area of the field right now.

 

I find this article very useful on the ROI of social media by Maki of doshdosh.com. http://www.doshdosh.com/social-media-networking-and-roi/