Congrats to Buzz Factory client Dave Plotkin enjoying some great local coverage for his art website www.exactlywhatiwant.co.uk
http://www.thisisswindon.co.uk/display.var.1817003.0.art_lovers_are_all_spoilt_for_choice.php
Dave also completed his first radio interview this week which was aired on BBC Radio Swindon.
Ouch.
Wired editor Chris Anderson effectively pricks the consciousness of PR practitioners the world over. There’s a lesson for us all here.
http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2007/10/sorry-pr-people.html
OK I admit to frantically scrolling down the list to make sure my email address wasn’t there (they do slip through the net – you know)!
I stumbled on this excellent summary of how the internet and social media is affecting the way we communicate. The Buzz Factory has enjoyed some excellent results achieving client coverage on blogs recently. Great news for click throughs. But Blogs are the tip of the iceberg as you will see.
It's a little heavy going in places if PR isn't your passion, but pick out what you need.
Congratulations to new The Buzz Factory client The Image Group (www.imagegroupuk.com ). The Manchester-based printer is already enjoying some impressive trade coverage in Print Week, Printing World, How-Do, utalkmarketing.com and Screen Process and Digital Imaging.
Read about The Image Group here:
http://www.printweek.com/news/743554/Image-Group-faces-uphill-battle-super-large-scale-print/
How to Send Photographs to the Media...
Placing images about your business in the media is a much overlooked discipline. But, once yo’ve achieved your stunning publicity shot, there are a few protocols you might want to bear in mind.
I find a good rule of thumb is to ensure any image is at least 1MB (or as close to it as possible) in size and a jpeg. This way the file should contain enough digital info to reproduce crisply on the page.
Captioning.
Because I deal with such a wide variety of media titles I assume the lowest common denominator with captioning - and that means emailing with the caption in the body of the email that the image is attached to.
'CAPTION: LtoR Geoff Sellingstuff opens the Acme Supermarket with Mayor Billy Politics' - or whatever.
I have included captions in the file info - but many smaller titles amazingly don't realise this yet! Until they do - I'll probably continue with the email approach.
Procedure.
NEVER email a 1MB photo with a news release. I have occasionally distributed resized smaller versions (thumbnails) to hopefully whet a journalist’s appetite. But the risk with this is that journalists 'think' that that's the biggest file you have and conclude that the image will be too small.
If in doubt ask the journalist. Some like to receive the image themselves - some like to send it to the photo desk with the journalist's name in the subject line.
And sometimes I've successfully placed images in the paper by going direct to the picture desk - and not even speaking to the journalist. Each paper, each picture and each story will be different.
When I email, my news release pre-amble always says something like : 'Hi
In addition, the 'Notes for Editors' at the end always say PHOTO AVAILABLE - followed by contact details to request it.
Following up.
Any PR agency worth its salt spends thousands of pounds maintaining media databases and forward feature and programming information. But thanks to the internet you might save a few bob. Good luck.
1. British Newspapers and News Online
Comprehensive links page. Good first start for trade press, regional press. You might find the directory and reference links useful too.
2. Digital Spy
Digital Spy is unsurpassed for free programming information. Be the first to discover which shows are going into production. Why not research the production company and offer them some exclusive content?
3. JICREG
It’s an advertising database of regional newspapers. The amount of demographic information and report making power is quite staggering. Find out which regional audiences will give you best reach right here. It won’t cost you a penny!
4. Media UK
This is the closest you get to the commercially available searchable database The Buzz Factory spends thousands on. You can search by any keyword – choose a region / county for geographically specific campaign – or search by sector if you need to get your message across to a trade. Each search offers links to the websites of each relevant radio, TV, newspaper and magazine title.
5. News Now
Great for inspiration. Search for competitor names and find out what is being published online in your key sector. Use the ideas you see to come up with a few ideas for your own business or organization. If a news angle has already proved successful – why not reinvent it for you own needs? Also consider Google News - the news alerts are free.
6. Newspaper Society Database
Same info as the JICREG database – but some may prefer the presentation.
7. Online Public Relations
Do not be fooled by the dour and boring graphical presentation of this website. Just get clicking and watch the world’s largest collection of genuinely useful PR documents appear before your very eyes. Literally thousands upon thousands of resources to inspire and inform. American but still very useful in the UK nonetheless. Great stuff.
8. Radio Stations
The radio equivalent of the JICREG database. Again, it’s a site that’s designed to help advertisers home in on commercial radio demographic information. Great for PR research too though.
9. The Paper Boy
We like this too, and it may throw up a few interesting search results. But media UK has the edge.
10. The Buzz Factory
Our favourite but not free this one. Just a blatant plug. Visit frequently and often.
The sad news that David Nugent is today finally leaving North End for Portsmouth is tempered by The Buzz Factory's first ever football match sponsorship at the Chorley versus Preston North End friendly on Friday.
I'll report back with a summary of, what I'm sure will be, a wonderful sporting occasion!
We've added value to the match sponsorship agreement by offering The Magpies (Chorley) a brainstorm to help them raise their profile. Last year this proud club (Chorley not North End!) nearly went out of business so it seemed the least we could do. The news release will be featured in the programme and we also get a mention in the Chorley Guardian. I'll also be networking on the night. Every little helps.
Thanks to Geoff Haslam and the team at Chorley.
www.chorleyfc.com
You can’t beat cycling to work. I’m very proud to be a Prestonian. And perhaps this pictoral tribute to my journey to work will give you an inkling as to the reason why. Not everyone has the luxury of being able to take in beautiful scenery like this as they cycle to work. And if you’re stuck behind the wheel in traffic jams every morning and evening you have my sympathy.
Incidentally, from a PR point of view, carbon footprints are big news at the moment. How is your business making a difference? Don't forget to let your trade and regional press in on the good news!
