Listen
Does Traditional PR Really Matter Anymore?
Yes, yes it does. Just wanted to answer the question right away before we got any angry emails.
Traditional PR does definitely matter. It’s just changing. Relationship building, pitching stories, all of those PR tactics are still important, but simply posting on a wire service won’t cut it anymore (although doing that, and nothing else, never really worked anyway).
The change is happening in the fact that PR pros are starting to use marketing tactics and marketing folks are starting to steal PR tactics. The lines are blurred, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Today Listen is packed full of advice for marketers looking to learn more about PR and PR pros looking to learn more about marketing.
The fun starts at 05:45…
- (06:56) One of the more recent changes for PR is the convergence with content marketing. More people in PR are expected to deliver marketing outcomes – creating content and measuring it.
- (08:34) One of the missteps that traditional PR people are taking is not focusing on engagement. Yes, placement is vital, but does engagement with that piece is important too.
- (10:27) Should businesses still be using wire services for press releases?
- (12:31) Should you still be doing traditional outreach to journalists? Yes. Absolutely yes. As long as what you’re reaching out about is personal and relevant to what they write about.
- (18:41) Lee’s strategies for building relationships ahead of time so that when he needs to pitch something, it goes well.
- (19:33) When you want to be known as an authority, it helps to connect to people who are already influential in that area. To do that, figure out a way to give them value.
- (20:49) One way is to invite those influencers to collaborate on content, but don’t view it as “one and done.” Ask those influencers for advice a few times.
- (22:17) If you want to be in the media, become the media. Be a publisher and create valuable resources around your industry…hmm…that sounds like content marketing.
Read
How to Improve Your Facebook Video Watch Time
We’ve all heard on repeat that Video is the Future. It’s likely your company has already started chugging out some video content. Or maybe you’ve added it to your calendar for 2018. (Speaking of calendars…check out yesterday’s Read.)
Whether you’ve adopted video with open arms or standing nervously on the sidelines, today’s Read can help you see real success with your vids. It’s not enough to simply hop on the video-wagon and hope for results.
This is about taking the necessary steps to make sure your content is being viewed—and being viewed until the end. Don’t you want your hard work to be properly received? Of course you do!
Specifically, this article runs through the steps of creating a Facebook ad campaign for your video that generates longer Facebook video watch times. Below are the steps, but you’ll want to read the article in full. It’s super detailed and helpful.
- Upload Your Video to Your Page’s Video Library — A lot of marketers upload their video directly into the Facebook ad system, but this strategy works most effectively when you upload the video to your page’s video library instead.
- Optimize Your Video’s Text and Thumbnail Attributes — Choose a killer title and write an attention-grabbing description that ends with a CTA. Add relevant tags and upload your SRT file, which adds captions to your videos. Captions are crucial. Finally, upload a custom thumbnail. Choose a high-quality image containing less than 20% text.
- Schedule the Video for Release — Scheduling your vid allows you to time your ad campaign to go live at the same moment the organic video does. Scheduling the video organically instead of uploading it just as an ad also gives you the benefit of commenting on it first… →
- Make the First Comment Prior to Release — Before the video goes live, add the first comment. You can apply this strategy to blog posts and social media posts, too. When you make the first comment, it can increase watch times and clicks like whoa!
- Create the Facebook Ad Campaign to Promote Your Video — Wooh! Your video is ready, so now go to Power Editor to create your ads. When you’re creating your ad, choose the Video Views objective. This will show your ad to people most likely to watch your video for a longer period of time.
Watch
Hyrrs Not Hymns
“Sometimes the best advertising doesn’t look, talk or walk like advertising at all.” – Grey London
A truly fitting statement from the agency bringing us today’s Watch, which isn’t so much an ad for a brand or product, but a theory.
Feminism has thundered especially loud in 2017, showing itself in efforts of all sizes—from record-breaking marches to Time’s Person(s) of the Year. And, as of yesterday, “feminism” took shape as Merriam-Webster’s word of the year.
Grey London, coming together for women’s rights, worked with Goldstein Music to make a feminist album of revised Christmas hymns they’re calling “Hyrrs.”
The songs have been rewritten with not-so-subtle lyrics directed at sexism, stereotypes, equal pay, and the patriarchy’s systemic abuse. All of which you can sing along to in the karaoke-style videos below. (Fun fact: the typeface you see in the videos is called Lacuna, which was created by female typographer Imogen Ayres.)
An added bonus for your feminist caroling? All proceeds of the album go the women’s charity, Refuge.
Hey, Look at This
We’ve got something extra for our agency and freelance fam. Flywheel dropped this killer eBook about how reselling hosting can be an easy recurring revenue stream for your company. It’s a value-add for your clients and a money-add for yourself. Win-win.
