Optimized PRIntegrating search, social media & public relations to

increase engagement and drive results

Sarah SkerikVP Social Media

PR Newswire @sarahskerik

#travelprsa

Luck benefits the prepared mind. - Louis Pasteur

Agenda

• Context– Why you should bother connecting PR, SEO and social media

• Trends – Investment in search marketing– Real time search – Link diversification

• Case studies – Connected Content: Roger Smith Hotel – Connecting Audiences: jetBlue – Connecting Search & PR: Marriott – Connected Content, Part 2 : Run Henny Run

• Additional Optimized PR tactics

Why you should bother: some context

9B searches in April

The media relations angle:

• 72% of journalists report a higher workload – Online news section (62%) – Video (28%)– Podcasting (12%).

• Almost 40% of journalists are required to Tweet stories or blog as part of their duties.

• 59% of traditional journos author a blog (either for their outlet or personally).– Blogs are used to augment stories and break news.

• 46% of journalists sometimes or always use blogs for research purposes

• 33% report using social networks in their research, versus 24% in 2009.

Trends

Marketing is focusing on interactive.

2010 US spend on search marketing: $20B

SEO: location, location, location

88% of clicks!

90% of spend!

Realtime Search: Social results are showcased by search engines

Something else is going on…

LINK DIVERSIFICATION• No number 1 SERP position is guaranteed • New links are important

– Press releases – Social – Fresh content

Imperatives for SEOs and PR pros …• You need to acquire new links• Link sources need to be diverse

Case study: Connected Content

Real content, and real connection

… real connections

Telling the stories

Tactic: Create a continuous stream

• Twitter, Facebook updates and engagement

• Tap your users! – Display user photos, comments– Invite their input (contests, reviews)

• All of this equals content (and touch points) even when you don’t have announcements

Results the Roger Smith Hotel team reports:

• All three revenue streams – room sales, restaurant and events – showing significant increases

• Traffic from search engines is also up significantly

• The whole place is buzzing” which equals more events, more buzz, more events …

Connecting Audiences:

The Press Release & the Tweet

Hey, what’s happening?

The results

• The promo sold out two days early • #AYCJ was a trending topic within 4-6 hours on

Twitter – and stayed there for days – “seriously absurd”

• jetBlue pulled a “significant” ad campaign – “Advertising would have been pointless. No amount of

advertising can trump national news coverage.”

• Visits to the route map on the web site jumped more than 800%.

The approach became a story

Tactics: Socializing press releases

• Already had Twitter channel cultivated. • “Very cognizant” of making press releases easy

for bloggers to crib with bite size pieces of information that can stand alone

• Aware of need to offer details for journos who want to analyze, but rip-and-read content for social media.

• Making sure that information is sharable:– Links share nicely on Facebook– Tweetable headlines

Connecting SEO and PR

Tactics: Using anchor text effectively

• Link to different – and relevant URLs – throughout the message. – Don’t link everything to your homepage.

• Headline – lead – link. • Link from keywords (not descriptive or

generic language. – Linking don’ts:

• Available in assorted colors• Click here for more info

A link with purpose!

What integration looks like:

• Significant SEO results from one well crafted press release

• Increases in both valuable backlinks and Google rankings

RunHennyRun.com

a very nic(h)e example

Helmet cam

Photo of Peter Atkins on Henry Jota Hampton used with permission of Sarah K. Andrew www.rockandracehorses.com

It started on YouTube

Results

• Hundreds of donors, more than half of whom are donating more than the suggested $15.

• It’s going viral in the equestrian community

• Peter has been invited to be a blogger for a leading publication

• Henny’s team are responding to calls for more content – and more business.

Hello, brand extension

Other Tactics

Go where your audience lives

Online & Offline Integration

• Socialize your enterprise– Employees make great advocates– Start small, but build the processes you need to

support social efforts. – Identify and develop rapport with bloggers/influencers

• Optimize your PR strategy – Know your organization’s SEO strategy – Use that language online (press releases, web site,

social)– Incorporate keywords offline (media training,

interviews

Thank you!

Find me/follow me/friend me:

Twitter: @sarahskerikFacebook.com/sarahskerik (less work, more play)

Linkedin.com/in/sarahskerik

Get this preso on slideshare.net/sarahskerik

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