What Can Louisville’s Kevin Ware Teach the SEC and Public Companies About Social Media?

April 4, 2013
by Thomas Becktold, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing

Turns out, quite a bit.  You see, within hours of his terrible injury on the basketball court, fans were flocking to Twitter to offer their support.  Unfortunately, most were initially going to a fake Twitter account and weren’t engaging with Kevin Ware at all.

Following the April 2, 2013 SEC Report of Investigation that says social media accounts fall under the guidelines of their 2008 Interpretive Guidance Report on IR sites, we have put together some tips to help public companies in their IR social media efforts.

Social media engagement should be a part of the communications mosaic, but it is not a replacement for full, fair and simultaneous distribution of news achieved through Business Wire.  Investor relations professionals appreciate that their audiences are diverse and dispersed and use a wide range of platforms and content sources to access material information.

SEC_Blog_Post_Graphic

Social Media Opportunities for Public Companies

  • Social media channels offer the ability to gather intelligence and engage in two-way conversations, and as part of a comprehensive communications mix, are quite valuable.
  • Companies should establish official IR-specific social media channels on key platforms, even if they are not ready to use them.  If the channels are not active, put a disclaimer or keep them dark.
  • For those with a solid understanding of social media and their investor audiences, regular, consistent use of the channels for both good news and bad news is key.  Just like any other disclosure platform, don’t tweet or post only the good results and skip the bad ones.  Once you commit to adding a social media channel to your communications mix, stick to it.  If you discontinue use of a channel, communicate that as well.
  • Establish and publish a clear policy on your company’s use of social media as a supplemental channel to alert investors of disclosure press releases and filings.  Cross-reference those channels on your IR site, press releases and filings.
  • Listen to conversations and track sentiment and influencers, including your company’s Twitter “Cash Tag” – tweets tagged with your ticker symbol preceded by a $.  Business Wire now offers social media sentiment analysis reports for press releases via our partnership with NUVI.  For real-time monitoring and engagement, the NUVI platform provides an easy visual representation of influencers and sentiment based on the terms you choose.

Social Media Cautions for Public Companies

  • Full and Fair Access:  According to Pew Research as reported by TechCrunch, only 16% of adult US Internet users are on Twitter.
  • Privacy: Social media channels have barriers to entry and require the user to set up accounts and agree to the terms and conditions of each channel.  Your company does not control those terms and they may be objectionable to those interested in your news.  Chances are, your own IR site, as a best-practice, does not require visitors to agree to terms and conditions to access material news.
  • Fragmentation: Where’s Waldo meets disclosure.  As an IRO, do you opt for a wide, instantaneous Business Wire distribution or solely post to Twitter or Facebook and hope people find your material information?  Ask yourself, how do your investors, potential investors and media currently access your news?  Chances are, it’s through a widely divergent set of sources.
  • Simultaneity: The fact that users must click on a link to read a full-text announcement (that will reside elsewhere) adds latency and unfairness to the disclosure process.
  • Usability: Is social media going to meet the needs of your audiences?  Is it realistic to ask your institutional investors to hit “Like” on Facebook to get the latest earnings release alongside their elementary school friend’s picture of their latest cake or new puppy?  Should you expect your retail investor to stop relying on their brokerage account to access your news because it’s no longer there and instead subscribe to your Twitter feed?
  • Security: Don’t use social media as your sole means for disclosure: Look at Kevin Ware, the Louisville basketball player and what happened on Twitter just after his recent on-court accident.  Someone set up a fake account because, yes, we know it’s that easy to do.  And, that fake account had more followers than his real account.  Imagine potential investors searching in vain for the “real Twitter account” for your company when breaking news happens?  (Or finding that the official account has been hacked, as recently happened to both Burger King and Jeep.) Want to get a “verified” account?  Good luck —  and it might not make a difference anyway, according to this recent Mashable article. The Business Wire slug ensures a seamless, secure, audited experience.
  • Reliability: Twitter has been riddled with outages as it grows – think how many times you’ve seen the Fail Whale. Business Wire operates at 99%+ uptime.   With your news widely distributed, if one site or system goes down, investors have many others to turn to.
  • Liability: Leveraging a Business Wire distribution ensures full and fair distribution.  Tweeting a release today is akin to walking across a frozen lake in late March.  Your odds of making it across are good, not great.

Want to read what journalists and others are saying about the SEC ruling?  Here are a few links – the comments sections often provide greater insight for you to consider as a communications professional:

2 Comments | Business Wire | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Tom Becktold, SVP Marketing, Business Wire

Daylight Saving Time: Keep it in Mind When Sending Press Releases this Weekend

November 3, 2011
 
Most areas of the United States ”fall back” an hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 6.   In fact, about 70 countries utilize Daylight Saving Time around the world.  Japan, India, and China are the only major industrialized countries that don’t observe some form of daylight saving. 

Daylight Savings Time begins this Sunday

Daylight Saving Time begins this Sunday

 
Those sending press  releases this weekend should keep the time change in mind when sending out their news.
 
Here’s a great reference to see which geographic locations change when.  For those sending press releases to Business Wire, no worries.   The time zones in Business Wire Connect, our secure, client interface, update automatically to reflect appropriate time zone changes on Sunday.
 
Daylight saving time has already ended in Europe.  The European Union and United Kingdom turned the clocks back an hour at 1 a.m. on October 30.   As of last Sunday, London will once again be five hours ahead of eastern standard time and Paris will be six hours ahead.
 
For those who enjoy sleeping in on Sunday mornings, here’s your chance for the rare 25-hour day.
 

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Posted by Monika Maeckle

Social Media Press Releases, Like Color TVs, Have Been Coopted: They’re ALL Press Releases

November 1, 2011

by Sandy Malloy, Senior Information Services Specialist

Sandy Malloy, Senior Information Specialist

The term “social media press release” surfaces from time to time to describe a release crafted especially to appeal to the tweeting/blogging/posting crowd that comprises its purported target audience.  On its face, there is nothing wrong with this concept.  We advise crafting Google-friendly, keyword-rich headlines to make sure search engines can find press releases.

But using a separate label and special (sometimes truly ugly) formatting to create a press release specifically for sharing misses the point.  That idea may have had merit when introduced five years ago, but it now seems as dated as hailing color TV or air mail.    Today, EVERY press release should serve as a “social media press release” (search-engine-friendly and easy-to share press release) if the person crafting it does the job properly.

Business Wire recently revamped its news display to encourage and facilitate sharing.  Many of these features  enhance the social media value of releases without making them unreadable by a person with a normal attention span.  The most significant enhancements from a social media perspective are the prominence of sharing icons for popular sites (Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook) and the ability to share photos and videos as discrete assets.

Below we’ve listed basic tips for building effective, web-friendly, news releases that will be found, seen and shared.  Take a look:

  • Create a short but descriptive headline
  • Put the most important information in the first paragraph
  • Don’t just tell, SHOW–include multimedia
  • Know the audience you want to reach
  • Be clear about why that audience should care

I recently reviewed videos submitted by public relations students for Business Wire’s College Video contest on The Future of Public Relations. Even though the students acknowledged the importance of social media, some speculating on future technological changes, an important thread emerged from their presentations:  effective press releases rely less on technology than on the personal connections that the press release content makes with the audience.

At its best, a “social media press release” makes that connection so those reading it feel compelled to pass it along.

2 Comments | Business Wire, new media, seo, social media, Social Media Release | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Monika Maeckle

Bloomberg Canada Shares Tips on What News Agencies Want from your Press Release

June 14, 2011

A group of IR, PR and business professionals recently attended a panel discussion in Toronto hosted by Business Wire Canada, featuring editors from the Bloomberg Canada team. The editors offered tips on making the most of your press releases.

Bloomberg Canada and Business Wire

Professional communicators gather in Toronto for a Business Wire event featuring Bloomberg editors.

David Scanlan, bureau chief,  Sean Pasternak, a reporter for the banking and financial services sector, and Steve Frank, commodities industry editor, shared their  insights based on the reality that they see an average of 300 press releases per day.

Takeaways:

• Your press release may be long and full of useful information, but be sure to put the most pertinent content in the first paragraph of your release.

• Know who you’re pitching. Call ahead or send an email to the news organization asking the name of the most appropriate person to receive your press release.

• Be time sensitive. You may have the lead story of the day, but if it reaches the newsroom at 4:59 p.m. on a Friday, don’t expect much.

• Want to follow up with your press release? Email the editor and ask for five minutes on the phone at his or her convenience. If you promise five minutes, deliver five minutes.

• Be clear and concise.  Avoid jargon or complicated industry terms.

The prevailing theme of questions posed to the panel by the audience was “How do I get your attention?” Each editor shared his personal preferences.

Sean Pasternak responds favorably when coffee is involved. David Scanlan appreciates scheduling time to chat in advance, and Steve Frank likes conciseness in your press release.

We’ve archived a webcast of the event for those who couldn’t attend.

NOTE:  Special thanks to Katrina Bolak and Rishika Luthra for contributing to this post.

2 Comments | All Things Press Release, Business Wire, Media Relations, Press Release Tips, Public Relations | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Monika Maeckle

Photo, Good Headline, and Newsworthiness Will Get Your Press Release Noticed

March 29, 2011
by Sandy Malloy, Senior Information Specialist
Sandy Malloy

Sandy Malloy

When comparing measurement reports from different releases, clients often ask why one news release received more views than another.  The question arose recently in the context of a release that proved to be far more popular than another despite the client’s perception that the latter was more “important” news and the release was more widely distributed.

I won’t explore the rationale for choosing one distribution over another, but I WILL comment on factors that can make a press release popular.  In this particular case, the more popular release had a photo. 

As we’ve noted before, releases with multimedia receive 1.7 times more reads than those without.  This release was no exception.  Multimedia not only attracts viewers who want to see or  download the photo or play the video, photos and videos attract more viewers, period.  The visual Web loves multimedia, which grabs attention.

A second trait of popular releases is a good headline.   It’s such an important component of an effective news release that we’ve presented webinars on this topic.  The more popular release in this case had a succinct headline that clearly stated what the release was about and why it should be of interest to the reader.  Remember that although search-friendly keywords in your release are very important, many people will see your headline on our site, on their mobile devices, in RSS feeds or email and decide whether or not to click through.  Headlines make that first impression, and just as you don’t get a second chance to impress in the real world, nor does your press release.

Finally, make sure the release is truly newsworthy.  This list of news release-writing tips from PRSA’s blog is typical in making newsworthiness Tip #1.

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Posted by Monika Maeckle

PR Peeps Poll: Generating Clips Still Most Important in Measuring Press Release Success

February 22, 2011
by Monika Maeckle, Vice President New Media 

Our first PR Peeps Poll for 2011 suggests that while generating clips is still the number one marker for  press release success, general branding/visibility and traffic-driving capabilities of the press release come in not far behind. 

Of  280 PR Peeps polled, 88 said the most important measure of press release success was generating earned media and clips.   Branding and general awareness-raising came in second with 79 votes, while driving traffic to websites came in third with 73.   Getting link clicks only garnered 20 votes, the same amount as “other.”

In comments attached to the survey, PR pros chimed in with their own ideas on what constitutes press release success. ”Getting the phone to ring!”  “developing direct business leads,” and ”a smiling client when they see the ROI,” were among the remarks.   We couldn’t agree more with this comment from one PR Peep:  “…distributing a release is only one step in a five- or six-step process (including follow-up pitching, an engaging photo, etc.)” 

The poll was conducted in January and February  through Twitter, Facebook, email and Business Wire’s webinars.   Details below:

What’s most important in measuring press release success?

73, or 26%–Driving traffic to our website

20, or 7%–Getting link clicks

88, or 32%–Generating earned media/clips

79, or 28%–General branding/awareness

20, or 7%   — Other

To those who participated, thanks for taking the PR Peeps Poll.  Now we need your help on our February survey: How Good Are Your Headline Habits?

Thanks for the help.

280 respondents via Twitter, email, Facebook and Business Wire webinar polls. Poll conducted  January 3 – February 18, 2011.

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Posted by Monika Maeckle

Importance of Writing Good Headlines Magnified as Attention Spans and Space Decrease

February 3, 2011
Free “How to Write A Good Headline” Webinar to Offer Headline Writing Tips
by Monika Maeckle, Vice President, New Media

Gawker rolled out its redesign this week, provoking an echo chamber of speculation on what it means for blogs, Twitter and new media in general, and the blogosphere in particular.

One theme was constant in the online nattering:  headlines have never been more important.

With our miniscule attention spans, a firehose of content, and search engines that systematically weigh the first 70 characters of any content page, headlines today carry an unprecedented burden to deliver readers.   And with Twitter and Facebook referring so many pageviews, we no longer enjoy the luxury of the lead paragraph to tell our stories.

The headline stands alone.

“Headlines on websites—particularly those found on news websites with content heavy homepages—carry a very heavy load,” wrote Jake Brooks, Chief Strategist and Project Director of Hazan+Company, in a February 1 blogpost. “For these types of sites, the difference between 10,000 pageviews can rest entirely on the quality of the headline and how well it sells a story.”

No kidding.  And when it comes to press releases, a great headline can make the difference between your carefully crafted news release flying high or detouring to the delete heap.

If you can use some help with headline writing, please join us February 16 for a FREE educational webinar on How to Write  a Good Headline.  Registration is free.

We’ll look at headlines from both sides of the aisle–from the perspectives of readers and robots.   Our guests will be veteran journalist Terry Scott Bertling, niche/products editor at the San Antonio Express-News; and SEO-meister  Greg Jarboe, President of SEO-PR.

Hope to “see” you there.

How to Write A Good Headline
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
10 AM Pacific/ Noon Central/ 1 PM Eastern
FREE
Register Now

 

 

4 Comments | All Things Press Release, Business Wire, Business Wire Events, Education, new media, Press Release Tips, social media, Webinars | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Monika Maeckle

Consider Daylight Savings Time When Sending Press Releases This Weekend

November 5, 2010
Most areas of the United States are “falling back” an hour at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 7.   Please make note should you be distributing  news releases this weekend.
 
Here’s a great reference to see which geographic locations change when.  For those sending press releases to Business Wire this weekend, no worries.   The time zones in our Business Wire interface update automatically to reflect relevant changes on Sunday.
 
Also keep in mind that daylight savings time has already ended in Europe.   As of Sunday London will once again be five hours ahead of eastern standard time and Paris will be six hours ahead.
Enjoy your 25-hour day!
 
 

Leave a Comment » | All Things Press Release, Business Wire, Press Release Tips, Public Relations | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Monika Maeckle

PR Peeps Poll: 43 Percent Cite Driving Traffic as Primary Objective in Optimizing Press Releases

November 3, 2010

by Monika Maeckle, Vice President New Media

When it comes to optimizing press releases for search engines, most PR Peeps do it to drive traffic to their websites, the October PR Peeps Poll found.  Of 240 polled, 103–that is, 43%–cited driving traffic as their primary goal in applying search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to their press releases.

Standard SEO techniques for press releases include working keywords into the headline and lead, providing deep links to your web site, adding multimedia such as logos, photos, or video, and keeping the headline under 70 characters so it is most likely to be indexed by Google news.

The poll results are not surprising given that the objective of most press releases is to tell the story of the issuer.  One of the best ways to do that is to lure people to your website so they can hear your organization’s story in your organization’s words–full text, unedited, unfiltered by journalists, bloggers or others.

The second most common reason cited for optimizing press release for search engines was to “influence Google search engine results” with 69 votes, or 29%.   Shortly behind was “manage reputation” with 36 votes, or 15%, followed by 25 respondents who don’t optimize their press releases for search engines (10%) and 7 respondents pegging “generate link clicks” as their main objective in applying SEO tactics to press releases.

The poll was conducted throughout the month of October through Twitter, Facebook, email and Business Wire’s webinars.   Details below:

What is your primary objective in optimizing your press release for search engines?

103, or 43%–Drive traffic to our website

69, or 29%–Influence Google search engine results

36, or 15%–Manage our brand and reputation

25, or 10%–I don’t optimize my press releases for search engines

7, or 3%   —  Generate link clicks

To those who participated, thanks for taking the PR Peeps Poll.   How about helping us with the next one?  The November poll launches today.   What is your company’s preferred form of social media outreach?

Thanks for the help.

240 respondents via Twitter, email and Business Wire webinar polls. Poll conducted  October 1 – 31, 2010.

2 Comments | Business Wire, Social Media Release, social media, seo, Polls, Business Wire Polls, All Things Press Release, PR Peeps Polls | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Monika Maeckle

Breaking News: Press Release STILL Not Dead

September 28, 2010

 

by Monika Maeckle, Vice President New Media

Will the death wish for the press release never cease?  Something about the approach of Day of the Dead each Fall seems to provoke fantasies of its demise.

A recent article in AdAge is a case in point.  Media columnist Simon Dumenco suggested that Twitter has made press releases obsolete.  “The long-suffering, much maligned press release, I’d argue, finally died this summer,” he wrote.    Dumenco pointed to Kanye West and other celebs as models of  how Twitter can replace press releases.

This just in: Press release still not dead

But then PR  people  (including yours truly)  chimed in, vigorously  rising to the press release’s defense.          

Among the comments:

 

            

“Dead?! Oh, Mr. Dumenco, I disagree.” –nravlin,    Burlington, VT

“There will always be a need for someone to encapsulate that great story, that feature, in a form which has shape and rationale and the emotional appeal which is what resonates with people’s fundamental needs.”–JustWrite, Los Angeles, CA

“Press releases aren’t dead, so let’s try to be a bit less argumentative and bit more informed, shall we?”–cameronb129, Baltimore, MD

“Yes, my industry has changed. I used to type news releases on an IBM Selectric. Now I compose them in a word processor, and embed hotlinks and keywords….the purpose of the news release itself hasn’t changed. And, luckily for my clients, neither have my results when it comes to writing and distributing news releases.”–Kathleen Hanover, Las Vegas

The discussion has churned for years.   Silicon Valley blogger Tom Foremski stirred up the nondebate back in 2006 with a now infamous rant, Die Press Release! Die! Die! Die!  I wrote about it right here almost exactly two years ago.  A Google search of the phrase “death of the press release” returns more than 19 million results.  And the AdAge article referenced above provoked more than 20 comments, a slew of blogposts, and an active discussion in the PRSA group on LinkedIn.

Love ‘em or hate ‘em, press releases are here to stay.  They continue to serve as one of the most  useful, cost effective, enduring and yes–ubiquitous–tools in the marketing and communications arsenal. We can legitimately debate what to call them:  press releases, news releases, h-releases, social media releases, social media news releases.  But that’s another blogpost.     

For more on the State of the Press Release, check out our White Paper.

2 Comments | Social Media Release, Publicity, Public Relations, All Things Press Release, Education | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Monika Maeckle

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