Social Media News Releases

So what exactly is a Social Media News Release a.k.a SMNR? Briansolis.com states that Social Media News Releases are “designed to get the conversation going, providing readers with the ability to disseminate information and multimedia, bookmark and share the content, and in turn, spark threads. They also serve a purpose of providing new media influencers with the information they need, in one package, in order to write a full story, their way – without having to carve out the BS of a traditional release or pitch.”

According to Wikipedia , Social media marketing is a way in which marketers try and create attention-grabbing content that in return allows the reader to share the information with other users using different social media outlets. Basically, its a way to take old-school press releases and convert them into a fun medium that can be appealing to users of social media. This can serve as a huge help in marketing your product or service and gives, on a marleting level, reaches far more of an audience that traditional press releases ever could.

In today’s day of technology, Public Relations resources need to change with the times as well. By adapting to this new online style of press news releases, your company is showing that it is very technologically savvy and knows how to market to future generations.

There are both pros and cons to using Social Media News Releases. Briansolis.com makes very good points about the cons of SMNRs by stating that;
1) SMNRs do not take the place of more traditional Press Releases
2) They arent just for bloggers and journalists
3) SMNRs and NOT about spin.

However, we do know that there are good views of SMNRs too.
1) They are much more visually appealing than traditional press releases which can have a significant impact on retaining the information contained in the document itself.
2) Offers a new advanced medium for news releases to appear on.
3) We can also input additional media into our news releases which will give our audience a better idea of what they are reading about.

I know personally a SMNR with pictures and working links would catch my attention much longer than a boring text-only release. I think many consumers in the market think the same way I do. I think a PR practitioner should consider using a SMNR when his/her target audience uses mainstream technology. You would be able to connect with your audience on a more personal level because you would present them with information that they found aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand.

Two links that help you write Social Media News Releases are
http://www.briansolis.com/2006/11/how-to-write-social-media-press/
and

How to Write a Social Media Press Release

Verizon used a Social Media Release in the following link.
http://www.verizonbusiness.com/about/news/pr-25437-en-Social+Media+Release%3A+Verizon+Deploys+Commercial+100G+Ultra-Long-Haul+Optical+System+on+Portion+of+Its+Core+European+Network.xml

My personal Social Media News Release that I created for the Georgia Southern Equestrian Team can be found here:
http://www.prxbuilder.com/link.aspx?p=1573
As you can see, it does differ from what a regular Press Release would look like.
Some personal tips that could help in your own creation of a Social Media News Release are below.
1. Make sure your contact information is relayed correctly when creating your release.
2. Hyperlink some helpful websites that explain more about the information you are releasing within your SMNR. This way it becomes interactive for your audience.
3. Create good tags that could easily allow someone to navigate to your news release just be using a search engine.
4. Attach any pictures that you think will visually enhance your news release and that might prove helpful to your audience.
5. Proofread over your entire SMNR at least twice to catch any errors it may contain. It is still our duty as Public Relations professionals to make sure that our work is as accurate as possible and also looks neat. This reflects directly on our organization.

*** NOTE: The online sources from which some of my information is retrieved from and is cited is found in the hyperlink words near that particular section of information.

Coming to an end responses

http://laurenjc.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/semester-reflection/ (lauren’s blog)

http://terabell.wordpress.com/2011/05/03/the-semester-comes-to-an-end/ (tera’s blog)

This week I responded to both Lauren and Tera’s blogs. The links can be found above.

FINALLY THE END!!!!

In many ways it is hard to believe that we are coming to the end of the semester. This week I ask that you reflect on the semester. What were the highs and the lows? What would you want to change & why? What have you learned that you will take with you into the next semester?

There have personally been many highs and lows for me this semester. For starters, it is my last semester of college ever. Knowing I am within weeks of joining the workforce and being a beneficial part of society is starting to scare me.

Highs have been the friends I’ve made and the amount of information I’ve learned thus far. I have an amazing fiance now and being with him has made me the happiest person ever! I also within the last week found my biological mother. I was adopted at birth and have always wondered about her and if she was even still alive. I am still in disbelief that I actually found her and talked to her on the phone.

I think both a high and low would definitely be finals week next week. I’m so nervous about getting everything in my 7 classes turned in on time. We shall see what happens 🙂

I dont think I wouldve done anything differently. The mistakes I’ve made I’ve been able to learn from.

World, here I come!

Bucket List Comments

This week, I commented on Tera and Lauren’s blogs. I agreed with their ideas and we all three have a lot in common as far as our bucket list and goals in general. Their blogs can be found listed below.

My Bucket List

tera bells blog

http://laurenjc.wordpress.com/2011/04/25/my-bucket-list/#comment-103
Laurens

My Bucket List

This week, I pose two questions, what is on your bucket list and what do you want to be remembered for?

Its funny that this happens to be our topic of the week because there are many times when I ask myself this very question.”What would I put on my bucket list?” The answer I have most oten times come up with is “anything that has me engaged and daring life to leave me.” This would include skydiving, hot-air ballooning, bungee jumping, and bull riding. All of these things have the posibility of taking your life but I dont think anything else would be more exhilarating.

I want to be remembered for being charasmatic and living life like there was no tomorrow. It is said that not every man truly ever lives and I believe that. It’s so easy to get caught up in everyday life until we get ourselves lost in the troubles of society. It’s only when we break free from that bondage that we truly start living life. I also want to remembered for having a huge heart and doing my best to serve others.

Texting while Walking Comments

This week I commented on the following blogs:
http://arcalas.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/if-your-texting-walking-watch-out-for-those-open-manhole-covers/
nikki’s

http://laurenjc.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/no-texting-while-walking/#comment-98
laurens

Texting and Walking

We’ve heard over and over the dangers of texting and driving, but what about the dangers of texting and walking? I know that I have had students, or people walking through the mall, almost run into me because they were too busy texting. What are your thoughts? Have you been guilty of this? What public relations tactics can be used to alert the public of this problem?

Im so glad that this is our post this week because I HATE when this happens! It is SO annoying when someone runs into you because they cant look to see where they are going! How hard is it to walk and not run into people. The worst part is when someone does run into you, they stare at you like it was your fault. Rarely so they ever say sorry! What have people come to? Im just going to start speaking my mind to everyone who is this stupid. I think that cell phone companies should post articles/ads about the dangers of texting while walking. Maybe even start making it illegal and issuing tickets 🙂

Best advice

We all have people in our lives that we trust above everyone else. When something happens, these are the people we go to when we need a shoulder to cry on, someone to talk, someone to tell us where it all went wrong. With this in mind, what is the best advice you have ever been given? Did you follow that advice?

By far the best advice I’ve ever been given is to just be myself, no matter who might not agree.

Growing up, I was the “ugly duckling” if you will. I didnt have many friends, wore big classes and was constantly questioning my sexuality and I found out I was adopted. It was a rough time for me and to top it all off, my grandmother passed away. Looking back I question my emotional stability and wonder how I got through it all. Then I remember it was my mother and father telling me that I was special and that I needed to believe in myself. I took their advice and ran with it and now I am happier than ive ever been with who I am

responses to “turning back time”

http://laurenjc.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/if-i-could-go-back/#comment-80

Myself Out of High School

This week I commented on Lauren and Tera Bell’s blogs. 🙂

“If I Could Turn Back Time…”(and no I dont mean Cher)

If you could go back in time and observe yourself in high school, in comparison to yourself now, what would you think? What has changed? What has stayed the same? Is there anything you’d like to say to the you then that could change where you are today?

Let’s face it, In high school everyone is awkward. I was especially awkward. I was always trying to find myself, dating girls and guys to try and see which I preferred and then there was a negative self image I had as well that didnt help. I didnt see how I was going to make it in the world. If I could only go back in time and tell myself that everything was going to be ok and that I would eventually figure everything out and find true love i would. I think knowing this information would really save me from so much stress. I would also tell myself that I need not worry about coming out, because I would go on to lose friends who I thought were my best and find out who my true friends were and would be. It would be so great to be able to go back in time.