The Buyer Group PR + SEO News

Online PR Company Gifting Policy… meaningful more than monetary

Choosing client gifts can be tricky. Do you go with something professional like a paperweight, online public relations book, or logo business card holder? Or do you give something more personal like a gift certificate to their favorite restaurant?

The Buyer Group goes with meaning.

Gift giving for client birthdays and holidays is an important part of relationship building and maintenance.

Jeff Zbar, noted South Florida media writer and blogger, took note of the strategy behind The Buyer Group’s gift giving.

“Lisa Buyer with online marketing firm The Buyer Group has purchased her clients art (simple stuff, nothing from Sotheby’s), CDs, and one year, a copy of The Richest Man in Babylon”

Rather than typical “throw-away” gifts given by some agencies to clients, we like to gifts to send a message other than, here is our logo on something you might throw away.

Top of the list of The Buyer Group client gifts is the book Groundswell by Charline Li. This book helps to educate clients on the wave of social media, especially those that are intimidated or not participating in social networks.

Happy Gifting!

By Lisa Buyer

The best cocktail for marketing these days is public relations mixed with online media – the more social, the better. The 2008 Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose, CA saw online PR industry heavy hitters come together to discuss the SEO “state of the union.”

Lisa Buyer, PR/SEO expert and CEO of The Buyer Group was among the invited list of search engine optimization conference panelists along with Dana Todd, Lee Odden and Greg Jarboe. Her presentation, discussed the ins and outs of online PR and social media relations, plus its interaction with the consumer.

Optimized Press Releases
Optimizing press releases is the easiest way to reach today’s 24/7 journalist. These journalists often work for multiple publications, leaving less and less time to deal with PR professionals directly. The optimized press release has effectively, and for all intensive purposes, taken place of media relations. In fact, most journalists prefer to be contacted via email with a link to an optimized press release on PRWeb.

Lisa’s Online PR Tips
Looking for a guaranteed front page story headline in a top tier online media outlet? Lisa’s latest tip is a new resource called Newsforce, the first and largest online PR Network for guaranteed news placement that also offers cool tools to help clients gain exposure in news search engines.

Social Media Gains
Don’t neglect your social media options either. The majority of journalists now use Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites to find sources for their articles.

Online PR By The Numbers:

•    64 percent journalists report they use Google or Yahoo! online news services to follow the news
•    70 percent reporters check a blog list on a regular basis
•    61.8 percent say blogs were having a significant impact on the “tone” of news reporting
•    1/2 journalists report visiting a corporate Web site or online newsroom at least once a week
•    85 percent journalists report visiting a corporate Web site or online newsroom at least once a month
•    3/4 reporters see blogs as helpful in giving them story ideas

Online PR and the Consumer
Lastly, always remember journalists aren’t the only key stakeholders online. Potential leads and consumers have access to optimized online content through a variety of channels. Google news, social media, and just plain search engine use can provide this key group with access to your client’s brand and message online.

Search Engine Strategies (SES) is the leading global conference & expo series that educates delegates on search engine marketing (SEM), including optimization (SEO) and advertising strategies, tactics and best practices. SES Search Marketing Events provide instruction from the industry’s top Search experts, including representatives of the Search Engines themselves.

Searching for me this week?

Find me in San Jose, California at Search Engine Strategies Conference where I will be mixing, mingling, and speaking.

While I am there, here are some hot topic sessions I plan to attend:

• Universal and Blended Search - Industry gurus share exclusive advancements in the world of search.
• Mobile SEO - Mobile search is all about getting found at the tap of a PDA, don’t get left behind. This session highlights best practices to make existing Web sites mobile-ready.
• Pay Per Conversion - The state of the economy makes every click matter. It’s not just clicks, it’s all about conversions.
• Landing Pages - Getting the most out of your pay-per-click campaign and how it integrates with online PR.
• Google Analytics and Web Optimizer - How to increase the ROI of your Web site? Google continues to innovate around bringing power, flexibility, and accessibility to web analytics.
• Building a Search Friendly Site - Tools on how to please both crawler-based search engines as well as end user and visitors.
• SEO Through Blogs and Feeds - How to improve client blogs and generate feed subscriptions.
• News Search SEO - I’ll be in good company speaking on this topic and sharing insight on how optimized press releases and online PR improve search results. Fellow speakers include search-rock stars, Dana Todd, Lee Odden, and Greg Jarboe.
• Social Media Analysis and Tracking - Facebook, Wikipedia and YouTube can be part of a successful PR campaign. This session shares monitoring tools and tips on increased profitability.
• Facebook, Feeds, and Microblogging - Social networks enable the streamlining and exchange of information, what does this mean for your PR future?

If you want to catch up with me at SES or when I return, just let me know. I’d be happy to set up a time to discuss your online public relations and search engine strategies.

Online PR Agency Gets Optimized

Deerfield Beach, FL – Aug 18, 2008 – The Buyer Group welcomes its newest addition, Interactive Editor Nicole Balistreri to its online public relations and branding team.

As a recent graduate of The University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Balistreri combines her educational background with her experience as a professional blogger to help bring The Buyer Group’s clients the best online PR writing possible.

“We are thrilled to add Nicole to The Buyer Group’s interactive staff,” said Lisa Buyer, The Buyer Group CEO. “She brings a creative flair to her writing that is very trend-focused and refreshing.”

Prior to joining the Buyer Group Team, Balistreri worked for MusicMatters, a music-marketing agency in Minneapolis. Other prior experiences include: working with Utne Magazine in the Advertising and PR departments, and with Music By The Lake in Williamsburg, WI as a Production Assistant.

For more information about The Buyer Group and it’s interactive public relations and branding services visit http://www.thebuyergroup.com or call Lisa Buyer at 954.354.1411.

Lisa Buyer Speaks at Search Engine Strategies Conference
Online PR Agency CEO Shares How PR Taps into Power of Search
Deerfield Beach, FL – Aug 11, 2008 – Defining the public relations opportunity with news search starts with the question, “Who is my audience?” Journalist? Analysts? End User? Prospect?

Florida online public relations agency CEO, Lisa Buyer, will speak at the Search Engine Strategies conference in San Jose, California as part of the News Search SEO panel. This panel focuses on how search engines offer a great way to receive targeted traffic related to breaking topics or to help with a public relations campaign launch.

“Today’s online press release content needs to take the journalist, news blogger, and end user into equation,” said Buyer. “While optimized press releases may be an effective way to improve online visibility for lead generation, we can’t lose sight of the journalist or news bloggers searching for relevant story sources.”

Buyer will be sharing the results of a media focus group asking top tier media including news bloggers about their perspective of online press releases and how they use online search.

“I will be in good company sharing the panel with search industry experts, Lee Odden of TopRankMarketing, Gregg Jarboe, president of SEO/PR, and moderator Dana Todd, CMO of Newsforce,” said Buyer.

The Buyer Group is a member of Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, South Florida Interactive Marketing Association, Agency Management Roundtable, and is recognized as a Google Advertising Professional Company.

For more information about The Buyer Group and its interactive public relations and branding services visit http://www.thebuyergroup.com or call Lisa Buyer at 954.354.1411.

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All Eyes Online

Best PR Strategies for More Visibility and Qualified Leads

By Lisa Buyer

What do you say when your customers ask “How come your company doesn’t come up in Google?”

Does your public relations strategy consider your buyer’s online ‘search’ habits? Are you coming up in key word searches related to your brand name, product or service? Are you participating in the online conversations and getting search engine visibility in Google News, YouTube, Yahoo News and reaching out to influential bloggers?

The answers should all be yes, without question, and if there was any hesitation in coming up with the answer, your public relations direction is very “yesterday”…impacting your bottom line tomorrow, if not today.

The public relations world is in a major transition offering more opportunity for sales and lead generation than ever.

Yesterday’s traditional PR agency focused on generating editorial coverage in the likes of print and broadcast media. Landing a story in USA Today or CNN was a measurement of success. Clipping books were the proof points. Print coverage does still have its place; the return on investment for online media coverage is the best bet.

Consider these statistics:
• A PEW/Internet and American Life study reports that the place Americans turn to most for answers is the Internet.
• Health is one of the topics that online Americans turn to the Internet for most, but also area in which searchers are most concerned about accuracy and privacy.
• Over three quarters of reporters see blogs as helpful in giving them story ideas, story angles and insight into the tone of an issue
• News search engines are the major source for online news
• Press releases have topped trade publications as the top source for online news
• 80% of home buyers begin their search online and Real estate professionals say that search engines are the most popular venue for marketing
• Nearly 70 percent of all reporters check a blog list on a regular basis
• 44% of US consumers will use social networking such as LinkedIn, Facebook or My Space at least once a month in 2008.
• YouTube attracts the most online traffic and is consistently rated the favorite social media site by US Internet users, some say it will predict the election
• One in four reporters (27.7%) have their own blog and about one in five (16.3%) have their own social networking page
• Over half said that blogs were having a significant impact on the “tone” (61.8%) and “editorial direction” (51.1%) of news reporting
• Nearly half of all journalists report visiting a corporate website or online newsroom at least once a week.” *
• More than 85% report visiting a corporate website or online newsroom at least once a month

Most companies are adjusting and evolving based on this momentous shift in the industry and experts predict more will change in the next five years than have transpired in the past 50 years for media.

News is no longer delivered to the front porch and print ads are quickly losing the luster.

People are customizing the news they are looking for on personalized home pages with specific keywords and brand names subscribing to iGoogle or MyYahoo. They are following niche-oriented bloggers who are talking about topics and trends of interest. They are having online conversations and socializing in LinkedIn, Facebook and Twiiter. They are sharing experiences, stories, and photos, creating their own content, and acting as their own publishers.

So if PR is no longer merely the sources of content for the media and bloggers are out there publishing their take on the news, not to mention determining the news… what can you do to adjust your online PR strategy?

Companies today need to have a public relations plan that includes an Internet strategy. Without it, companies will quickly loose marketshare, exposure and opportunities to generate leads and retain business.

Online conversations are happening and businesses can choose to participate in those online conversations and take a proactive approach or they can sit on the sidelines and do nothing.

More now than ever, PR is redefined with the opportunity to communicate and interact directly with targeted audiences. Whether these audiences find their information at multimedia forums, such as YouTube and FlickR or they subscribe to a specific blog that feeds to their Google home page, online public relations is one of the most influential components of communications.

In April of ‘07 IProspect.com did a social network user behavior study which is still highly relevant today.

One finding…
"Social networking sites are influencing the purchasing decisions of a meaningful percentage of the Internet users who visit them, requiring marketers to identify the sites where the level of influence is high, and to devise ways to positively engage with the visitors of those sites (“communities”)." To download the full white paper from IProspect Click Here .

Online PR Musts
1. Optimized content - Optimized press releases and web content using SEO (search engine optimization) best practices such as strategic keyword phrases will help improve online visibility and can drive measurable traffic and sales.
2. Distribution – channels to push and distribute content include newswire services such as PRWeb, BusinessWire and PRNewswire, Flickr, Technorati, YouTube, Blogs and Search Engine News.
3. Social Media Relations – It’s matchmaking for business. Targeting and connecting to your target market is becoming easier as networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn add millions of new users each week. If you’re not on it, join it. Facebook actually has a group called Power Social Media Strategies that is a very useful resource.
4. Measure the Results – Online public relations is measurable with analytics programs that tell where your visitors come from and how they interact with your site. Analytics tools from sources such as Google Analytics, Wire service reports and blog monitoring services can tell you a wealth of information from key word related results to map overlays and visitor trends.
5. Blogs – If you don’t have your own blog, start following the bloggers who are talking about your industry, interests or trends. If you want to follow more about search engine marketing and public relations, check out some of these SEO/PR Blogs http://www.thebuyergroup.com/blog , http://www.seomoz.org/blog/ , http://www.toprankblog.com/
6. Local Search: Hone in on the local market and get better results in a more efficient manner with avenues like Google Local Search and Local.com.
7. Online Reputations: Monitoring and interacting with reviews on sites like Yelp can drive traffic to your Web site and generate sales – pay attention to online conversations.
8. Learn from the Search Rock Stars – If you feel like you need to learn more, you should attend a professional search engine marketing conference and get ahead of your competition. Best bets include Search Engine Strategies , PubCon
and most recently, the leader is Search Marketing Expo

With today’s online public relations opportunities, the key word is measurement…and the measurement is in the key word.

About Lisa Buyer
Writer, publicist, brand junkie and SEO geek, Lisa Buyer is president and CEO of The Buyer Group, an interactive public relations and branding agency specializing in search engine savvy consulting catering to real estate, health, beauty and technology companies. A University of Florida graduate, Lisa has owned a PR agency for more than 15 years and regularly attends professional search engine strategy and Internet conferences to continue to deliver best practices.

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