Marsha Friedman: Marsha is a prominent business woman, publicity expert, author, radio personality and public speaker. Her company, EMSI Public Relations is a national public relations firm that has specialized in promoting non-fiction and fiction authors for more than 20 years. Among her prominent clients are best selling author of the “Vitamin Bible”, Dr. Earl Mindell, Teamster’s President Jimmy Hoffa Jr., Sergeant's Pet Care Products, Former National Security Advisor Robert McFarlane and the famous Motown Group, the Temptations. She consults individuals and businesses on a daily basis about how to harness the power of publicity.
When I chat with our
clients about the print coverage we've been getting for them, I
always ask what they're doing to get the greatest mileage out of all
that coverage.
Way too frequently the answer is either
"little" or "nothing," outside of possibly
posting a link to the article on their website. What they are missing
is that traditional print and online publicity has value that goes
well beyond the initial publication of an article or interview.
In
my experience, those who understand that value and take advantage of
it are the ones who have the most success with their publicity
efforts.
Just as an example, let's say Forbes decides to
interview you. That's impressive on its own merits, of course, but
there are ways you can milk this opportunity for every drop of
brand-building potential in it.
How so?
Well, this is
where those social media platforms that you may not care for all that
much become some of your greatest allies. Let's look at five ways you
can take that one interview and run with it:
Let your
followers know about the interview. You
don't even have to wait until the interview is published to start
capitalizing on it. Go on Facebook, Twitter or other social media
sites to let people know the interview happened. You can do this in
a way that doesn't sound (too much) like bragging, such as: "Had
a great interview about retirement tips with a Forbes writer today.
I'll let you know when her article appears." As simply as that,
you've sent your followers a message that tells them you're a go-to
expert for the media.
Link to the
article when it's published. You
already alerted your followers that the article was forthcoming.
Once it happens, you can tweet a link to the article or post a link
on Facebook or other social media sites. When you do this, you can
add a short message that reminds everyone you had promised to let
them know when the article was published and you are just following
through on that promise.
Interact with
the publication's social media posts. The
odds are the publication also will post a link to the article on its
own social media sites. That provides an opening for you to interact
with the publication's followers. You can "like" or
"favorite" the post or tweet. Then you can comment on it
with a simple statement, possibly aimed at the writer, such as,
"Thanks for the great interview." That lets people know
you were part of the article, and may inspire some of them to follow
you or respond to your post.
Share and
share again. You don't have to
stop after the first time you share links to the article on your
social media platforms. If something comes up in the news relative
to the article's topic, you can always share it again even if it's
months later.
Consider commenting on the article itself. Social media aside, most publications also allow readers to comment on articles that appear on their websites. That's another opportunity for you because some of those readers may pose questions that you can respond to. By joining this conversation, you may pick up more social media followers or inspire some people to search out your website to learn more about you and what you have to offer. Avoid getting drawn into those heated debates that comments sections are famous for, though. Your goal is to come across as being helpful and providing value.
Leveraging your print appearances into something more
than a here-today-gone-tomorrow moment is a matter of thinking
outside the box and not being afraid to promote yourself.
It's
also a matter of recognizing that both traditional and online print
opportunities - even the ones at smaller publications - have greater
value than you might have realized.
The impact of even one
print appearance can be multiplied many times over, expanding your
reach with every tweet, comment and post.