Summer Heats Up

By Jeannette Bitz

It’s that time of year….San Francisco Giant’s fans are preparing for a long and disappointing season, the days are lighter longer, and the weather is finally warming up. (In fact, we’re in the middle of our first heat wave here in the Bay Area.) Don’t get me wrong; winter in the Bay Area is not exactly harsh. In fact, it’s nice to get away on a long weekend for a ski trip to North Lake Tahoe. But I always look forward to the warm and relaxing days of summer.

While the weather is heating up, so are our client news’ announcements and PR activities.  It seems this time of year, many clients push to get the last big news splash or announcement out before the start of summer. Our telecom clients want to generate coverage and capture media mindshare to help drive traffic to their booths at the June NXTcomm show. Some of our non-telecom clients are just anxious to make an announcement that will create mindshare and help sustain momentum through the long days of summer. At Engage PR, we’re excited to be gearing up for two company launches. One of those companies, Broadchoice, just launched this week. (Note: as of this post, the other client is still in stealth mode; stay tuned.)

We’re finding that these days clients get the most from their pre-summer PR push, whether it’s a company debut or a new product launch, by incorporating new media tools and social networking into their campaigns. This doesn’t mean that clients have a separate new-media strategy, but it does mean they’ll get the most mileage out of PR campaigns that incorporate new media.

Here are some simple ways to add new media to a PR program:

• Integrate key words and phrases in press releases and use SEO to help ensure that releases rank high in Google searches; this can make a difference in how a client is positioned
• Embed charts and diagrams in releases to better explain how a technology or feature works 
• Hot-link product names, technology names, company names, and other words to clients’ web sites 
• Provide links to white papers, data sheets, and other relevant material at the end of releases
• Leverage relationships with analysts, reporters, and bloggers who have a strong readership and community following.

In an upcoming blog, I’ll discuss how clients can make the most of the long summer months.