Shoestring-budget heroes, rejoice. The Internet offers many inexpensive opportunities to deliver better public relations results in our broadband-driven universe.
No doubt, emerging concepts such as corporate blogging, podcasting or immersive web content (like "advergames") can produce their fair share of angst. But let's not forget to explore simple web-based tools available to large and small organizations alike.
One of the greatest advantages of online PR tools is that most offer easy measurement capabilities by providing both raw data, such as the number of web site hits, and detailed knowledge gleaned by "click-through" rates. Since these web statistics are generated automatically, they offer highly reliable and zero-cost feedback on your ideas. Moreover, web statistics allow measurement over long periods of time as well; they can provide helpful fodder when building annual campaign budgets.
The easy online PR tips below have been tried by organizations in the nonprofit or corporate sectors.
- Extended survey shelf life
Organizations can extend the usefulness of expensive research conducted for a PR campaign when the survey itself, or part of it, is made available online. Visitors to the web site can be asked to fill out the questionnaire and be given an instant comparison between their own answers and whatever results were generated by the original survey. For example, instant feedback surveys can help respondents understand how they compare to their peer group, to individuals living in their region or to the public at large. As a bonus, offer your web visitors some analysis for a range of scores.
- Free online surveys
The Internet offers a number of free or inexpensive research tools. For an example, explore www.surveymonkey.com. Web sites like this one make it possible to design a high-quality survey, collect responses and analyze the data. This type of tool cannot replace professionally conducted opinion polls, but it can save significant resources when setting up smaller projects like a membership survey or an internal brand-building initiative.
- E-mail registration
Many charities have become highly sophisticated about building e-mail databases for their constituencies. Don't forget to ask your donors to give your organization permission to contact them. Once such permission is granted, electronic newsletters, alerts, and personal notes to donors offer a low-cost opportunity to stay in touch.
- Campaign shelf life
Many nonprofit organizations have explored using athletic events (runs, walks, cycles) to raise money. After event day, the focus often shifts to collecting the funds raised by participants. Of course, e-mail makes it easy to contact participants to ask them to collect their funds and send them to the organization. Many organizations allow donations to be made online. But why not also ask participants to enroll in a "virtual challenge" to stay active? A fundraising campaign can be extended far beyond event day when participants agree to receive regular e-mail alerts to remind them of their goal to keep fit, visit your organization's web site and so on. Visit www.clinics.runningroom.com for inspiration.
- Links and more links
Send the media release to your contacts as an attachment, but add the text in the body of the e-mail, including hyperlinks to information that's relevant to the story. Such links can bring the reporter to your virtual media room, a CEO speech related to your release, or any other relevant web section. If you want to give the sponsors of your event additional value, promise to insert a link to their web sites in your news releases. Of course, you are likely already promising your sponsors to link their web sites to your campaign web site section. Have you asked them to link to your site?
- Evaluations
Focus groups evaluate communication materials prior to spending resources on the production and distribution of such items—right? Unfortunately, many organizations face a perpetual budget crunch, which means they rely solely on informal feedback and internal responses to campaign pieces. Next time, do what teachers do. Use online tools to set up well-defined evaluation rubrics and you'll receive more than the usual "like" or "dislike" response to your work. Check out http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php for charts used to evaluate anything from a brochure to a campaign web site design.
- Brain power
Your local university or college may be home to a communication department filled with students eager to use their young brains, enthusiasm and IT skills to help you generate ideas and build online tools to execute them. These students are often mentored by seasoned veterans in the industry whose job is to spot trends and stay abreast of new developments in the field. Most likely, student teams are available free of charge if your organization is willing to evaluate their efforts.
- "Click into Action"
This slogan, used by the global Make Poverty History coalition, demonstrates how e-lobbying has matured in a relatively short time. Not all organizations have resources available to build the IT needed to send electronic messages to politicians with the click of a "submit" button. However, you can post lists of politicians and their e-mail addresses on your web site at no cost. And, don't forget to provide sample campaign letters your web visitors can download and send to their local politicians by mail or e-mail. Check the Make Poverty History web site (www.makepovertyhistory.ca) for fresh ideas—like text messaging U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.
- E-mail signatures
Use your e-mail signature to promote the newest and latest your organization has to offer. Ask your brand manager and/or designer to help staff download accepted e-mail signatures that fit your brand guidelines and include a line to promote your PR campaign.
- RSS
And then there's the relatively new world of Really Simple Syndication. RSS publishers, such as large news outlets, use a tool called XML to feed free content to their readers. Larger nonprofits are following suit, and bright orange XML buttons are popping up on web sites close to your heart. This may well be the trend to watch.
Nandy Heule is principal of HeuleCommunications.com. She is also a part-time professor at Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology near Hamilton, Ontario. She can be reached at Nandy@Rogers.com.
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