New Media: Blogs, Podcasts and Wikis, OhMy!

It's Not a Question of If You Will Be Involved with New Media, but When

SALT LAKE CITY -- This week at the Utah Technology Council's (UTC) annual PR Breakfast held at the University of Phoenix, marketing and public relations experts discussed best public relations practices for leveraging

According to panelists Malcolm Atherton from Business Wire, Brad Baldwin, co-founder of Rocky Mountain Voices, and Dean Taylor, vice president of marketing and channel development at COMPLETExRM, traditional media and editors are now shifting to new media, such as Internet publishing, where they can quickly establish themselves as experts and influence more people. It's important for companies to know where they fit with these new media publishers and how to work with them.

"Whether you like it or not, people are talking about you and your company through new media such as social networking, and it's important to start a dialogue with these people," said Baldwin. "By doing this, you can turn even the staunchest opponents into what are being called 'fansumers' or strong supporters and proponents of your company or product and who act as reliable third-party endorsements by providing word-of-mouth recommendations."

Taylor shared a case study example of how COMPLETExRM, a Salt Lake City-based company offering an Enterprise 2.0 CRM foundation, utilized new media to launch the company.

According to Taylor, while preparing the launch press release, they took a step back from traditional methods of writing a press release, and focused on key content and key words as opposed to the overall company message. The company, in conjunction with its public relations agency, identified key influencers at traditional media outlets and analyst firms, as well as bloggers and podcasters.

Once the influencers were identified, the press release was optimized utilizing the key terms and concepts. The company's already high expectations were exceeded when in just over a week of issuing the press release, there were over 7 million unique links to their press release. The result elevated COMPLETExRM to the number two listing on Google for Enterprise 2.0 CRM searches.

"Once you understand who your audience is and how they want the material to be prepared, the method they want to receive the information and the way they're asking for it, then the public relations strategy as it relates to new media becomes much easier," said Taylor. "It's not a question of if you'll be involved with new media, but rather when you will be."

The annual UTC PR breakfast seminar is the largest gathering of public relations professionals in technology. For more information about the UTC or the annual breakfast, please visit the UTC Web site at www.utahtechcouncil.org.

About Utah Technology Council

The Utah Technology Council is the essential resource for science and technology companies seeking to develop management talent, improve Utah's business environment and raise investment capital. Members can connect and share insights with industry peers, government and academic leaders, professional service providers and venture capital firms. Visit www.utahtechcouncil.org or call 801-568-3500.