If your PR plan does not include mobile, your plan is not complete.
On the eve of SXSW 2014, I was curious to find out how a handful of media folks plan (or at least hope) to receive information. Hanging at the SXSW press desk and media room, I took an informal poll to find out (and confirm) what’s essential to actually reaching on-the-go news today.
At the top of their “Must” list: All company news and publicity must be easily made available on mobile devices. Especially for the handful of SXSW reporters, mobile is on their everyday to-do list as a means of getting the freshest late-breaking news anytime, anywhere and not just at the conference.
Steps for Ensuring Your Company is Mobile Media Ready
Mobile has changed our lives and the face of public relations is no exception. When it comes to actually reaching the press today, ask yourself: How can my message get to the mobile media user?
Here are five fundamental steps you can take to give your PR plan a makeover right now by being persistent that these mobile PR best practices are activated, tested and part of an always-on media engagement plan.
1) Claim Your Local Social-Mobile Listings
In the midst of SXSW goers, the thousands of attendees and media mobile phone searches are endless – rapid fire searches for restaurants, meeting rooms, hotels, bars and co-workers. Look today to ensure your client’s local online listings are claimed, updated and include details on news updates, reviews, photos, services, products, hours and videos on sites like Google+, Yelp and other local online directories. For companies, this may be your headquarters, as well as your regional office locations. For retailers, this may be every street corner presence.
2) A Mobile Responsive Website is Easy PR
If your client’s website is not mobile friendly, they may be losing business to competitors. Test a brand’s website or blog on any mobile device, or use a mobile site testing tool, such as mobiletest.me, to see if the site is mobile friendly. If not, get with your nearest friend in digital production to provide a recommended responsive design solution. Quick loading, easy navigation, relevant mobile content and contacts will be important to put front and center for not only media, but customers to connect with you quickly.
3) A Mobile Friendly Online Newsroom Makes Searches Easier
More than 75 percent of media, along with my unofficial poll of four SXSW media goers, say they visit corporate news pages or online news portals using their mobile device, so make it easy for bloggers and customers to access your latest news. Equally essential to an optimized newsroom are releases written to be fully optimized for search based on the mobile keywords being used to find your company’s information online – a crucial mix for putting out news today that is actually found and visible online.
4) Put Your Media Contacts Front and Center
SXSW bloggers will spend about two seconds to find a company’s contact information when covering hot trends at the conference, so don’t make it difficult to find the right contact(s). Be sure your client’s contact name is not only on the main page, but again easily found from a mobile device including email, social media handles and of course, a phone number.
5) Create a Media Magnet Using Hashtags
Media and marketers alike can easily and efficiently monitor and participate in trending topics, like #SXSW2014, through their mobile devices. As part of ensuring your PR plan includes mobile, be sure to optimize your mobile strategy with topical, relevant hashtags.
At SXSW 2014 it is unlikely you will find press actually hanging out or even here in meeting room #14. What are you plans for optimizing your PR plan to include mobile?
