Enterprise Nation

The people at HP say in the age of web 2.0, public relations (PR) is no longer about pushing news to disinterested journalists; it’s about conversations that get the relevant audience talking to you and about you. Here are 10 ways to make this happen.

Ten tips to get your online PR right

• A blog with a view. Create a blog with compelling content and a unique point of view that readers interested in your field will think of as a 'must-read.' Linking to other bloggers and updating regularly are pluses.
• Create a story. Identify the leading bloggers who cover your industry. Before you contact them, remember they may be flooded with such requests. All bloggers look for great ideas for that next post – make sure you have such an idea. Just sending press releases is not appropriate.
• Keyword research. Doing some research is essential to identify the right bloggers or journalists who are really interested in your field. Keyword research using Google or another service can lead you to the articles these people have written before, which gives you a starting point to connect with them.
• Twitter. Keep yourself in the audience's mind space by twittering your thoughts on industry developments and sharing relevant links using.
• Go video. People love to watch rather than read. Why not upload a short and catchy video on YouTube  ? This can be a great option for product demos or interviews.
• White papers and articles. Position yourself or your company as a thought leader by sharing your research and ideas in the form of white papers and articles.
• Outreach to journalists. Technology makes reaching out to the journalist community easy through press release distribution services or journalist story sites such as PR Newswire and Response Source
• Slideshare. While white papers and articles are great, not everyone has the patience to read them completely. Instead, create a concise slide show capturing the same content and upload it on networks such as Slideshare.net. You can also share documents using a service called Scribd. 
• Communities. Identify the right community that is passionate about areas your product or service can play a role in. Participate in those communities as a sponsor or by contributing to a body of knowledge. This is a great way to create some indirect PR.
• Online support. Having a web-based service through e-mail or chat-based technologies can also help shore up your reputation for prompt service.

Win with HP

Have you entered the competition to win one of two HP Prizes? There’s an entertainment notebook and mediasmart server up for grabs. All you have to do is reply to the e-news on the link below with a line on how you think winning will help your business. Good luck!

• Reply to e-news to win HP prize  
• Claim 10% off all HP purchases - code HPENATION10
• Source: HP Business Answers