Pristine Public Relations Blog

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How to add Google Analytics to your WordPress Blog

Posted on September 1, 2010 by jackie

Adding tracking to your wordpress blog isn’t as difficult as it may seem. First you need to create a google analytics account. Once the account is created you have to specify the url to your site (i.e.http:///www.pristinepr.com). The tricky part, if you are not a techie, is adding the auto generated code snippet to the pages of your blog or website that you want Google to track. If you do not have access to the code pages on your blog or website, email the code to your webmaster and ask him or her to add the code. If you are using WordPress there is an easier way to add the code. Search for the Google Analytics plugin and activate it. It will then ask you for the Google Analytics account number. Enter the number and accept all other defaults. The plugin will add the code to the pages automatically without you having to contact your webmaster. Once the code is there the tracking should begin immediately.

Here is an example of the code that you need to send to your webmaster if you dont want to use the plugin. You will also need to send your webmaster the Google Accounts number. UA-XXXXXX should be replaced with your Google Analytics account number.
<script>

var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXX']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

(function() {
var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true;
ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’;
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

</script>

Posted in Blogging, Jackie, SEO | Leave a comment

The Building Blocks to Enhance your Online Image

Posted on July 25, 2010 by jackie

With the increasing amount of information accessible on the Internet, the way you and your business appear online is just as important as your image and reputation offline. According to the 2010 Pew Internet study, “44% of online adults have searched for information about someone whose services or advice they seek in a professional capacity”. The study also found that seven in ten Internet using adults have searched online for information about other people. Unfortunately, negative reviews, incorrect and inaccurate information about businesses and individuals tend to circle the Web as well. If these poor reviews are reflected on the first page of Google, you may have a problem.

However, don’t be discouraged; there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The accessibility of the Internet generates millions of users. The Internet is a forum you can use for discussion, giving previous and potential clients a sounding board to blog, review, and publish positive information about you. The more positive information published about you, the better your online presence; the better your online presence, the better your online reputation. Controlling how others are able to perceive you and your business on the Internet will earn you credibility, increase client retention and bring in new business.

Knowledge is power. You need to know what is being linked to your name. Web sites are the first step in establishing yourself as a reputable company. A blog is also imperative to articulate your company’s services and capabilities. Articles and write-ups about your services, client success stories, and new developments also help enhance your online image if placed properly on targeted Web sites. At Pristine PR, we know the highest-ranking sites that guarantee the greatest exposure. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Yelp are no longer for college students, but can all contribute to the vitality of your company and generating new business contacts.

At Pristine PR we enhance your online image by creating accurate and relevant information about you and your business. We develop and maintain blog sites, timely consumer alert updates, and online business profiles through social networking sites. In addition, we add content to your existing Web site to promote new happenings at your firm and monitor reviews people are writing about you on sites such as Yahoo! Local, Google, Yelp, Complaints Board, etc. We track down negative ratings and combat them with positive ones. Lastly, we write and submit press releases regarding new business developments via electronic newswires such as PRWeb and PRNewswire.

You want the right information in the right peoples’ hands. If you would like to find out more about how Pristine PR can help improve your image online and how the latest forms of media, marketing and technology can help grow you business, contact Kristine Bruner at (954) 376-3683.

Posted in Internet marketing, Jackie | Tagged Online Image Enhancing | Leave a comment

Is your Business Prepared in Case of a Crisis?

Posted on July 7, 2010 by kristine

7 Elements you will need- Just in Case

No one wants to think about their company having a crisis, but unfortunately it can happen. It’s how you handle the crisis with the media which will determine whether it will seriously damage your business. That’s why it is vital to develop a crisis communications plan that prepares your company in advance. Below is a list of seven items from “Global PR Week” that should be included in your crisis communications kit:

1. A list of the members of the crisis management team. This should include the CEO/Managing Partner and trusted assistant to the CEO/Managing Partner, heads of each department, public relations and marketing team members, legal and security.

2. Contact information for key officers, spokespeople, and crisis management team members including company and personal phone numbers, email addresses, cell numbers, faxes, physical addresses, even spouse’s cell numbers.

3. Fact sheets on the company, each physical location, and each product/service offered. These should be in camera-ready condition, plus available on a disk in a generally-accepted Word format, so they can be revised and printed out if necessary on a computer external to your office. Photos should also be included.

4. Profiles and biographies for each key Partner/Executive in your company, again in camera-ready condition and on disk.

5. Copies of your company, division and product logos, your press release format and the scanned in signature of your CEO on disk in a format that works on your internal network (plus one in Microsoft Word in case you have to work on a computer that isn’t tied to your network.)

6. Pre-written scripts answering key questions that you have generated through your crisis scenario analysis. Included in these scripts should be phrases such as, “We don’t have that information yet, but will let you know as soon as it becomes available.”

7. Contact information for each of your key media contacts both locally and nationally. These should at all times be easily accessible.

If you have any questions on this topic or would like to see how the latest forms of media, marketing and technology can help grow your business, contact Kristine Bruner at (954) 376-3683.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

BP could have taken some advice from Johnson & Johnson when it comes to Crisis Communications

Posted on June 21, 2010 by kristine

The recent BP oil spill in the Gulf has left many Americans outraged and searching for answers. Unfortunately, BP has been un-reassuring and failed miserably in its crisis communications efforts with their slow response time and immediate efforts to “lawyer up.” Instead of taking responsibility for the spill, BP’s CEO Tony Hayward “continues to downsize the spill’s impact and the environmental damage that it has caused”, according to a recent article in the New York Times.

BP’s top priorities need to focus on moving forward: providing for the families that lost a loved one in the tragedy, implementing more aggressive efforts to plug the well, along with adding measures to decrease the risk of this happening, again. In addition, BP needs to lend a helping hand to protect our precious ecosystems that have been affected by the spill, along with actively helping clean up the wildlife affected (i.e. – pelicans, sea turtles, dolphins, etc.) and provide relief to the industries and businesses that have been affected by the spill.

The way a company handles a crisis is a good indication of the moral and ethical character within its organizational culture. BP could have taken some advice from Johnson & Johnson on the importance of crisis communications. Johnson & Johnson successfully used the media, both PR and paid advertising, as a forum to communicate their crisis communications strategy.

Back in October of 1982, Tylenol faced a tremendous crisis when seven people in Chicago were reported dead after an unknown suspect had reportedly tampered with the bottles, putting 65 milligrams of deadly cyanide into the extra-strength capsules. Although, Johnson & Johnson knew they were not responsible for the tampering of the product after it had been placed on store shelves, they assumed responsibility and recalled all of their capsules immediately from the market.

Once the product was removed, Johnson & Johnson came up with a successful campaign to re-introduce their product and restore confidence back to the consumer. Tylenol products were re-introduced containing triple-seal tamper resistant packaging. There were also coupon incentives for consumers and thousands of sales presentations made to the medical community by Tylenol executives to regain their trust.

The organization was able to re-establish the Tylenol brand as one to the most trusted over-the-counter consumer products in America. Johnson & Johnson’s handling of the Tylenol crisis is clearly an example of what other companies should follow if they find themselves facing a similar crisis with such overwhelming odds.

If you have any questions on the topic of crisis communications or would like to see how the latest forms of media, marketing and technology can help grow your business, contact Kristine Bruner at (954) 376-3683.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Crisis Communications | Leave a comment

10 Networking Strategies to Help your Business Grow

Posted on February 9, 2010 by kristine

1. Make yourself memorable. Communicate your specific range of expertise and sell yourself with that in mind at networking events.

2. Share and educate. Do not sell. People are more inclined to actually listen and be more responsive to your product or service if you are teaching them something new. You also have more of a chance of them spreading the word or becoming a client if you apply this strategy.

3. Make a point to go outside your circle of friends. The point of networking is not to get to know the people you already know better, but to grow your base of contacts. Make sure you are circulating your time equally among potential new clients.

4. Integrate your circle of friends with your new contacts. This makes for great referral opportunities and doubles the amount of exposure and influence you can have.

5. Keep your body language in check and watch your alcohol intake. Pay close attention to your body language at networking events as you only have a couple hours to make a good first impression. Be sure and stand tall and always have a smile on your face. You will come off as confident and approachable as opposed to shy and guarded. Stick to one alcoholic beverage and then have diet coke, juice or a soda water with a lime in it. This way you can remain in control while still being socially appropriate.

6. Have your business card ready to handout. Simple statement, I know- but you would never believe how many times I have seen people fumbling for their business cards at networking events. Either rummaging through their purse or searching through their jacket pockets for a card to hand an interested prospect. This looks very unprofessional and gives a first impression that you are disorganized and scattered. Have your business card easily accessible at all times. You never know where you can meet a prospective new client.

7. Be yourself. The worst thing you can do at networking event is try to be who you think people want you to be. Believe me- you come off looking fake. Smile, laugh, be genuine and have a good time. You will gain the interest of more people and have the opportunity to engage your audience for longer periods of time.

8. The importance of follow up. Make sure and follow up with the individuals you connected with at the event. It only takes a few moments to send a quick email to let someone know how nice it was to meet them, because more than likely it’s out of site out of mind the next day.

9. Present yourself professionally online. If you use social networking sites, you should carefully monitor the quality of what you post and what others post on your site. Remember, these sites provide valuable networking opportunities, but only if you present yourself in a professional way.

10. Re-think the way you value your existing clients. Apply the simple phrase, “It’s better to give than to receive”. Take note of your clients’ birthdays, professional achievements, etc. and acknowledge them. Perhaps, send a gift basket to their office or a nice card to commemorate these occasions and accomplishments. This is a great way to earn your clients’ respect and gives you a better chance of them spreading the word about your business to their friends and colleagues.

- Kristine Bruner

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The Power of Link Exchanges

Posted on October 28, 2009 by jackie

Link exchanges have always been one of the best ways to raise your search engine ranking and have evolved a lot since the influx of Internet marketing. Link exchanges are a leading factor in improving placements in search engines, such as Google, and are a relatively easy and cost effective way to increase traffic to your Web site. Effective link exchanges can expose your site to Internet users worldwide on a limited or zero budget. Increasing the number of inbound links will help in consumer awareness of your product/service and assist in branding your company’s image.

But beware; it is important to note that if you are engaging in reciprocal link exchanges with a number of bad quality and irrelevant sites, Google may ultimately penalize you for being irresponsible with your Web site content. The key is to do your research and develop link exchanges with sites that are going to be of relevance and use to your Web site’s visitors and the community. Exchanging links with low-quality, low-traffic pages is not going to do much for you. However, link exchanges with high-quality, high-traffic sites can provide a great benefit in terms of improving search engine ranking and attracting more quality and targeted traffic to your Web site.

-Kristine Bruner

Posted in Internet marketing, Jackie, SEO | Leave a comment

The Importance of Follow up in PR

Posted on July 1, 2009 by kristine

When sending pitch emails to journalists, it’s imperative that you follow up with a phone call, as these types of messages do not always arrive at their appropriate destinations. This is particularly important when you are sending the pitch email to a specific reporter that is interested in covering that story, or covers that particular beat.

Email subject lines need to be kept concise and specific, lowering the risk of your email getting caught by a journalist’s spam filter. Email tracking can let you know if your email was opened, if it went to spam, and even which links were clicked. This can eliminate or at least reduce the need for follow-up calls to every journalist you send your pitch to.

When the story you are pitching is time-sensitive, it’s perfectly okay to follow up with the reporter right after sending the email. However, it’s important not to be too pushy when following up. You can risk alienating a reporter/editor who otherwise would have covered your client’s story. A good tip for doing this is to leave an important piece of information out of your initial pitch, prompting you to call the reporter. You will be calling not only to say “Did you get my email?”, but letting the reporter know an important fact that’s crucial to the story.

If you have a pre-established relationship with the reporter you can follow up with them through your mutual social networking sites (i.e. – Twitter, Facebook). Relationships with each reporter are going to be different so it’s really a judgment call when determining the best method for follow up. It’s important to keep your follow-up short and to the point over the phone, as reporters are constantly being bombarded with story pitches.

-Kristine Bruner

Posted in Kristine, Public Relations | 1 Comment

8 tips on creating an effective e-newsletter

Posted on April 30, 2009 by jackie

Below are some simple tips to help you create an effective newsletter.

1. Choose a nice template: It’s important to choose a layout that gives readers a good first impression of the newsletter. In order to impress someone before they begin to read what you’ve written, you should create a template that attracts the eye, catches the reader’s interest, and makes the reader want to keep viewing it.

2. Be Selective with your headlines: A good headline is essential to creating an effective newsletter. Many people will read the headline, and, depending on whether or not those words make the article sound interesting, they will either continue reading the whole story, or just move on to the next. So be sure to write a headline that summarizes, in just a few words, what the article is about – but leaves the reader wanting to know more.

3. Nice graphics: Readers often look at pictures that are related to a story before they actually read any of the material. Therefore, it’s important that you have attractive graphics to pull the reader into your story.

4. Allow people to unsubscribe; No one likes spam: Who hasn’t received e-mails they never look at before sending them immediately to the trash folder? If a reader who doesn’t read your newsletter wishes to discontinue receiving updates or e-mails from your newsletter, he or she should have the option to unsubscribe.

5. Have a web version in-case the e-mail client does not render it correctly: Having copies of the same article available in different forms, and from various sources, is essential to a successful e-newsletter. In case someone’s e-mail for some reason doesn’t work correctly – and as a result they don’t receive the newsletter – be sure to have a copy of the information on your website so they can still read the articles while receiving the proper updates and latest news about your company.

6. Try to make it interactive (ask your readers to take a poll or survey): Everyone has their own opinion and wants to get it out there. By providing polls to ask your readers about their outlook on something going on the community, or about any changes you are thinking about for your newsletter, you can benefit by making your newsletter more appealing to your readers – and possibly attracting more subscribers. More importantly, it is a great way to draw additional people to your website.

7. Send on a regular basis; don’t get lazy (but don’t send too often): If you overload your subscribers’ inboxes with several updates a day (or maybe several in a week) they could become annoyed and this could lead to unsubscribing. Therefore, keep the updates limited to a respectable number; otherwise you may be losing more readers than gaining.

8. Check out your competitors e-Newsletters for ideas: By reviewing what your competitors are writing about in their e-newsletters you can gain inspiration or new ideas of topics to put into your own newsletter, to make it more appealing to readers and therefore get more attention from the subscribers.

-Jackie Trillo

Posted in Blogging, Internet marketing, Jackie | 3 Comments