Discoverability marketing can help you reach potential customers when they are looking for a product or service like yours to satisfy their needs. Your success rate will increase by reaching them when they need your product or service, rather than interrupting people and force-feeding them your advertising messages at unwelcome times. This is a more passive approach to Internet marketing than traditional ads. Discoverability is more like a conversation in which the potential customer is a participant. This approach includes Search Engine Optimization and other tools to ensure that potential customers can find you and interact with you so you can provide them with what they need.
Let this be your guide to strategies that have proven to be effective for boosting discoverability. Here are several ways to improve your results:
I- Using Search Engine Optimization Techniques in Your Feature News Release
II- Create Engaging Multimedia Releases
III- Build Relationships With Bloggers and Media Contacts
IV- Build Relationships With Media Contacts on Twitter
V- Connect on Facebook With Influencers Whose Interests Align With Yours
Let’s begin with one of the most critical components of your discoverability plan, SEO.
I- Using Search Engine Optimization Techniques in Your Feature News Release
Optimizing your feature news release is essential for maximizing the value of your content. You need to use the right mix of keywords and messaging and to distribute through the right online channels to be seen by thousands of journalist and prospective customers moments after you approve the release.
Here are a few basic principles to follow for optimization that will make management proud of your results:
The quality of your content will determine the interest value to the ultimate target audience. A professionally written article will include appealing information in the headline and lead to entice the readers to read on. You need to answer the question “What’s in it for me?” Show readers right up front why they should care about what’s in your story. Writing engaging copy is an art that relies on good storytelling techniques and useful information. If it’s accurate, unique and interesting, many journalists and influencers will be happy to share it with their audiences.
Be sure to avoid the most common blunders of writing feature news releases:
Search algorithms change constantly but the fundamental SEO concept will apply to your story. In order for people to find your information, services or products, people will type words into a search engine bar or request that information by speaking into an app such as Siri or OK Google. For your keyword strategy to be most successful at boosting organic search traffic, you need to consider who your target audience is and which search terms they may use to find your information. The Google Keyword Planner will help you find the main words that will work well in your field of endeavor.
Use those keywords in moderation or you may risk negatively impacting your search results due to algorithms that detect when those are overused. If you put too many in your headline, subhead or caption, journalists will pick up on those and may shy away and think your message may be too commercial, unless those blend with the overall look and feel of the publications you are trying to fit into. You probably don’t want to put a brand name or a copyright symbol in the headline, subhead, opening paragraph or caption but those may be good places to put other important keywords that search engines and readers will be able to find easily.
Major search engines tend to treat press releases as ads of poor-quality content, which could negatively impact the search engine indexing. Feature news releases that are well written will have a better chance of being discovered.
One important writing tip is to be careful not to have too many links in your article. No more than three or four links should be used. Don’t link to the same website several times. Try to choose only the links that lead to good information, not just the company home page, which most people can find without much assistance.
Link referral services such as Outbrain or Taboola will help your content get discovered by suggesting that people may like your related content and putting a blurb about it, usually an image and a line of copy, in a box next to some relevant content they are reading. These are paid services, so your amplified visibility will improve with your budget.
Let’s explore the best ways to develop your multimedia release with images, videos, social media and more.
II- Create Engaging Multimedia Releases
Feature news releases have evolved over the years to satisfy the increasing variety of ways that journalists and influencers like to receive the information and how the general public, which consumes the content, likes to have it delivered. To do the most thorough job possible, going above and beyond using typical media lists of contacts, and taking into consideration the preferences of the users of your content for a multichannel release that will get maximum exposure to your target audience, you can take a few careful steps to be sure that you aren’t missing anyone:
There are a variety of templates online that will help you to format your story. Feature news releases are a little different than ordinary press releases and tend to be used as is, so those are written and formatted in a way that is ready to be repurposed online, in print, or on air. The anatomy of a feature news article usually includes the following components:
There are a variety of topics for feature news releases that tend to be most appealing to a broad scope of people, and if you can tie your message in with one of those, you will increase your chances of getting your content online, in print or on air. The most popular topics for feature news releases are as follows:
Organic growth is the best way to spread the word, but many social media channels are primarily pay for play so even the best-written and illustrated content could benefit from a little extra push with some paid options to amplify the message you have worked so hard to create. The following are the most common ways to boost your results for a price:
You can insert trackable links in your feature news release and use the analytics to see who is clicking on your content so you can generate a list for follow-up. Some people may be influenced by your content to try your service or buy your product without ever clicking on your links or filling out your online form or calling the toll free number you set up for an article, so the tracking is not 100 percent reliable as far as evaluating the effectiveness of a particular project but at least it will give you a basis for comparison with other similar efforts.
To build on your success, you will need to maintain relationships with all the interested parties that reacted positively to your feature news release.
III- Build Relationships With Bloggers and Media Contacts
The appeal of feature news releases to bloggers and community news outlets is strengthened when there is a personal relationship built on trust and understanding. Knowing the right people to reach out to for the kind of content you provide, and knowing the format each likes to receive, are essential for building the foundation of relationships. Bloggers and influencers like to know that you have at least looked at their sites and know their work so you are able to send them the right content at the right time and in the proper format. It takes a lot of time and effort to research the style of the people you are trying to work with. Here are several tips for blogger relations and media relations:
IV- Build Relationships With Media Contacts on Twitter
For the best results on Twitter, be direct, be concise and be timely. You need to boil down your message into 140 characters or less. Sometimes it takes a long time to consider how to get all you want to say in such a small space but it doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. You can do some simple A/B testing to try out different wording, different time frames and different images to see what works best. Here are some basic tips for more effective outreach:
To maximize your effectiveness on Twitter, here are some tools you may want to research and try:
V- Connect on Facebook With Influencers Whose Interests Align With Yours
The value of your content will appreciate with your ability to connect on Facebook with a community of professionals who can help you to succeed. The most powerful and important people are sometimes the most difficult to reach. You will have more success if you can build a social presence on Facebook for business purposes. Here are a few ways to use Facebook to your advantage:
Conclusion
To survive and thrive in a competitive media world, you will need to carefully plan your journey on a path to online, on-air and print stardom. Practice what you have learned and you will soon be an even more successful hero to your team than you thought possible. There is a world of opportunities for those who are willing to work harder and smarter to create thought-provoking content that will be irresistible to journalists, influencers and your target audience. There is no better time to start improving the process and begin reaping the rewards.