5 Things to Look for When Hiring a PR 2.0 Agency

As more businesses embrace new social media as a surefire way to give tired, outdated, ineffective public relations and branding plans a much needed boost, more and more PR agencies claim to have the knowledge and skills needed to develop and execute successful online strategies.

How can you determine whether your existing PR firm, or a new agency you are evaluating, really has what it takes to help your organization leverage new social media to its fullest potential?

When choosing a PR 2.0 savvy agency to handle your online PR initiatives, be sure to look for the following important traits and characteristics:

In-depth knowledge of PR 2.0

Does the agency you’re considering really “get” what PR 2.0 is all about?

Have they studied its principles and practices extensively? Do they have experience in its various mediums? Have they demonstrated an ability to use corporate blogs, search engine optimization, tagging, RSS feeds, and other new social media techniques to build a stronger brand image, create awareness and buzz, generate sales opportunities, and influence the perceptions and behaviors of a target audience?

Here are a few questions you can ask to discover just how PR 2.0 capable your firm is. This sampling of questions comes from the Social Media Partner Quiz, courtesy of Jeneane Sussum.

• Do you participate in conversations with key influencers in the Technorati Top 500? Name them.
• Do you blog? Please provide a link (with a link to your archives).
• Is an aggregator used 1) to waste time at work, 2) to make your car go, 3) to track blogs you want to read, 4) all of the above?
• Have you been published on topics germane to this industry in mainstream media?
• Do you spend at least half your on-the-phone time with other bloggers, Internet lovers, or people in your industry?

Your primary goal should be to find a PR 2.0 agency that lives and breathes online media, not one that still follows an old school PR philosophy, but is making a half-hearted attempt to embrace this emerging trend (for example, by simply reading a handful of blog postings or a few press releases in an effort to educate themselves about new social media concepts) in response to client demand.

Relationships, Relationships, Relationships

As with traditional channels such as magazines, radio stations, and news outlets, relationships are the key to true public relations success. If your organization really wants to achieve all the benefits that new social media can offer, you’ll need to partner with PR professionals who know your space and already have an “in” with the bloggers and other online journalists who cover the topics related to your market. Consider the location of your agency. Make sure your pr agency takes advantage of building major relationships in major metros such as San Francisco, Boston and New York City.

How to Structure a New Social Media News Release

A new social media news release is quite different from a standard news announcement. So, you’ll need to make sure the agency you work with understands how to format and structure these new releases, to maximize exposure, pick-ups, and coverage.

For example, do they know how to optimize the releases to achieve the highest possible search engine rankings? And, do they know how to properly use elements such as pertinent quotes, related articles, and links to Webcasts, videos, audio files, images, and other multi-media content?

Our Social Media News Release template is a good guideline for structuring your social media news release. http://www.shiftcomm.com/downloads/smprtemplate.pdf

Damage ControlM

The online community is far broader and diverse than old school media outlets.

Additionally, writers and editors for print publications need to walk the fine line between delivering open and honest content without upsetting potential advertisers. Bloggers and other online journalists can express their opinions as freely as they choose. Therefore, it is harder to control what is printed and published about your organization.

Make sure the PR 2.0 firm you select has formal, documented processes in place for dealing with and responding to negative or unwanted online coverage.

Setting Expectations and Measuring the Results

Tracking and analyzing the results of your online public relations efforts will help you continuously improve your strategy to optimize its impact. Check to see if the agency you’re considering knows what kind of coverage they can expect when they distribute a new social media release in your market. Additionally, you’ll need to make sure they have the appropriate mechanisms and procedures in place to monitor pick-ups, placements, and link-backs across the Web.

The new world of public relations can deliver exceptional results, the secret is to have a PR 2.0 partner that really knows how to help you achieve them.

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Times have changed. Whether you’re looking for enterprise technology Public Relations or consumer PR, the techniques of participation in the social media sphere are as critical to success as traditional media & analyst relations. Sure, we still write press releases and pitch reporters – we just do it differently: more effectively and more broadly. It’s not just about media relations anymore; it’s not about pitching the top 50 contacts off a musty list. PR today is about content creation and community relations. You need a public relations firm that lives and breathes social media, and knows how to interact with the blogosphere just as well as with the traditional media players.

SHIFT doesn’t just use social media tools, we innovate them. They’re in our DNA, and they’re fast becoming the lifeblood of our clients’ public relations success. Coupled with a solid public relations strategy and tenacious execution, social media can be a game changer. Our PR staff knows social media cold, because they live it. Are there mistakes to be made in this bold new world? You bet. But to borrow a phrase from Chaucer, “nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

Whether you need a New York high-tech PR firm, a San Francisco consumer PR agency or a Boston security public relations firm, SHIFT has the right mix of traditional and social media public relations chops. Let’s get busy.