World Wide Web Public Relations
	After designing, coding and launching a web site, the tough work of attracting an audience begins. Publishers especially try to handle this marketing problem in-house--running launch stories, creating an on-line editorial section or supplement or placing house ads. These efforts help current readers find their way to the web pages but don't drive new readers to the site.		Posted by Jim Cannata, Jack Powers April 29, 1996
	Professional web public relations firms, most with their roots in conventional PR, offer a variety of traditional and electronic services to promote web publications. . In general, it helps to plan the promotion campaign along with the development process, but it may pay to wait until asite has evolved and stabilized a bit before launching a major marketing effort. Web PR Channels While the Internet is a remarkable communications medium, it does not necessarily replace more traditional marketing channels. A comprehensive web site promotion should include all three PR channels. ELECTRONIC MARKETING Develop an effective web site description and keyword list for search robots to insure the maximum positive search results and "top of the list" placement. Submit the web site description to the search engines such as Yahoo, Lycos, WebCrawler and InfoSeek. Follow up, verify and modify submissions for accuracy on a routine basis. Announce the site to the hundreds of what's new pages, award sites and subject-related link pages. Arrange cross promotional links with sites that have attractive and complementary readership demographics. Maintain a regular presence on in trade discussion groups, newsgroups, e-zines, and other online forums Analyze the need for paid links and banner ads and create a ranked listing of possible placements. TRADITIONAL PRESS RELATIONS For consumer traffic, write and place press releases with appropriate newspapers, magazines and broadcast outlets. Arrange broadcast press conferences, interviews and live demonstrations. For web afficianado traffic, write and place press releases with trade press, business publications and . Create press illustrations from home page print-outs (in color) plus original site artwork. EVENT MARKETING Hold a web site launch party with appropriate guests, e.g. advertisers, key press contacts, industry analysts, editorial and art staff, top management. Develop feature launch events and marketing showcases for advertisers. Develop promotion opportunities with related companies to promote the web address. Place guest speakers at industry conferences and seminars. Web PR Firms Web PR is a relatively new field. In general, firms with strong traditional press relations and event marketing experience will be able to add electronic capabilities more easily than technically-oriented firms will be able to add promotion skills. They range from established full service public relations companies to small shops charging a flat fee for listing services (often below $100.) A number of these companies have established an impressive client list and track record. Here are a few that caught our eye. AAA Internet Promotions. With a name like AAA this firm knows how to get you to the top of the list. In addition to contract work on a custom basis they offer various levels of service from a prix fix menu. They have a star-studded client list which includes; Cowles Media Central, Open Market, Warner Bros. Studio Stores, and The Disney Channel. Poppe Tyson. A full service agency owned by Bozell, Jacobs,Kenyon & Eckhardt, the world's fourth largest marketing communications company. Poppe Tyson is one of the first traditional P.R. Firms to establish an Internet Marketing Division. Their clients include Merrill Lynch, IBM and The Monster Board. The Multimedia Marketing Group. In addition to full service Web P.R., this company offers a variety of innovative services like "Release it!" an online press release service that reaches hundreds of newspapers, magazines, T.V. and Radio Stations. They have launched and promoted sites for The Los Angeles Times, Travelocity and Golf Magazine. Cybernautics. A Sausalito promotion and web developer with strong electronic marketing skills and games software experience. WebPromote. The promo firm for Car & Driver, Elle, and George from Hachette Filipacchi Magazines, this company also offers a tiered service and rate structure. A GLOBAL MARKET NEEDS GLOBAL PR Euro-Marketing Associates. EMA can expand a single-language site to several languages and actively promote the resulting multi-lingual site within those languages' online communities: English, German, Dutch, French & Italian. LOW BUDGET PROMOTION The Postmaster. One of the best known "we'll help you do-it-yourself" services of its kind, The Postmaster has programs starting at $500. Their new URL Reports service will send your Web site address (URL) and an abstract of your web site's content to as many as 2,000 print media and 700 TV newsrooms across the country. A1 Internet Services. At $1.59 a link, it's not Italian sausage, it's marketing! OTHER RESOURCES Wilson Internet Services. Many articles about Web P.R. and links to web marketing services. Public Relations Agencies and Resources on the WWW A metalist of traditional and Web P.R. firms. internet marketing (Moderated by Glenn Fleishman) The premier discussion group for Internet marketing. Copyright 1996 by the Graphics Research Laboratory, Inc. All rights reserved.