With the emergence of social networks and mobile technology, there has been a shift in the nature of the media/PR relationship. Some reporters are in fact scowering sites such as Twitter for the latest news and trends, especially on a local level.

My number one take-away from yesterday’s event is this: Now more than ever, building relationships with media is key. In order to receive coverage for your clients – you must first, be sure that you are presenting “news and features-worthy” content, and second, make sure you are pitching it directly to the most appropriate reporter or editor.

Here are some other key take-aways from yesterday’s media roundtable:

• News releases are not dead, but a reporter is more likely to read a persona email
• Subject lines are important. Don’t go crazy with all-caps and exclamation points; it is unlikely that anything you are offering is THAT important or urgent.
• Hit multiple outlets – email, Facebook, Twitter
• Remember that beats change constantly for reporters (especially as newspapers continue to staffs continue to shrink); update your media lists
• Many reporters & editors want to receive the follow up call so they can confirm that what you are pitching is newsworthy
• One reporter in attendance even said that they prefer a follow up text message!
• If you have relationships with multiple reporters, do not pitch the same story to all of them without letting them know
• If offering an exclusive – tell them that you are going to go to someone else if they are not interested
• Have a Web site contact on your list for each station and paper as well. If your news does not make it onto TV or in the publication, it will most likely at least make it online.

Now there is someone who wants to do something about this small font epidemic. Chad White, a research director at a digital marketing services agency has created the Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade (BLIND), which seeks to convince marketers to increase the size of their fonts by one point this year, in 2015, and again in 2020.

Other eligibility issues include reverse type, low contrast text, text over background images and full caps. Read more on the importance of legibility here.

• Social media. There is no mistake; the phone is all about social interactions. So clearly, mobile platforms enable some of the most social types of interactions. “The dramatic growth in the use of sites like Twitter creates reinforcing behaviors with SMS marketing. Use these social sites as a way to drive opt-in for your mobile marketing and also to promote the benefits of mobile services available from your company.”

• In-venue. “Mobile marketing can be utilized during live events to generate fan interaction, provide information or trivia or to promote future ticket sales or discounts on concessions, souvenirs or other items available on-site. You can also use mobile marketing to promote booth traffic or to generate response at a trade show, event or conference.”

• Outdoor. “Billboards, transit and point-of-purchase displays are ideal media to use when you’re building your mobile opt-in list. Use them to offer discounts or coupons or to ask customers to vote for something or sign up for a subscription.”

• Broadcast. “Promote your mobile marketing on TV or radio commercials as a way for customers to respond to or interact with your company.”

• Packaging. “Imprint a code on product packaging to encourage customers to use their phones to enter a sweepstakes or opt in for special offers.”

• Web site. “Use a banner to promote special offers or exclusive content for mobile subscribers, and put it on your highest traffic areas like your home page or your purchase confirmation page.”

Here are the best practices that the paper provides to follow as you unroll your mobile marketing campaign:

• Give it a purpose. “Fit mobile marketing initiatives to your overall marketing objectives, and set specific goals for the mobile marketing. Then integrate the mobile call-to-action across the marketing mix to complement other efforts.:

• Make it valuable. “Make sure your mobile marketing offers something truly valuable for your subscribers. Provide content that is worthy of the intrusive nature of mobile marketing. Your offers should be something that your customers are dying to get, not just the latest update from your company.”

• Keep your programs simple. “Think about the ease of use and usability of your offers and promotions and how easy they are to interpret in terms of very limited space and copy.”

• Educate and prepare your employees. Make sure that those who communicate with your customers – whether in-store, on the phone or via the Web – understand your mobile program and the benefits. “They represent your front-line opportunity to sell opt-in for mobile programs but can do it effectively only if you take the time to educate them on the potential.”

• Do exploit all the capabilities of a mobile device. “It’s a phone, camera, Web browser, calendar, video and music player that sup- ports email and texting, all in one! However, don’t expect mobile users to act like PC users and ask them to download large documents and images or navigate several levels in a communication.”

• Use innovative calls-to-action. The messages targeted to your audience should be simple and straightforward to redeem. A text of a keyword is about the best you can hope for.

• Analyze results. “Track your efforts to optimize over time, as you would do with any direct marketing effort.”

• Manage messaging frequency carefully. “Mobile is a very personal device – it’s your customers’ own personal or business phone that reaches them directly. Like email, it’s important to not wear out your welcome by sending out too many messages too often or by sending irrelevant content. You’ll have worked hard to gain opt-ins, so you want to avoid giving your targets a reason for opting out.”

• Meet wireless carrier requirements. “As long as your programs are opt-in and permission-based, and you only market to existing subscribers about those products and services they specifically opted in to receive, you are generally within carrier requirements.”

• Include opt-out. Make sure there is a working opt-out mechanism in every message, so customers can change their minds and do so via their preference for either text or voice.

I hope you have found these tips helpful. The number one key take away I have heard from all the seminars and webinars I have attended and publications I have read is that going mobile is a must, even if it is as simple as making Web site mobile compatible. Mobile marketing is proving to be a very effective vehicle for reaching audiences of al types.

Panelists included:
- Jim Buckley, New Media Business Owner, Cox Target Media/Valpak
- Ed Deutscher, Director of Technology, HSN.com
- Sumit Deshpande, AVP-Product Development Group Manager, BB&T
- Trey Lauderdale, VP of Innovation, Voalte
- Joy Randels, Executive VP of Sales and Marketing, Velocitude
- Moderator: Chris Whiteley, Director of Business Development, xG Technology

The event started out with each of the panelists briefly introducing themselves, their companies and how they have implemented mobile technology into their business strategy. The floor was then open for audience questions.

Key Takeaways and Tips the panel provided:

• Build mobile device and strategies around core business.
• It’s possible to integrate all your mobile activities, so say when you update the mobile site, the applications automatically update.
• There’s a lot of talent out there for iPhone developers, but it is difficult to find blackberry developers.
• HSN noted that iPad traffic has already surpassed Android traffic. They will be developing an iPad app in the very near future.
• How is the iPad going to change development of apps due to the larger screen?
  o HSN – video heavy, perfect for catalogs, able to flip through pages, choose items, make purchases
  o Valpak – a total game changer for advertisers
  o Velocitude – agreed video will be huge
  o Voalte – said not to treat it like a big iPhone, it is a totally different user experience
• What is the ROI?
  o Velocitude – it is different for everyone. Some use it for branding; some use it to drive sales. One example she gave was a retail client that saw 7 million purchases in a month. The analytics offered makes it easy to measure.
  o BB&T – is isn’t about what we get, but about what we’d lose if we didn’t have mobile banking. It isn’t just the younger generations using it, but found that baby boomers and even a big group of seniors are using it.
  o HSN – said it is a case of If I don’t use this, I am falling behind. You can start smalle. Invest a little and measure as you go and then add on.
• Misperception about mobile: that it isn’t secure, but in fact it is more secure than online
• Mobile Web site v. mobile application? It depends on what your aim is; a mobile Web site offers more reach, but specific features can be better on an app.