Our secret weapon for online PR
The atom42 site has quite a few press links on its homepage. In fact, it’s starting to look a little cluttered.
Well, there’s a secret to our online PR success, and that’s a certain media enquiry service that lets us know when there’s an opportunity to contribute our expertise to people who might find it useful, receiving some good media coverage in the process.
What is Response Source?
Response Source is an enquiry service which lets journalists get in touch with PR people when they need a quote for one of their articles. It can be useful for SEO as the resulting articles often contain links to the company they’re quoting.
Even if there’s no link, recent Google algorithm developments make it more likely that simply having your company mentioned in the right context online, especially if it’s by an authoritative source, can help with SEO.
Alternatives such as Gorkana and HARO offer a similar service, but Response Source is the one we’ve had the most luck with to date.
Case study
Once you’re signed up, you’ll receive emails with requests from journalists.
Here is an email we received from Response Source:
At 11.17am, before the specified deadline of 12 and within an hour of receiving the request, we emailed Chris with a reasonably in-depth quote from Andy which clearly answered the question in the request, preceded by a very brief intro which showed why Andy is an expert in the field:
Hi Chris,
Here is a comment from Andy Atalla, founder of online marketing agency atom42:
“I’m not surprised that 64% of consumers want companies to respond to social comments only when spoken to. There’s a fine line between helpful customer service and engagement and intruding on people’s private conversations – which can come across as pretty creepy.
“Companies need to be careful not to act in an intrusive way, and engage with their consumers only when they’ve made it crystal clear that they’re interested in engaging, either by commenting on your Facebook post, replying to a Tweet or asking a direct question.
“A slight exception to this can be when a customer has made a clear complaint via a social media platform, for example by Tweeting about a bad experience they’ve had with the company. In this instance a careful apology, combined with an offer to put things right, for example with a refund or a gift, has the potential to turn a hostile consumer into an advocate for your brand.”
Feel free to edit where necessary.
This was the resulting article:
Our successes
As well as this appearance in NMK, we’ve had a range of successes with Response Source. Near the bottom of the atom42 homepage, you can click on the logos of The Times, FreshBusinessThinking, Fourth Source and Techbubbles to see examples of successful PR & links we’ve received.
We’ve also had links from the Guardian and appeared in a somewhat risqué-sounding eBook – see if you can spot Andy’s face on the cover – by reacting to these notifications.
Categories
One benefit of Response Source is that it allows you to narrow down the number of notifications you receive by choosing the category or categories most relevant to your industry.
There are lots of categories available, from ‘Public Sector’ to ‘Farming & Animals’. Costs vary but tend to be a few hundred pounds for a year’s subscription, although you can get a one week free trial for most categories to test their relevance for your niche.
Top five tips for success with Response Source:
- Reply before the deadline and, ideally, within an hour of receiving the request
- Answer the question clearly and in some depth, in a jargon-free writing style which reads well
- Show powerfully and succinctly why you are an expert in the subject of the article
- Set up Google Alerts for your name & company so you don’t miss any successful press mentions
- Keep trying. If your quote isn’t used it’s nothing personal
Don’t worry if your success rate is quite low to begin with. Over time, you’ll start to get a feel for what type of requests are most relevant to your business, and how to increase your chances of being quoted.
If you liked this article, you might also enjoy reading our top 5 online PR mistakes to avoid at all costs.
