Grab the As we stated in our earlier influence reports, where and how influence happens today is very different from what was happening just a year ago.
Case in point: blog readership is up 300%, editorial calendars are quickly being replaced by up to the minute requests for sources, 270 BtoB publications have shuttered since 2007, there are more than 700 million Twitter visitors, and YouTube is the second most searched medium.
Sometimes the rapid pace of the changing media landscape can be dizzying, and the shifting ground makes it challenging for marketing and communications professionals to keep up.
One of the areas that may be most affected by these trends is the venerable Product Launch.
It used to look like this – pre-brief analysts, followed by reporters, then the big unveiling at a reputable industry event over cocktails and notebooks.
No longer.
Below we’ve listed a few best practices that have helped our clients jump into the fast lane to make the most of their product launches and meet the changing needs of their multiple audiences.
- Set different – yet still measurable – goals and objectives. Don’t settle for old measures of success that focus on the number of articles. Integrate new outcomes that show engagement, via Twitter followers, web traffic increases, downloads, conversations, etc.
- Think bigger. Develop the larger story that transcends product feature sets and focuses on industry issues and hot topics. Reporters are often too busy to cover even the biggest product launch alone; they need a reason to carve time in their day for you, and tying products to big pictures is one way to get there.
- Look beyond the usual suspects. Understand who is influential and prioritize accordingly. Turn to customers, partners, reporters, bloggers, analysts, association heads or established book authors (If you need help with this, ask the Eastwick team about our new, market-specific influence maps).
- Build excitement prior to the launch. Share opinions widely on Twitter and blog posts on related topics far in advance of a product launch. By waiting until too close to your launch, you may send the message that you are looking for favors around announcement time rather than providing continuous insight.
- Content really is king. Create as much material to help tell your story as possible. Audiences nowadays want entertainment and not just the facts. So get creative: share customer videos, slide shows, survey graphics, recorded executive opinions, online demos.
- Multiply your channels. Break out of thinking of press release distributions and branch into all channels of communication. You’re proud of your product advancements, so shout it from more rooftops. Consider timely blog posts, Twitter comments, LinkedIn replies, Facebook feeds, emails to customers and partners.
- And – perhaps most importantly – converse with everyone who covers your news. As constituents begin to write, speak, or share information about your product, contact them to acknowledge that they’ve taken the time to share information about you and your company. It’s a social, social, world out there, so reach out and start conversing.
Media Merry Go Round
Deborah Gage has left her position as Senior Technology Reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle and will not be replaced. She will continue to freelance for the Chronicle and other publications, focusing on business and technology. Deborah can be reached on +1 (408) 446-1942 and debbiegage@comcast.net. She is also on Twitter at twitter.com/deborahgage.
John Teresko, previously Senior Technology Editor at IndustryWeek, has retired. John had covered the technology and manufacturing industry for 50 years. Peter Alpern, who has been named Associate Editor for IndustryWeek, will be taking over the technology and factory automation beat. Peter can be reached on +1 (216) 931-9244 and peter.alpern@penton.com.
Joseph Altman begins his new position as an Editor on the Associated Press West regional editing desk in Phoenix on July 8. At that time, he will be reachable on +1 (602) 417-2400 and jaltman@ap.org.
The Wall Street Journal announces the appointment of Colleen DeBaise as Small Business Editor. She was previously a Deputy Editor at BusinessWeek SmallBiz. Colleen can now be reached on +1 (212) 416-4950 and colleen.debaise@wsj.com.
Reporter Mary Duan is taking over the green technology, clean technology, high technology and healthcare industry beats at the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal. Mary is stepping in for Lisa Silbey who recently left the paper for the Cleantech Group. Mary can be reached at mduan@bizjoiurnals.com.
Brian Luskey has been appointed Associate Editor at Business.com. He was previously an Account Manager at Insignia Public Relations. Brian can now be reached at bluskey@business.com.
Matt Hartley has been appointed a Technology Reporter at the National Post (Canada). He was previously a Technology Reporter for The Globe and Mail. Matt can now be reached on +1 (416) 383-2306 and mhartley@nationalpost.com.
Steve Kichen, most recently an Assistant Managing Editor for Forbes, has retired after 29 years with the company. He is now available for print or online freelance assignments and can cover special list projects or a wide range of investment, business or technology topics. While at Forbes, Steve headed projects and wrote/edited features on top security analysts, best companies, private companies, mutual funds, foreign investments, medical and computer technology, executive compensation and the automotive industry. Steve can be reached on +1 (917) 969-3668 and kichen@comcast.net.
Rachel King, previously at The Business Insider, is now writing for ZDNet covering digital camera and camcorder business. She also writes for True/Slant covering travel. Rachel is available for freelance reporting, writing and editing assignments at print and online journalism outlets. She specializes in covering travel, technology and business. Rachel can be reached at rking415@gmail.com.
TechWeb layoffs: Michael Singer, InformationWeek west coast news editor; Ben Tomkins, bMighty.com editor, Byte & Switch site editor Paul Travis. It seems much of Byte & Switch’s content will be folded into the more popular Network Computing, so editor Mike Fratto will become the new contact for storage topics.
InfoWorld layoffs: Ephraim Schwartz, Tom Sullivan and Tom Yeager.
Computerworld layoffs: Eugene Demaitre; Monica Sambatatro; Donna Sussman; Craig Stedman; Dave Ramel; Kathy Melymuka; Stephanie Faucher; Gary Anthes; Don Tennant; and Frank Hayes.
The Economist has recently launched a YouTube channel, youtube.com/EconomistMagazine, which will run a selection of videos from The Economist’s audio and video site, audiovideo.economist.com. The new channel is available now.
Barron’s has moved offices in New York. The new address is 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10036. All journalist contact information remains the same.
The New Twitterati
Jennifer Preston, just named the first social-media editor at The New York Times. Follow her at twitter.com/NYT_JenPreston.
Deborah Gage, formerly Senior Technology Reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle who now freelances for the Chronicle and other publications, focusing on business and technology, is on Twitter at twitter.com/deborahgage.
Independent Writer & Editor Deborah Cohen, who writes weekly small business columns for Reuters.com, is on Twitter at twitter.com/dlcohenwrites.
Christine Hall, Online News Manager/Media & Marketing Reporter at the Houston Business Journal, is on Twitter at twitter.com/ChristineMHall.
Gene Meyer, a Freelance Writer, and former Reporter and Editor at The Washington Post, is on Twitter at twitter.com/genemeyer.
Freelance Journalist Rachel King, who specializes in covering travel, technology and business, is on Twitter at twitter.com/rachelking.
The Industry Standard is on Twitter at twitter.com/the_standard.
Managing Editor Ian Lamont is tweeting at twitter.com/ilamont.
Tom Foremski, Editor/Publisher of Silicon Valley Watcher, can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/tomforemski.
Rieva Lesonsky, Editor-at-Large at AllBusiness.com, is tweeting at twitter.com/rieva.
Christopher Null, a Blogger/Columnist for Yahoo! Tech, is on Twitter at twitter.com/christophernull.
Robert Holmes, Staff Reporter at TheStreet.com, is tweeting at twitter.com/RobTheStreet.
Paul Livingstone, Senior Editor of R&D Magazine, is twittering at twitter.com/RandDMagazine.
Don Tennant, former Senior Editor at Large for Computerworld, is tweeting at twitter.com/dontennant.
Troy Wolverton, Personal Technology Columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, is on Twitter at twitter.com/troywolv.
Andrew Greenberg, a Technology Reporter at Forbes, is on Twitter at twitter.com/a_greenberg.
Erik Sherman, a Technology and Business Freelancer who is also a Contributing Editor at BNET Technology, is on Twitter at twitter.com/ErikSherman.
Todd Weiss, former Technology Reporter with Computerworld.com, can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/techmantalking.
The Industry Standard is on Twitter at twitter.com/the_standard.
Managing Editor Ian Lamont is tweeting at twitter.com/ilamont.
Mike Cassidy, Columnist at the San Jose Mercury News, is tweeting at twitter.com/mikecassidy.
Andrew Greenberg, a Technology Reporter at Forbes, is on Twitter at twitter.com/a_greenberg.
Peter Svensson, Technology Writer for the Associated Press, is on Twitter at twitter.com/petersvensson.
Emma Ritch, Senior Reporter for the Cleantech Group, is on Twitter at twitter.com/eritch.
In addition, the latest headlines from the Cleantech Group website are on Twitter at twitter.com/cleantechgroup.
Daniel Gross, Business Columnist at Newsweek and “Moneybox” Columnist for Slate, is twittering at twitter.com/grossdm.
Chris J. Preimesberger, Senior Writer at eWeek and Correspondent for the Associated Press, covers enterprise IT and tweets at twitter.com/editingwhiz.
Laurianne McLaughlin, Senior News Editor at CIO.com, is on Twitter at twitter.com/lmclaughlin.
