Location marketing and place branding requires knowing your audience and where they get their news. It's important when branding a sense of place that you get an expert third party to confirm all of the glowing things you're saying about your location. This type of confirmation can be attained through a robust public relations plan. Here are some ways to monetize press releases, and ways to determine when and where tactics should be executed. 

Review Your Past Public Relations Successes

If you have them, look back over your press release statistics for the last year. Take note of which releases worked well, and why. Also look for what didn't work, and compare the two. If both generated a response from your target audience, there has to be a common denominator. Find it and work from there. 

Public Relations For Place Branding Editorial Calendar 

Write out an editorial calendar that includes an annual public relations plan and lists the news you intend to release this year. Think of it as a template and leave room for adjustment. Go back and fill in the details later, if necessary, but at least have blocks of general information that you want to release, and when. Often, the time at which you plan to release the information will determine the manner in which you release it, so don't over think your editorial calendar. Just having a public relations plan in place will make things a lot easier later. 

Create a Media Contact List

Part of a solid public relations plan is having media contacts in place for when the time is right. When it comes to public relations, the reporters are your best friend. Collect their names from numerous newspapers and news stations and introduce your company. As you begin to generate popularity, news crews will want first dibs on coverage, which raises your PR rating. 

Location Marketing and Your Press Release

Opportunity is everywhere. Your company can play a valuable role in imparting expert information. Newspaper editorials are a great place to answer important questions and to leave your calling card at the bottom. This helps your PR rating by letting the public know that you are concerned about their concerns. In turn, they may extend their loyalties to you instead of a competitor. 

PR and Social Media

Social media networking has grown in popularity over the years though it seems to have reached a plateau. So many people know about social media sites like Twitter and Facebook that it’s almost impossible to shock anybody with statistics about them. On the other hand, the nature of file sharing permits perpetual leads on an exponential scale within your target market, so don’t brush off social media for fear of getting too close to your customers. If you push it, they will come. 

Press Release Tips

An effective press release is written in its language. Use at least two hyperlinks. Run these links back to your main page, or to a landing page. Be careful about using too many hyperlinks, however, as this may confuse search engines and put a strain on your off-page visibility. In terms of keywords, you’ll want a medium monthly hit rating with weak competition. Good search engine optimization is like a trail of breadcrumbs right back to your website landing page. 

It should be noted that links tied to generic words do not do as well as those to long tail keywords, so anchor the hyperlinks wisely. Studies have shown that consumers blind themselves to information that appears ad-like in nature. Don’t make it obvious. 

The first paragraph of your release should have the highest keyword density. Don’t jam keywords together. Your objective is to convey information. Bear in mind that you are writing for your consumers, not a computer. A search will scan the first 65 words of your first paragraph. Keep it short and sweet.