Monthly Archives: March 2010

Web content has ushered in a new identity for the press release.

The interactivity of Web sites, with their links, buttons and images, has made communication faster and more effective.  In the online editions of national newspapers, words now appear in blue — and if you hover your mouse over them, you may find definitions, background information or related articles.  On the internet, pieces of writing are no longer merely black text on a white piece of paper, but layered sources of information that allows one to choose how deep one wants to delve.

Today, press releases are  posted online and picked up by Web sites all over the world.  Journalists and ordinary people read them on their computer.  Where press release content used to be only what was written, the new age of the release affords the opportunity to add depth, explanation and graphic representation to your message — and thus emerges the beauty of the hyperlink.

The hyperlink makes a word a button for more information, and together they make a news release truly participatory.  The intention of the interactive release is to enhance content without drawing attention away from the news, allowing the reader to decide where they might need more color.  Too many links or unrelated sites will weigh down the content and confuse readers, but just enough give them a greater understanding of the story at hand.

Hyperlinks should direct readers to supplemental materials, such as graphics or animations, the Web site and executive bios, background fact sheets or external references.  Links should aim to support the news and answer questions about the technology.

The obvious first step, of course, is to create the supplementary content.  Consider what parts of your message could benefit from a clearer explanation.  Whether video animations or graphic representations, an investment in these supplements guarantees returns in the form of exposure, engagement and comprehension.

Alongside talks of the public option, subsidies and partisan politics, the White House is quietly planning the PR blitz in support of healthcare reform.  Even before the signing of the bill, the president’s staff was building the plan for ongoing outreach and prepping the necessary allies to answer the toughest questions.

According to a report in The Washington Post, the “reshaping of the legislation’s image will take place in three phases…the immediate aftermath; the seven months until the midterm elections; and the several years that follow.”

This in response to the Republican’s vehement attack on the bill and the overwhelming opponent criticism.  With millions of dollars spent on ads opposing healthcare reform, the president and other democratic lawmakers have been forced to prepare for an explanation of what all these changes mean.

The article details the strategies that will be employed in this particular scenario going forward:

Several trips across the nation to counter what Democrats expect will be an onslaught of criticism and misinformation about the overhaul.

Talking points and fact sheets that lawmakers can take home with them on their Easter vacation.

High-profile public events around several key moments before November’s elections when popular parts of healthcare legislation will take effect.

According to an adviser, “The key here is there’s going to have to be a very aggressive, well-thought-out and comprehensive public education campaign that helps people understand it as it comes on line.”

The key, it seems, is “public education” — to get the public to understand the bill, the changes and how these affect them.

This will require the planning and commitment to maintain a strong message that is easy to digest and consistent among the communicators.  It also takes into account how the timing of PR outreach can be used to one’s advantage.  It will be interesting to see what might be learned from this, as it all  plays out.

A social club now exists for the discussion of healthcare.

The New York Times Web site has made the healthcare debate interactive. The new social media platform, like a house, is organized into rooms.  These rooms, in turn, are defined by broad healthcare categories, and their size is determined by the number of posts within.

If you “step” into a room, you are presented with a summary of the topic and the latest comments made by participants.   After reading them through, one finds an interesting back and forth between individuals with different backgrounds who find themselves compelled to have a real discussion.

With links to relevant articles, a visitor can get a sense of sentiment and the information available, before ever having to form an opinion.  Perhaps these conversation clubs are the social media of the future, bringing different mediums of information together and allowing one to either pass through or to stay for a while.

As Web 2.0 advances, we can begin to explore online infrastructures that begin to represent our real-life spacial experience more and more.  To think that there could be virtual conferences and poster sessions or discussions among colleagues around a Web roundtable.  Consider the possibilities of a novel approach to communication that might just be the first of its kind.  Healthcare is a participatory industry that requires input from so many.  To make the conversation easier might make it more productive.

There is a new tool in the healthcare toolkit.

Blogs have been around for years, but only recently has blogging taken center stage in pharmaceutical marketing and outreach.  In the recent PharmaVoice article, “Help Wanted: Pharma Bloggers,” Robin Robinson explains the rise of a new position — that of a social media specialist.

Pharmaceutical companies are now hiring individuals (or pulling them from their current ranks) to not only master the social media space, but to create a corporate online “footprint.”  This type of blogger must be familiar with the products and the regulatory constraints of public communication, but still be comfortable responding to and engaging with the audience.

Blogs (and their blogger) should also reflect an understanding of where people go online for information.  According to Marc Monseau, the director of corporate media relations at Johnson & Johnson, “We realize that people look in different places for information, so we have developed several destinations for them.”  His examples include different blogs, as well as a YouTube channel.

Creating nodes of outreach that are consistent, and yet appealing to different audiences, offer a broader and more targeted outreach for the corporate message.

Consider the blog as an alternative to the press release.  It is less formal and certainly more interactive.  Your customers/readers/fans can participate in the conversation, optimizing your messaging strategy.

Robinson suggests that you start small and build upwards, exploring all of the possibilities that blogs have to offer and meeting your outreach needs.

We believe the same.