Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia covering just about every topic out there. It is maintained by a worldwide community of volunteers, who routinely edit and update the information. PR professionals can help their clients be part of Wikipedia either by creating an original article (often referred to as “entry”) or ensuring an existing article is up-to-date.
How Wikipedia Helps PR
- It’s credible: With high standards for its articles, Wikipedia maintains accurate information that consumers and media can rely on.
- It’s popular: As one of the leading online encyclopedias, it’s estimated that traffic has risen by about 170% in the past few years alone. If your content is there, people will have easy access to it.
- It’s editable: Because articles can be edited by anyone, you have some control over what is published, and you can report inaccurate information. As your clients evolve, so too can their Wikipedia entry.
- It drives traffic: The site is highly ranked by Google and other search engines; an article in Wikipedia can greatly boost traffic to your website.
Wikipedia Checklist
Before submitting an article for Wikipedia, make sure you fit the required criteria:
- Be sure your topic is notable. By Wikipedia’s standards, a topic is considered notable if it has been written about or featured in an independent, authoritative publication.
- Make sure your article is unbiased. Write from an objective point of view. Read Wikipedia’s page on neutral point of view here.
- Study the most popular pages on Wikipedia to get a sense for how they are written. Examples are here.
How to Leverage Your Wikipedia Article
Once your article is posted to Wikipedia, there are several ways to leverage it within your PR campaign strategy.
- Explore Wikipedia to see if any other topics naturally relate to your content and provide a link from one to the other to generate additional traffic.
- Include external links to other content on the company/company employees. These are valuable for referral link traffic, although harder to keep listed.
- Consider consulting a backlink analyzer to discover which external websites are linking to your Wikipedia page (such as Yahoo! Page Links).
Wikipedia is a valuable tool in a PR professional’s toolkit, allowing for the dissemination of accurate company information, while simultaneously generating site traffic.
Lisa Graham
Zer0 to 5ive Strategist
Twitter: @LisaMargetich
Any professional knows that in order to keep up with changes in their field, they need to be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things. Reading books by other professionals in the field is an easy way to stay on top of changes and learn from others. One book that should be required reading for all PR and marketing professionals is The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott.
Here are a few of our favorite takeaways:
The Old Rules:
- PR was only about speaking through the media
- Marketing was one-way broadcast advertising
Under the old rules, companies relied on one-way communication through expensive advertising or media placements secured via a PR firm. Companies spoke and consumers (sometimes) listened, but had no way of engaging directly with the company.
Those days are over.
The New Rules:
- On the web, the lines between marketing and PR have blurred
- The Internet has made public relations public again
- Companies must drive people into the purchasing process with great online content
The Internet has transformed how companies communicate with consumers. Now, two-way web-based communication is key as consumers become part of the conversation with, and about, companies and their products and services.
So, how do you make the most of the new rules of marketing and PR?
Tip #1: Engage with Social Media
- The Internet is a massive focus group
- Active participation can pay off exponentially
Under the new rules, social media allows companies to engage directly with consumers and monitor their opinions. Companies should determine which social media tools are appropriate for their business and target audience, and offer content that consumers can respond to and share.
Tip #2: Realize that Content is King
- Know your goals and let your content drive action
- Add videos and other interactive content
- Keep content updated
Consumers feed off of content, both written and visual, and visitors need to be engaged to stay on your site. Provide online content that consumers can easily access and update it regularly so that consumers will return to see what’s new. However, don’t provide content just for the sake of it – know what your goals are and provide content that aligns with those.
Tip #3: Use New Rules for Reaching the Media
- Pitch bloggers
- Don’t tell journalists what your product does – tell them how you solve consumer problems
- Target one reporter at a time
The media is no longer relegated to print. Savvy PR professionals will establish relationships with bloggers and online journalists, as well as print and broadcast journalists. More importantly, journalists today don’t want to know what your product is and how it works – they want to know how it solves consumer problems. Under the new rules, the wants and needs of consumers should drive all action.
Tip #4: Use New Rules for News Releases
- Find good reasons to send releases all the time
- Include keyword-rich language
- Create releases that appeal to consumers
Today, marketing and PR professionals should use news releases to reach buyers directly – our primary audience should no longer be solely journalists. Sending quick news releases on a regular basis provides content for your website and keeps your company in the thoughts of the media and consumers, while also aiding with SEO. As David states, millions of people read news release directly, unfiltered by he media, so speak directly to the masses, driving consumers into the sales process.
Easy to understand with a number of case studies as examples, The New Rules of Marketing & PR is a must read!
Sarah Weddle / Lisa Graham
Zer0 to 5ive Strategists
Twitter: @SarahWeddle and @LisaMargetich