TopRank Digital Marketing News

At its core, social media is the art of real-time engagement.  Less a business practice, more a throwback to traditional public relations, it is a tactic that when leveraged correctly can help any company achieve its PR and marketing goals.

But while the social media and traditional PR game may have the same goals, they simply cannot be played successfully with the same set of rules.

This July, the new set of rules that can help PR and marketing professionals succeed in social media will be unveiled during Retweet: Engagement Means Business, a free online conference hosted by Vocus.  Joining this conference as a presenter will be TopRank® Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden.

At the Vocus User’s Conference in Washington D.C. last week, TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden gave a presentation on “Optimizing Public Relations for Web Search”. Studies by public relations software companies and Universities as well as informal polls by TopRank’s Online Marketing blog have show that journalists use search to report the news.  The opportunity for companies and media relations professionals to improve the visibility of their brands & clients through search is one that should not be ignored.

Search engines like Google have become the newsstand of our time.  And as more and more readers turn to search engines to find the timeliest news, journalists are following suit.

According to a recent survey by TopRank® Online Marketing, nine out of ten journalists and editors indicate that they use search engines daily as part of their jobs. As such, today’s public relations programs must include an online component, and this component must adhere to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices to be successful.

As loyalties shift away from traditional media as a preferred communications channel, there will be those who approach this evolution with fear and those who approach it with an embrace.

While many consumers embrace social media channels such as blogs and microcontent as legitimate sources of news and information, public relations professionals are oftentimes fearful to make a similar leap.  Those that brave the new online landscape, however, find they are able to significantly and positively influence the public relations goals of their clients or companies.

TopRank Account Manager & Social Media Pro Adam Singer

At the annual Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, Michael McDonald from WebProNews caught up with TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden to talk about the impact of search engine optimization and marketing with social media and their effect on public relations. Search and social media are very much about content and facilitating both discovery and relationships. Watch the following video as Odden discusses how SEO and Social Media Marketing can influence public relations outcomes.

As traditional PR, social media and reputation management converge into an integrated stream of marketing communications, it is vital that marketing professionals develop a mastery of each element. The companies that do achieve this mastery will be those that uncover the most effective approaches to achieve business objectives.

This June, TopRank® Online Marketing CEO and online public relations expert Lee Odden will be presenting at the 2010 Vocus Users Conference. During his presentation, Odden will be sharing tips and tricks to help marketing and PR professionals write content designed for the web.

Effective communication is the one path towards the bottom-line goals of a marketing or Public Relations (PR) campaign.  To reach these goals, today’s marketing and PR professionals must communicate effectively through digital marketing content, including webpages and online press releases.  This makes a solid foundation of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social media absolutely vital.

This April 14^th, TopRank® Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden will be leading the SEO Workshop for Communicators, Learn How To Optimize Your Online Messaging and Content For Maximum Return, from PRNews.

This interactive, hands-on leadership training will include topics such as:

To tap into some of the TopRank Online Marketing expertise, review the events below to see if we’ll be presenting in your area. If not, give us a call (1-877-872-6628) and we might be able to provide on-site training or consulting to meet your needs.

Lee Odden & Brian Solis

On Thursday, January 28th 1PM EST TopRank Online Marketing CEO Lee Odden and Bulldog Reporter will be offering a high impact webinar for Public Relations and Communications professionals on using search engine optimization to increase online visibility and placements. Details are below, but you can register here:

Optimized Public Relations: 10 Easy SEO Tactics PR Can Use to Increase Digital and Traditional Media Pickup in 2010 Bulldog Reporter’s PR University Presents a New Webcast Tutorial Thursday, January 28, 2010

In just mere weeks, Chicago will proudly welcome some of the most influential names in the online marketing industry, as Search Engine Strategies hosts SES Chicago. Attracting dozens of notable speakers, and thousands of marketers representing all experience levels, SES Chicago is undoubtedly the largest annual conference and expo of its kind in the Midwest.

Appearing in person at SES Chicago, both as a panelist and session moderator, will be TopRank® Online Marketing CEO and SES Advisory Board member Lee Odden.