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Accelerate media research with the new FeaturesExec homepage

Did you know there are eight different ways to get contacts and coverage opportunities out of the FeaturesExec Publications Database?
To make it easier to select the right method for tracking down editorial contacts, forward features lists and publication information we are introducing a new-look homepage for FeaturesExec.
The new design will use a horizontal 'tabbed' menu format to make it quick and easy to select the search method required without scrolling down the page. We’re also adding a brand-new advanced search to let you search publications by many different criteria - including circulation, media type and distribution method.
The new home page will be live from Friday 1 September. Let us know what you think - we’re always looking for ways to help FeaturesExec generate even better results for you.
If you have any comments or questions about FeaturesExec please call 0845 370 7777 or email admin@dwpub.com.

Freelance Journalist Directory gets a boost

The Freelance Journalist Directory has expanded thanks to enhancements that make it easier to use for journalists and more useful for PR professionals.
We’ve made a host of changes, mostly to the journalists’ interface, to encourage them to keep their entries up-to-date and to make it easier for commissioning editors to offer work to freelancers. We’ve been promoting these changes in our weekly JournAlert email to journalists.
As a result more freelance journalists are adding themselves to the database and existing members are updating their details.
Searching by subject category should now be more effective too as we have made it compulsory for journalists to select relevant categories.
To check out the Freelance Journalist Directory go to FeaturesExec and select ‘Freelance Directory’ on the new tabbed menu or on the left-hand navigation bar.
For information on subscribing call 0845 370 7777 or email sales@dwpub.com.

Reach out to the social media for extra coverage

Use of our Press Release Wires has become one of the best ways of getting your company or client’s message on the social media.
Press releases on our wires on Response Source and SourceWire now benefit from links to make it easy for readers to submit stories to the major social news sites Digg, Slashdot and del.icio.us.
There’s a lot of talk about the social media at the moment - it’s a real issue that cannot be ignored. Community websites, social news sites and blogs are becoming significant channels for reaching the public.
A recent posting on my blog shows how effective social media links to press releases can be. But you can’t reach the social media unless your news is online and in the right place - our Press Release Wires allow you to do this and reach traditional media at the same time.
It’s simple to post a press release using our online form.

A case study in the power of direct-to-consumer PR

It's hard to ignore the direct-to-consumer online PR when you see the effects of a press release getting a high profile on one of the social content sites.

Take a look at this press release from Object Marketing on SourceWire - you'll see it's had 5,002 page views (as at 15:20 on 18 August). That's because loads of people who saw it on SourceWire submitted it to Digg.

We've made it easier for people to submit releases to the the three major social content sites (Digg, Slashdot and del.ico.us) by adding submit links on the top of every release on the Response Source and SourceWire Press Release Wires. I don't know if that helped the above release, but the timing is nice!

I've just checked that release again and now it's on 5,118 views... sorry, make that 5,126...

'Direct-to-consumer' or 'social media' - whatever you call it, PRs must take note

PR workflow sofware company Vocus has bought US-based press release wire service PRWeb for nearly $30 million.

That's a lot of money for a wire that doesn't target journalists.

PRWeb doesn't really distribute releases to the traditional media like newspapers and broadcast outlets. It distributes to online communities - the 'social media'. So to see it command a value of nearly $30 million either means the crazy days of dot-com business valuations are back, or some people at least see the huge potential of 'direct-to-consumer' press release distribution.

We've been onto the huge benefits of the direct-to-consumer press release (or the social media press release) for some time, so we've been working on ways to ensure that our press release wire works for both social media and hits journalists too.

There's a lot of excitement of social media (like blogging and community sites), but it's no fad - it's going to get bigger and more important very quickly and the UK PR community must sit up and take notice. See my previous postings about knowledge workers reading press releases and the impact of search marketing agencies on the PR role.

Having said that, traditional media is still very important - readers will always migrate toward the quality of independently written material that the traditional media is so good at - so that's why we are keen to combine the qualities of an online press release wire service that hits both social media and traditional media. That's the future.