A new Social Media Marketing Tool

Another powerful PR tool has emerged: PitchEngine , which lets you create and share social media releases for free.
As they describe it:

With PitchEngine, users can easily create and share Social Media Releases (SMRs). Unlike the rigid, printed press release of old, SMRs offer both creator and reader far more flexibility. Users can incorporate embedded video, images, powerpoints and more into a hosted “microsite” or SMR, that can easily be shared via the social web using apps like Facebook, Twitter and more. A dynamic blend of traditional PR and a more progressive, conversational method, the SMR opens doors and engages readers. Those readers include not just media, but investors and consumers (friends, fans and followers) alike.

New Tools are Great, But You Still Need to Make Your Content Really Findable

Even if you are sending your news release to a wider audience by using a great online PR tools such as PitchEngine you are still making a mistake if you don’t optimize your release for the search engines. Be sure to keep these essential content marketing elements in mind as you craft your social media release—and your broader strategy:

• Use a pithy descriptive headline with important keywords and repeat those keywords in your lead. And don’t use jargon!
• Link keywords to relevant landing pages on your site–that is where many of those keywords will be found.
• Don’t think of your release is a “media relations tool.” Think of it as a mini web page that covers the news item or topic about which you are writing.
• You release should act as a portal to more information on the topic.
• If you have audio or video content be sure to include them with your release.

In the end, social media is still all about content that is relevant and compelling. Bells and whistles don’t substitute for substance. Don’t let the social media tail wag the content marketing dog. But, do put leading edge tools like PitchEngine to work in becoming a social media PR powerhouse.