The Public Relations Blog

The three steps search engines follow to rank search results

Are you curious about how search engines generate the ranking list called SERPs?

If you know what SERPs are and what elements they incorporate, it’s easy to understand their workings.

Search engines generate search results in a three-step process. 

The term CTA is often used when discussing media pitches, website engagement, and social media marketing. For such an important term in the public relations and marketing industry, many people don’t know what CTA stands for or its importance, so let’s break it down. 

CTA stands for call to action. It originates from the marketing industry, referring to a piece of content in the form of an image, specific text, or website button.

The use of this particular content was intended to elicit a specific action from the viewer. It was typically created as a way to provide direction or instruction, such as “sign up here,” “buy now,” “follow,” etc.

Tips and tricks to writing an eye-catching headline

Even in Pulitzer prize-winning articles, the story’s content is the last thing read. Headlines are almost always the first thing that catches a reader’s eye. They are the hook, the reason a reader chooses to dive into a story rather than keep scrolling. This makes headlines possibly the most important — yet undervalued — aspect of any story.

When your company writes PR materials, blog posts, or articles submitted for publication, you should explore what makes an effective headline. 

Our PR agency created this 20-step process for getting earned media coverage for your company

We’ve previously discussed what earned media is and its role in public relations. However, knowing about earned media is one thing, and doing it is another. For someone unfamiliar with this process, it can seem almost impossible to know where to begin and how to get through it. However, there is help.

At Axia Public Relations, we’ve developed our own system for earned media we’d like to share with you. Here is a visual chart showing how we do things and an explanation of each step.

How does your company use and benefit from earned media

Earned media is organic news coverage your company receives. It’s not paid for like advertising. People often confuse earned media with paid media even though they have two very different meanings. 

The main difference is price. Earned media is not bought; it’s the outcome of having a product or service that other people want to talk about. Paid media, such as advertising, is promoted because you paid someone or a company to do that for you. 

Social media mentions, media coverage, and reviews on your product or service are all examples of earned media used in public relations. Earned media happens naturally, and it’s a result of good PR. 

A great proposal starts with a great RFP

Public relations is critical to the success of a company. Your company’s unique needs are important, and finding a partner provider who can solve your problems is critical. A strong, clear request for proposals is the best way to help providers propose creative, relevant, and cost effective business solutions for you.

The PR Council offers a free RFP guide to help your company build an RFP that brings you proposals. These proposals work to solve your business challenges, not create more problems and a complicated process. We think it’s a good resource, and we wanted to share it with you here. Before you submit a Request for Proposals, make sure you're working with a proper PR agency. 

Use these questions to see if you’re working with an ad agency in disguise

You’ve recently started working with a PR agency. Everything looks good; they know what you want and the price is right. However, something seems…off about them now that you’ve established a business relationship. You can’t put your finger on it. They just don’t seem to be the PR firm you were expecting. In fact, they seem to be more of an ad agency. But how can you prove it?

It's hard for corporate communications and marketing professionals to be creative

Creativity would be easy if we had unlimited time, budgets, and resources. And since we don't, it can be hard for corporate communications and marketing professionals to be creative. 

We are expected to deliver unique and powerful ideas on the regular for our leadership team, clients, and customers. Sometimes inspiration comes from strange places. Since 2016, in an intentional effort to improve my creativity each day, I've been challenging myself to try new things, do things differently, and take more risks. It's now part of my daily DNA and my personal drive.

Although only a few words, correct quote attribution gives your story more clarity and credibility

So much of PR relies on effective communication, including quoting your executives, citing experts in the field, and crafting news releases. Getting the correct quote is only half the battle. Once you know what you want to include, you must ensure the attribution is accurate. Without proper attribution, you can lose your audience’s trust.

Quote attribution can be tricky as each quote scenario adheres to unique rules. At Axia Public Relations, we follow the Associated Press Stylebook’s quote attribution policies. However, be sure to check your own organization’s copy editing stylebook on quote attribution, as some organizations have different guidelines. 

Ensure external communications appeal to media with copy editing

As a public relations firm, we believe it’s important to provide you with a white-glove experience. One of the ways we do that is by offering comprehensive PR solutions and value-added services at no additional cost. One of those services is copy editing all content and documents that we share with the media, post on a newswire, or otherwise submit on your company’s behalf.