Today I’m going to talk about controlling your message online. For some reason, I don’t know why, but this spring, as I drive around and I’m out in the neighborhoods, I’m paying attention to and watching what contractors are doing on the job site.
Digging a ditch, installing windows, cutting wood, trimming siding, whatever they happen to be doing. And I always ask myself, what can I do make this guy or this girl’s job, life, business a little easier?
One of the things that I’m concerned about is making sure you are controlling and managing your message and where your message is being broadcast online.
Here’s an example of good intentions gone bad
There is a press release service that creates and distributes press releases on their client’s behalf. Honestly, I’m really not sure how a press release helps today’s contractor, but that isn’t my point.
The problem is, the press release service then serves ads against the press release itself once it is distributed. So you could have your press release saying you just launched your new HVAC website, and now there are ads for HVAC services from your competitors placed right next to your press release!
Obviously, the press release company’s algorithm searches the content on the page, sees it is talking about home improvement and remodeling, and what does it do? It serves a nice big fat 300 by 250 size display ad right next to it asking the reader “do you need to remodel your home? Click here to get quotes.”
So if I’m a contractor who just paid to have that press release go out and I look and I see that there’s an ad being served against it for Home Advisor or whatever it happens to be, I’m pissed, man.
That’s why we stay inside of platforms that we can control. We worry about the website, we worry about blog content and we stay in the relatively safe confines of the big social media platforms. Where you have a little bit more control than you do on some press release website service that monetizes the very press release that you just paid to place there.
The point to all this is to pay attention to where your message is being consumed. You have to know where your brand is being talked about, reviewed and monitored by other sites and services who are only trying to make money on the words you put out there.
So before you agree to a press release, ask some important questions, or just one, are ads from my competitors going to be placed right next to my press release?
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