Please Release Me!

I should have thought of this - remembered it, actually, because I’d been down this mental road before - before I even started this blog - its name and theme might have been different, but better.

Many individuals and organizations in both the public and private sector are not taking advantage of the glorious opportunities the Internet provides. They are still crafting “press releases” and trying to woo the interest of cynical, time-constrained editors to please give their product, event, group or what have you some of the precious news hole in their “dead-trees” print publications.

How 20th Century!

I was again reminded late last week, as I easily found a press release on the federal Dept. of Health and Human Services  Website, how such opportunities are blown. Indeed, they had a quick link to the ability to receive their press releases by e-mail. But I really wonder how many folks out there aren’t even thinking of the glorious DIRECT marketing opportunities the Net provides.

For example: HHS is a vast organization that deals with a lot of issues of vital concern to Americans. It doesn’t put out a huge amount of press releases, but a fair sum. How much better would it be if the public and the press (many of the same goals/interests in information gathering!) could check off the boxes and say what topics they are interested in receiving regular updates about? (Instead, the e-mail sign-up for HHS led to a page of Listserv commands of the kind the Geeks of the ’90s loved, but were indecipherable to most mere mortals.)

That’s it. That’s my grand discovery. Press releases directed solely to the media should become a very minor part of any forward-thinking organization’s effort to inform the public.

By now, a vast majority of the public is looking for information directly from YOU! Not spoonfed in the media. And while they grouse of the infernal amount of spam out there, what a wonderful chance to provide the information these folks are interested in. Sometimes, it seems the only time a company does that right is when you buy their product and they sign you up for coupons or the like - the low-end, “Buy Me Today!” end of marketing.

I doubt most members of the public care when American Conglomerate Inc. picks Bob Jones for its board of directors or appoints a new Western VP of Sales, Marketing and Buck-Passing. (Though that should be one of the check-off options, of course.)

But making that personal link between your group or firm and the folks who belong or simply are interested in it can yield benefits we’ve just scratched the surface of. It’s a golden opportunity to tell those interested in what you do what you’re up to, directly, immediately and not as 2 paragraphs in a trade journal only read by your competitors.

Opens the mind to some exciting possibilities, doesn’t it? And all it takes is the tools we already have, plus relatively little programming time. Of course, opening that avenue of dialogue is a 2-way street, and you never know could come in return. But as high-maintenance as the questions and comments might be, it’s a valuable dialogue that far too many who believe they “get” the Web really don’t get. But they should.

Oh, and the other thing governments and large businesses don’t get, quite simply, is the need to CENTRALIZE that communication with the public. It should NOT take me five years to sign up for all the state/federal agencies, individually, and the information I (as press or public) want. It should be ONE stop, directly off the main page, kept fresh as new products/topics/initiatives enter and exit the radar screen.

It’s overdue, folks, and I’ll be happy to trumpet anyone who shows me they’re doing it.