If you’ve never written a press release, much less read one, you might not know what a boilerplate is. So let’s take a look at the history, form and function of the boilerplate.

A Little History

In the mid-1800s, “boilerplates” were steel plates used to make steam boilers for ships. Fifty years later, the newspaper industry adopted the word, and its connotation of sturdiness and reusability, to refer to “a unit of writing that can be used over and over without change.”*

The Modern-day Boilerplate

Today, a boilerplate, in reference to news releases, is the last section of the release where you include general company information.  This chunk of text is usually reused for each news release and across other marketing channels so that messaging is consistent despite the type of communication that is being distributed.  (more…)

I’m excited to announce a new weekly Twitter chat, co-hosted by @marketwire and @sysomos. Inaugural chat starts this Thursday, July 29th. (more…)

This article was recently featured on SearchEngineWatch.com.

Although YouTube isn’t the only option in video distribution, it’s hard to deny that if YouTube was a search engine, it’d be No. 2 in the world behind Google.  A strong argument could be made for producing and optimizing video for SEO results, especially if you think about how much time you devote to content marketing to garner rankings for web pages.  Given the amount of competition on the written web, ranking for video in YouTube may be much easier and — as an added bonus — top spots in YouTube often mean an equally attractive position in Google’s universal search results. (more…)

It’s been two weeks since Marketwire acquired Sysomos, and we are off to an amazing start.  The integration of Sysomos’ people and products into the Marketwire mix has caused a major buzz:  Our clients are excited to learn more about social media monitoring and analytics, and are eagerly anticipating one-on-one demos of the MAP and Heartbeat tools.  And our news has made news — take a read: (more…)

One of the trends outlined in Mashable’s “5 Social Media Trends to Watch Right Now” is the increasing surge of companies adopting official social media policies, which run the gamut from short guidelines to jargon-y legal documentation.  As more and more companies embrace the ways in which social media can endear them to their consumers, official documentation just makes sense. (more…)

There’s been some confusion as to what real-time content really is, so let me help clarify: Real-time content happens when there is no delay between the time you type/write and the time you publish. It’s an immediate response to a comment or question. Think Twitter. What is not real-time content are blogs.  A blogger usually ponders, writes, then posts; therefore, the response time is not as immediate or instantaneous.

That said, how is real-time content optimized for search engines? Because of it’s instantaneous nature, is it even possible? Definitely! Here are a few tips to make sure your real-time content is SEO-friendly and searchable: (more…)

I have been to a lot…a lot of networking events/workshops in the DC area, but on June 30th I was a part of the most beneficial event yet: Robust, Readable and Riveting: Writing that Compels in the Age of Now! The event featured Ann Wylie, PR and communications maven, and was presented by the DC Metro chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, with the help of Johns Hopkins University and Marketwire.

This event was a fantastic learning opportunity and gave me a wealth of knowledge to share with my clients with regards to writing effective press releases.  Ann split the conversation into two sections: How to Think Like a Reader and Cut Through the Clutter. (more…)

Blogging statistics are staggering.  June 2010 figures from WordPress (which powers the Marketwire blog) cite 11.4 million blogs hosted on their platform, with WordPress.com users publishing about 350,000 new posts on an average day (and their readers, in turn, leaving 400,000 new comments every day). With all that conversation, discussion, opinion, interjection and objection, it’s easy to see why many organizations think it’s best to avoid an already crowded arena. After all, their blog can’t possibly compete with all the rest.  It’s also easy to see why many choose Twitter and dismiss blogging (isn’t it just simpler and faster to say what you need to say with only 140 characters?). (more…)

We are living and communicating in a world that is seeing the rapid convergence of traditional and social media.  The velocity of this shift has often left communication professionals feeling confused, uncomfortable, and unsure of what to do: scrambling to figure out how social media fits in overall communication strategies, how to utilize it to our advantage, and how to measure its impact.  With so much and so fast, there’s a worry, too, of missing something big.

At Marketwire, we’ve been successful as the innovative leader in distributing our customers’ news, and now we are applying that innovative spirit to the social media sector and social media monitoring.

As such, I am very excited to announce Marketwire’s acquisition of Sysomos. (more…)

Note:  The following article is posted on GuideStar.com and was also featured in the July 2010 edition of its monthly newsletter. GuideStar seeks to revolutionize philanthropy and the nonprofit practice by providing information that advances transparency, enabling users to make better decisions and encouraging charitable giving.

Today, marketing isn’t so much about the “big sell” as it is about the way in which you communicate with your audiences. Of course, big-budget ad campaigns for TV, radio, print, and, now, online will cease to go away entirely, but realistically, most nonprofit organizations do not have the budgets to invest in traditional advertising, let alone any other kind of costly marketing campaigns. (more…)