Monthly Archives: October 2008

RealWire’ pickup score is 76%

I said in my earlier post about PRNewswire’s pickup and visibility research that I would document my assertion that webitpr‘s RealWire service achieves better results. Following PRN President Dave Armon’s comment on my previous post I thought it only fair that I get our pickup comparison data up for all to see.

*Health warning* I can understand potential scepticism as clearly I have a vested interest in these stats portraying us in a good light – as a number of people have pointed out about PRN’s research itself. They are also from our own Proveit tracking system and not from an independent source.

The headline statistic is that 76% of the releases that we distributed during the same period (April-June 2008) were picked up at least once in a piece of editorial or blog coverage compared to PRN’s 55%. The table below summarises this and how we compare against PRN’s other measures.

Pickup statistics


Our data is from the entire population of our releases sent in these 3 months. The monitoring period varied depending on the level of service opted for by the client but never exceeded the ten days used by PRN in their study. A pickup represents a piece of editorial or blog coverage that isn’t just a reproduction of the press release itself.

As mentioned in the debate following the PRN release these results represent the combined effort of our clients and us together. Some of the results will be 100% due to us, some 100% due to the client and some a combination of the two.

The other factor to bear in mind is that the PRN research took no account of quality and therefore we are unable to in our comparison. Clearly some coverage is more influential than others and where influence is concerned quality is actually very specific and can’t be measured with something as simple as Page Rank or readership as it is relative to the relevant industry and the audience the organisation concerned is trying to reach.

In conclusion our analysis implies we exceed or at least match PRN and the other big wires services by all of their measures. However our focus is still to get as near to 100% for the pickup statistic as possible by improving our reach and relevance to the recipients of our news and so help our clients to achieve influence online.

Netimperative Edinburgh Roadshow – 9th October

I will be speaking at the Netimperative Roadshow in Edinburgh next week on Thursday 9th October. The event, sponsored by Blyk and .Fox Networks, is free to attend and is described by the organisers as:

This one-day conference will bring you up to speed on all aspects of successful digital marketing for your business. From designing a website for the optimum user experience, through building brands online, leveraging joined up search, to mobile marketing, social media, online PR and digital marketing.

Other speakers include Jonathan MacDonald of OgilvyOne and ex Sales Director of Blyk who will be giving the keynote address entitled “What’s the next big thing?”. If anyone is interested in attending just contact the organisers at events@netimperative.com with “Edinburgh Roadshow” in the subject or drop me a line.

13.1 miles and a pair of sore feet

This Sunday, 5th October, I will be one of over 50,000 entrants into the Great North Run. This is my 5th time in the last 6 years and as my poor old body gets older it seems that much further :) However like so many others I put myself through this “pleasure” for the sense of achievement, but also to raise money for charity. In my case for the North Tyneside Carers Centre in Wallsend of which I am treasurer and a trustee. By the wonders of online widgets the graphic below allows you to track my sponsorship progress and also to join in and sponsor me too if anyone feels generous.

 

I also see this as a little experiment in how social media tools can help not for profit fundraising, hence I am promoting on my Facebook page, have Tweeted, emailed and now blogged. Will be interesting to see if any help to get me to my target! :)