text: Bill Gates is believed to have said, “If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.” It’s no secret that public relations is one of the most effective tools in building awareness for your company, regardless of its size or service and product offering. However, given its effectiveness, many companies fail to utilize the benefits of PR because of lack of resources or lack of budget. You should know that not all PR efforts have to be on the same budget as Apple to be successful. In fact, there are actually free, yes FREE, tools out there to help you manage a very effective PR strategy.
  So let Bill Gates spend a dollar on PR while you utilize these free public relations services:
  HARO (Help a Reporter Out)
  One of the best ways to give yourself and your company instant credibility is to demonstrate your expertise in a particular subject. HARO is an email-based service that connects sources—which could include you and your business—with nearly 30,000 members of the media. Once you register as a source, you can choose to receive emails from HARO (sent out three times a day) with an extensive list of reporters looking for sources for a wide variety of stories. While you may feel your company’s only expertise is in topics like home automation or loudspeakers, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to see the range of topics (e.g. customer service, business management, etc.) in which you could easily provide a reporter with a quote or advice.
  Register: http://www.helpareporter.com
  Cost: Free
  PitchEngine
  As we all know, the days of sending your company press release out to a list of every media member you can find an email address for are well behind us. Just like you, many members of the press have their own preferred way of receiving information, whether it be through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, search engines, or in some cases, still via email. PitchEngine is a publishing service that allows you to create a “social media release” that can be easily shared through virtually any network or platform. PitchEngine makes it easy for you to set up a press release to include your press release, images, video and SEO-content galore.
  Register: http://www.pitchengine.com
  Cost: User account and press release posting for 30 days is free.
  Google Alerts
  From Yelp!, to Facebook, to Twitter, to message boards, chances are if your company is even mildly successful, people are talking online about your brand. To help stay on top of what your customers—current and future—are saying about your company, sign up for Google Alerts. Set up alerts featuring your company name, your name, your company’s products or services and even your competition to be delivered to your inbox. By finding customer raves and rants regarding your company as it happens, you’ll be able to snap into action quicker should you need to send the nice “Thank You” note or have a customer service representative follow up.
  Register: http://www.google.com/alerts
  Cost: Free
  Scott Moody is the Director of Public Relations at Marketing Matters (http://marketingmatters.net), a communications and design firm specializing in technology, consumer and custom electronics, audio-video, and related industries.
  Tags: PR, Social Media
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  © Marketing Matters 2022 - Privacy Policy
  Privacy Policy
  This privacy policy has been compiled to better serve those who are concerned with how their ‘Personally Identifiable Information’ (PII) is being used online. PII, as described in US privacy law and information security, is information that can be used on its own or with other information to identify, contact, or locate a single person, or to identify an individual in context. Please read our privacy policy carefully to get a clear understanding of how we collect, use, protect or otherwise handle your Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with our website.
  What personal information do we collect from the people that visit our website?
  When filling out forms on our site, you may be asked to enter your name or email address to help you with your experience with Marketing Matters. We do not currently, but have in the past, collected information on addresses, phones, what company the user works for, and potentially other contact information. Never has this information been sensitive in nature (e.g. credit card information or something like a social security number).
  When do we collect information?
  We collect information from you when you subscribe to our newsletter or fill out a contact form. We also do collect other information with regards to our website analytics. This information is only used to better our website experience or to gauge our marketing effectiveness. All of the information collected is never sold or shared with a third party.
  How do we use your information?
  We may use the information we collect from you when you sign up for our newsletter, respond to a survey or marketing communication, surf the website, or use certain other site features in the following ways:
  To improve our website experience to better serve you.
  To send periodic emails regarding our services, or tips and trends to effectively market your products or services better to your customers
  To gauge Marketing Matters’ marketing effectiveness, in the way of analytics.
  How do we protect your information?
  Our website is scanned and updated on a regular basis for security holes and known vulnerabilities in order to make your visit to our site as safe as possible.
  We use regular Malware Scanning.
  We do not use an SSL certificate because we do not collect personal or credit card information
  Do we use ‘cookies’?
  Yes. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your Web browser (if you allow) that enables the site’s systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. For instance, we use cookies to help us keep track of our advertisements, ensuring we don’t target you with an online ad if you are not appropriate for our communication. We do not have access to your specific information, it simply restricts your ability to see the information.
  Cookies are also used to help us understand your preferences based on previous or current site activity, which enables us to provide you with improved services. We also use cookies to help us compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future.
  You can choose to have your computer warn you each time a cookie is being sent, or you can choose to turn off all cookies. You do this through your browser settings. Since each browser is a little different, look at your browser’s Help Menu to learn the correct way to modify your cookies.
  If you turn cookies off, some of the features that make your site experience more efficient may not function properly.
  Google Advertising and Analytics Cookies
  Google’s advertising requirements can be summed up by Google’s Advertising Principles. They are put in place to provide a positive experience for users. https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/1316548?hl=en
  We have implemented the following:
  Demographics and Interests Reporting
  We, along with third-party vendors such as Google use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookies) and third-party cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) or other third-party identifiers together to compile data regarding user interactions with ad impressions and other ad service functions as they relate to our website.
  Third-party disclosure
  We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your Personally Identifiable Information.
  Third-party links
  We do not include or offer third-party products or services on our website.
  Opting out:
  Users can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Settings page. Alternatively, you can opt out by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative Opt Out page or by using the Google Analytics Opt Out Browser add on.
  Fair Information Practices
  The Fair Information Practices Principles form the backbone of privacy law in the United States and the concepts they include have played a significant role in the development of data protection laws around the globe. Understanding the Fair Information Practice Principles and how they should be implemented is critical to comply with the various privacy laws that protect personal information.
  In order to be in line with Fair Information Practices (and the EU’s GDPR described below) we will notify you via email within 3 days or less if we notice any sort of breach in the information we collect.
  We also agree to the Individual Redress Principle which requires that individuals have the right to legally pursue enforceable rights against data collectors and processors who fail to adhere to the law. This principle requires not only that individuals have enforceable rights against data users, but also that individuals have recourse to courts or government agencies to investigate and/or prosecute non-compliance by data processors.
  U.S. CAN-SPAM Act
  The CAN-SPAM Act is a laws that set the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have emails stopped from being sent to them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.
  We collect your email address in order to:
  Send information, respond to inquiries, and/or other requests or questions
  Market to our mailing list or continue to send emails to our clients after the original transaction has occurred.
  To be in accordance with these regulations, we agree to the following:
  Not use false or misleading subjects or email addresses.
  Identify the message as an advertisement in some reasonable way.
  Include the physical address of our business or site headquarters.
  Monitor third-party email marketing services for compliance.
  Honor opt-out/unsubscribe requests quickly.
  Allow users to unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of each email.
  If at any time you would like to unsubscribe from receiving future emails, you can email us at
  Follow the instructions at the bottom of each email and we will promptly remove you from ALL correspondence.
  EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
  As a member of the World Wide Web, we have taken action to the EU’s regulation of GDPR. GDPR includes many actions to ensure we are properly and responsibly communicating to our online visitors and receivers of our marketing messages. Because we practice good website and communication techniques, Marketing Matters has been in compliance with many aspects of this regulation for years. But we have taken some actions to ensure we comply fully with the regulation, including:
  We have added a cookie opt-out message on our website to ensure visitors give permission for the use of cookies.
  We have performed an audit of our data and sent an email to all our contacts inviting them to opt-out of our messages, and detailed our data protection policies.
  We have ensured our privacy policy is written in plain English as to not mislead our visitors in any way.
  At any time you can contact us to request what information we have on you, which will typically only be an email and name, or other contact information including address or phone if it has been willingly supplied to Marketing Matters. We do not collect any sensitive information via our website.
  California Online Privacy Protection Act
  CalOPPA is the first state law in the nation to require commercial websites and online services to post a privacy policy. The law’s reach stretches well beyond California to require any person or company in the United States (and conceivably the world) that operates websites collecting Personally Identifiable Information from California consumers to post a conspicuous privacy policy on its website stating exactly the information being collected and those individuals or companies with whom it is being shared. – See more at: http://consumercal.org/california-online-privacy-protection-act-caloppa/#sthash.0FdRbT51.dpuf
  According to CalOPPA, we agree to the following:
  Users can visit our site anonymously.
  Our Privacy Policy link includes the word ‘Privacy’ and can easily be found on the page specified above.
  You will be notified of any Privacy Policy changes:
  On our Privacy Policy Page
  Can change your personal information:
  By emailing us
  How does our site handle Do Not Track signals?
  We honor Do Not Track signals and Do Not Track, plant cookies, or use advertising when a Do Not Track (DNT) browser mechanism is in place.
  Does our site allow third-party behavioral tracking?
  It’s also important to note that we do not allow third-party behavioral tracking.
  COPPA (Children Online Privacy Protection Act)
  When it comes to the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 years old, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) puts parents in control. The Federal Trade Commission, United States’ consumer protection agency, enforces the COPPA Rule, which spells out what operators of websites and online services must do to protect children’s privacy and safety online.
  We do not specifically market to children under the age of 13 years old.
  Contacting Us
  If there are any questions regarding this privacy policy, you may contact us using the information below.