There are several ways to make your press release stand out from the masses. First and foremost they must be editorially clean, with correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The writing has to be compelling also, and it should be newsworthy. Make sure that your press release passes the “So what?” test. That’s an editor’s first thought upon reading the headline of yet another press release. Make it clear why the information in your press release is newsworthy, or otherwise it will be perceived as nothing more than self-promotion.

Once you get a press release accepted at an influential publication (online or in print), consider offering the editor exclusives in the future for a better shot at getting your press releases picked up again.

Start by “listening” to the latest chatter about your niche or product. Use tools like Social Media Firehose to aggregate the latest and greatest about a product or niche (see screen shots for aggregating chatter about the topic “Nexus One phone.”). Once you have a sense of the general conversational climate, create accounts on social media platforms like Twitter, build up a community, and start interacting. At first, it’s a good idea to listen more than you talk. Start small, by commenting on blogs, doing the occasional re-tweet, or announcing something going on with your company, like a sale. Gradually increase your interaction until you have a real conversation with the customer community going on. It’s amazing the things you’ll learn.

Social media marketing is basically a 21st century version of word of mouth advertising that goes much faster than it does in the face-to-face community. It’s a chance to build your brand and shape your reputation for the long haul, so don’t miss out or let your competition take all the social media love that’s out there.