Don’t Get Spooked by PR if you’re A Small Business or Start-Up

Earning a sale is never easy. Research shows that it takes at least three interactions with your product or service to make one – sometimes, many, many more! So earning credibility, brand recognition and meaningful touch points with customers can be tough for businesses that are still growing. The prospect of hiring a PR firm can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. A PR Consultant can be a very affordable solution for firms that need incredible creativity, contacts and the ability to deliver ROI without big Agency overhead.
There are some things companies can do to quick start their own PR efforts:

PRESS RELEASE: Have you uncovered true innovation, invented a new product or modernized a service that changes the way business is done? Tell your story in a newsworthy press release. Maybe you don’t think that you have but a creative PR person can sometimes pull out the interesting, compelling and newsworthy topics that seem like everyday details in your line of work. Send this to the news media and post a copy on your website, distribute and share digitally.

BECOME A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT & THOUGHT LEADER: Offer to speak, write articles, educate your clients/customers about your business and anticipate trends that will impact them, contact key news editors and writers in the media that cover these topics and offer yourself as a source.

IF YOUR BUYERS ARE CLOSE -- THEN HYPER LOCALIZE. Take advantage of social media tools to engage with potential clients meeting them where they are. The ability to target channels by zip code has never been better so this can be a great asset.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: Get Involved with a Charity that your key demographic supports and that makes sense in terms of what your business does or values. Something that you can own versus be one of many. Use public relations to own key messages and highlight this cause, and how others can become involved. At the end of the day, the decision of whether to purchase services can come down to a “gut” or emotional reaction– so PR can play an important role.

EDITORIAL OPPS & MEDIA LIST: Get a list of upcoming editorial calendars from major news outlets to see when they are featuring topics related to your business so that you can reach out to them accordingly. Depending on the type of media, lead times can be up to 3-6 months in advance of publication. Create a master media list of contacts and have these updated on a regular basis.

Breaking these tips out step by step and suddenly, things don't have to look all that frightful anymore. Still want help? Contact Melissa Watkins, melissawatkins@comcast.net, or visit my website at www.outboxcomm.com.