PR is an excellent way to connect with people and build the credibility of your business. It helps to establish your brand and makes you an authority in your industry. It’s a much more effective marketing tool for your business than paid advertisements because people are more incline to believe the information you present and view it as factual – because it is.
Target the Right People
However, while PR might be a powerful tool for a business, for startups, it can be a bit daunting. Your budget is probably relatively small, which means that hiring a PR manager might be out of your reach.
Don’t let your budget hold you back! You’ve managed to successfully start and run a business, so why can’t you handle your own PR, too? And, considering the fact that nobody else knows your business better than you do, it kind of makes sense for you to manage your own PR; doesn’t it?
Want to take the leap into handling your PR? Here are some tips that will help you become a monster PR machine in no time!
You might think that targeting anyone and everyone will help you get good press. After all, the more people who are willing to share your story, the more attention you will attract, right? Wrong!
In order to really make your PR efforts a success, you have to target the right people. Why? – Because targeting the right people will help you target the right audience. For example, if you are in the travel industry, it doesn’t make sense to target publications in the healthcare sector. Instead, make sure you focus on getting in touch with publications, blogs, websites, etc that are focuses on the travel and you’ll be able to get in touch with an audience that is looking for what your business has to offer.
Find out Where Your Customers are
Take the time to learn what social networking sites, magazines, trade publications and other news outlets that our targeted audience interacts with the most. Once you do that, you’re going to want to interact with those platforms, too. Establish a friendly, yet authoritative presence with these outlets. Let’s use the travel industry as an example again. Find blogs and social media platforms in this niche. Look for articles and blog posts and comment on them. Make sure your comments add value and offer pertinent information that others will find useful. You’ll establish your authority and attract a lot of attention.
Establish Your Expertise
You’re an expert in your industry. That’s why you went into business in the first place, right? However, the general public may not know that you are an expert in your niche. One of the main objectives of PR is to let the world know that you excel in your industry. Doing so will help to attract attention to your business and boost your success.
Use your expertise to your advantage. Put yourself out there to bloggers, journalists and reporters. Establish yourself as a source that they can rely on. Doing so will help to establish your brand because you won’t be seen as just someone who is pushing your products or services for the sake of coverage and reviews (which, incidentally, is exactly what you don’t want to do.)
Build Real Relationships
While your goal is to get press coverage, you don’t want your main focus to be PR. You want to establish real relationships with the people you connect with. Have discussions. Be open. Ask for their input and ideas. By creating a bond with people, you’ll be viewed as a real person, not just a business. When the journalists, bloggers, reporters, etc, you connect with see you as a real, credible individual, they will be more inclined to not just give you coverage, but great coverage. Building real relationships will do a world of good for your PR efforts and the success of your business.
Be Consistent
If you want to get as much press coverage as possible, you have to be consistent. Making contacts only every now and again might get you some coverage, but it won’t get you a lot of it. And let’s be real: you want to get as much press coverage as possible.
If you are consistent in your efforts, you’ll increase your chance of getting noticed. You’ll let the publications you have connected with – and your audience – know that you are active and relevant in your industry. People are more inclined to pay attention to businesses that have a constant presence then those that are only present once in a while.
Create Incredible Press Releases
The more thoughtful and well-executed your press releases are, the greater the chances are that they will be picked up and shared by publications, and read by your targeted audience.
Strive to be Newsworthy
In order to get great press, you have to make sure that you are newsworthy. Reporters, journalists, bloggers and the like aren’t interested in stale news. They want fresh, exciting information that hasn’t been seen before and is worth sharing. Keep doing incredible things and the press coverage will follow.
