Public Relations is
about the management of the message others are
conveying about your business. It's
important that you manage this process.
What others say about your business is worth ten
times more than what you say about your
business.
Good Public Relations
(PR) is great for business.
The more the better.
Public relations is the task of managing
the spread of information about your company
with the rest of the world.
Spreading positive information about your
company is a way to promote the business and
attract customers.
There are a number of ways that you can
do this.
Some are free and some can be done at a
cost.
These are the top 10 ways to get PR for
your small business. |
|
1.
Contact Reporters:
To get PR you can
reach out to reporters directly and pitch your
story to them.
If they like your pitch they will write
about you in their publications.
There are services that you can subscribe
to online that will help you to write your pitch
and get you in contact with reporters or you can
contact reporters directly.
Use the list below to get in contact with
reporters.
Help A Reporter Out (HARO):
HARO is an online resource where
reporters seek out assistance from the public.
Help reporters out and promote your small
business by subscribing to this service and
using it to your advantage.
Pitch Rate:
subscribe to Pitch Rate.
This resource is where reporters go to
find subject matter experts to help them write
and publish articles for their respective
publications.
This is another great way to promote your
small business and get great PR.
ProfNet:
ProfNet
connects journalists to expert sources.
This means you have an opportunity to
promote your self as an expert in your field and
use it to gain good PR from journalists.
|
|
2.
Press Releases:
A Press Release is a
message that goes out to Journalists and Editors
of magazines, newspapers, TV show producers,
etc. that notifies them of a potential
newsowrthy story that they may want to write or
talk about.
Learn more about Press Releases.
|
|
3.
Contribute to Social Media:
Contributing to
social media is one of the fastest, cheapest and
effective ways to get attention.
Learn more about social media sites such
as Google+, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
|
|
4.
Attend Trade Shows & Expos:
Industry trade shows
and expos attract a large number of people.
They attract consumers, investors,
journalists, etc.
Participating in trade shows and expos as
a vendor is an opportunity to get attention for
your small business.
Journalists might see your business as an
interest story that they want to write or talk
about.
It is also an opportunity for you to
approach them directly.
|
|
5.
Hire
A PR Consultant for A Short Period:
You can hire a PR
consultant.
They come at a price, so you may want to
do so for a short period.
You con't need a PR consultant on a
continuing basis.
Hire them for a specific task and when it
is over sever the relationship.
Hiring a PR consultant can save you time
and get your story before reporters, producers,
bloggers, etc. quickly.
|
|
6.
Serve On A Panel:
Serve on panels that
discusses the subject matter that you're an
expert in.
Journalists and producers look to panel
members as a great source for expert advice.
As a panelist you're considered a subject
matter expert and will attract the right people
that can give you good PR.
|
|
7.
Free
Promotion:
Conduct a free
promotion of your product.
If McDonalds stated that they will give
every one a free cup of coffee between the hours
of 7:00am and 9:00am for the next week, every
media organization would mention it several
times over.
This is a great way to get good PR.
Conduct a free promotion and notify the
media.
|
|
8.
Donate:
Make a donation.
Find a worthy
recipient and make a donation to them.
This could be a school, church, disabled
kids, the homeless, a city, a media
organization, etc.
Find request for donations that are
already in the news.
Then notify the news media that you will
make the donation and give them a chance to
cover it and get great PR for your small
business.
If you make a donation of your products
to a media organization they will definitely
cover it and give you free PR.
|
|
9. Host
A Charity Event:
Hosting a charity
event is a good way to get attention for your
small business.
The media loves charity events.
They like to write about businesses
giving back to the community.
When you get ready to host the event,
notify the word out to the media.
Team up with charity organizers that host
popular charity events and pitch the idea of
participating in the event.
Offer to make your self available to the
media.
|
|
10.
Sponsor A Local Event:
Sponsor A Local
Event:
Sponsorship can significantly improve
your small business image locally and
nationally.
It provies and opportunity for you to
make your business known to an audience who
wouldn’t otherwise know about it.
Sponsor a local event such as a sports
event, 10K run, a walk for the cure event, etc.
Sponsorship can give your small business
the opportunity to advertise by placing your
company information on program materials, logo
on event advertisements and event uniforms,
place logo on event sinage and banners, engage
in joint press release, distribute free samples,
coupons, etc.
Sponsoring events run by charitable
organizations gives you the added benefit of
getting a tax exemption for your contributions.
|
|