TheMiddleShelf.com

Effective public relations strategy is an excellent alternative to advertising, especially for small businesses with limited marketing budget.  It is a cost-effective way to gain exposure for your product or service, get more leads, generate more sales and build a great brand.

What makes PR so powerful? A product (or service) mentioned in the context of a news report or print feature story gives it a passive endorsement and third-party credibility advertising just can’t buy.

How can you make the PR process work for you? Here are a few rules you need to create an effective  PR plan to give your product competitive advantages in your market:

1. Identify your market. The more specific you can get about which group should use your product, the easier it will be to identify which media you need to work with.
2. Be clear about the benefits relevant to your market. Remember to sell your product or service to the media so your story will get published. Let them know the benefits and show them the numbers to prove that your product or service saves time and money–or makes money.
3. Position your product as unique. It’s important to be able to attest your product is x-times faster, better, cleaner or more cost-effective than your competitors’ product or industry standard. Such specific and proven advantages will provide the media concrete evidence to feature your product over anyone else’s.
4. Make use of testimonials. All other things equal, testimonials are one of the strongest ways to enhance the credibility of any promotional piece. This also holds true for your editorial piece as well.
5. Target the media used by your target market. Find out which media outlets your target market typically reads, views or listens to. Do an online search for free or inexpensive press release submission sites.  Research sources that outline available media according to locality and special interest groups.
6. Prepare your press release. If writing is not your forte, hire a PR writer or a seasoned virtual assistant to help you write the release.  Make sure the release has a great headline and it follows the AP style guides. Your first paragraph should be no more than 25 words and needs to both explain the headline and summarize the story. And remember to keep your editorial to one page or less.  If you are selling a product, attach a photograph.
7. Sell your release. Email or call the person named in the media guide. Give them the headline and the first paragraph. If you catch them on the phone, they’ll make a decision then and there whether they like it or not. A “yes” or “maybe” means “send me an email with more information.” Forward it immediately. Earn the right to follow up by asking if you can call back the next day or at some other specific time, depending on publication dates. Keep in contact, but don’t be pushy.  If the story is of value, it will sell itself.

While these steps don’t guarantee publication and broadcast, following these steps will give you a better chance of success.  These steps will enable you to start building good media relationships you’ll need for the future and also give your business a strong competitive advantage in the media market.

“If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.” – Bill Gates