When placing stories in the media, you want to highlight you product or service, but you also have an equally important second objective. You want to educate. I don’t think that I can emphasize this point strongly enough. Public Relations has bad PR. It is known for its fluff and hype, for the sleight-of-hand work, and, whereas, all of that exists, the glitter and flash isn’t what makes for an effective campaign. What makes media placement effective is that it tells a story, it educates, it gives the public information on a particular topic or field that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. Let’s look at a couple of examples.

We represented a physician who was working on a new cancer drug and was in the midst of clinical tests. The first series had been quite promising. He was looking for patients with a certain type of cancer who were interested in participating in the study. He received hundreds of calls after a local TV interview ran, from people wanting to find out more information. These people would have never been aware of the study, and their opportunity to participate in it, if it had not been for the interview they saw. How about a couple of examples that are not quite so serious?

A skin care expert who has created her own make-up line, appeared on a TV segment teaching consumers how to buy cosmetics for less. The piece explained how to read and understand labels and how to shop for quality, yet inexpensive products. She was presented as an expert, her products were highlighted, and the public learned new information.

The President and CEO of an Internet company who specialized in B to B solutions, was interviewed in a national publication on the changing face of the Internet. He was able to discuss his company and the solutions it offered, establish himself as an expert in his field, and educate the public.

All of these pieces highlighted and focused on the client’s company, but they also educated. By watching the programs or reading the articles, the public learned new information. The pieces were informative and (hopefully) added to the quality of the viewers’ or readers’ lives. Done correctly, it educates, instructs, entertains, and whets the public’s appetite to know more. On the marketing end, it also stimulates your target audience to make an appointment, purchase a product, or to visit a store. But the bottom line comes down to presenting yourself as an expert, an educator, as someone whom both the media and the public turn to for information and advice, you are communicating with and educating the public.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2008

For further information visit:

www.AnthonyMora.com

Public relations is useful whether you want to reach a global audience or only a single town. It is the perfect compliment to advertising efforts with its low budget and high exposure. Here’s how public relations can help you and your business:

- Encourage your employees to give back to the community. Close down your business for one day a year and have your entire staff do a day of charity work. Headlines would read, “Local Print Shop Closes Doors to Help the Needy!” Not only would this get your publicity, but it will build trust and respect with your customers.

- Analyze your branding. Devise a strategy to freshen up your business. This could include changing your company’s name and logo, changing your product mix, or even dropping some customers and courting others. Doing so could drum up new business and keep old customers coming back.

- Make the headline enticing. Whether you are sending a pitch letter/email or writing a press release for publishing, you need to pay special attention to your headline or subject line. If you are sending an email, and the subject line does not grab the publisher’s attention – it won’t be read. If you publish a press release with a boring headline – it won’t be read. Keep it interesting and enticing so that the reader wants to learn more. One trick for attracting more attention is to use a number in the headline or email subject line such as “10 Ways to Tell if Your Husband is Cheating” or “What 73% of People Say They Will NEVER Do”.

- Investigate PR firms carefully. If you decide to enlist the assistance of a professional when changing your organization’s image, be clear on what you want from a public relations effort.

Some things a public relations firm can do for you are to get you positive exposure in the media, create and conduct special events, and help you build and maintain a solid reputation.

- Remember the Rule of 7. When following up with members of the media, the rule of thumb is to contact them a maximum of 7 times. This includes both emails and telephone calls. After 7 times do not contact them again – but make sure you’re ready just in case they get in touch with you!

- Remember the 15 second rule. In general, when you call a media outlet to pitch an idea, you have approximately 15 seconds to convince them to take your idea and run with it. If you previously sent a letter, and are calling to follow up and make sure it was received, be sure to remind the person on the other end of the phone that you already sent some information. Even if they call you, the 15 second rule applies. You want to very succinctly give the top 3 reasons that your idea is a great one.

- Send tips to newsletter publishers. A great way to get a mention in other people’s newsletters is to send them a glowing testimonial, tip or other piece of helpful information. Be sure to let them know that they are welcome to share this information with their readers. Don’t forget to include your name and website address so they can give you credit.

There are many public relations techniques that you can effectively use to get exposure for your business and products. The key is to find the best methods for you – and execute them in such a way that your business will stand out from the rest.

Many of our business-to-business clients participate in their industry’s relevant trade shows and conferences. For most, these events are key opportunities to interact with prospects and clients to tell them about their latest products, programs and services. The trade show is most commonly viewed as a function of the sales department – salespeople attend the shows, work the booth, gather business cards, give their sales spiel ad infinitum and complain about their aching feet.

There is no denying that trade shows and conferences are very important in a company’s overall marketing strategy. A lot of money is spent on exhibit booths, literature, travel & entertainment and the overall logistics of participating in these events. So, why not make the most of them by adding a key component that can be the difference between a “good show” and a less-than-productive three days? Enter public relations.

Publicity is Only Part of PR

First, let’s level-set what we’re talking about when we say public relations. In its most literal interpretation, PR is “relating to your various publics” – including media, suppliers, customers and prospective customers. It’s not just getting a press release hit. It’s delivering your key messages in a way that is relevant to the receiver. For example the media want to provide “industry news” to their readers, while customers and prospects want to understand how your product is going to make their business better, etc.

Make sure you have your key messages developed and everyone representing your company at the show is well-versed and on-board with these messages. Then, identify ways to deliver these messages to the various audiences (publics). The messages you develop for media will be slightly different than those for customers, which will be different than the prospect messages, which will be different than the supplier/vendor messages, etc. Prospects may need to receive the messages via demonstration (live or via video), media will need a media kit with press releases, company background info, executive bios, etc. and customers will want personal contact via face-to-face meetings. The more you can customize your messages and delivery method to the audience, the better your message will be received.

Leverage the Event

Trades shows are major events for everyone involved. Attendees go with the goal of learning about the hot new products in their industry – they want to see and hear about the latest and greatest things that are going to make their life/job easier or more effective. As an exhibitor, this is your opportunity to fill that need and make a big deal about doing so. Trade shows are perfect venues for new product launches. In fact, this is the primary purpose of the automotive shows – to show off prototypes and new designs. A complete trade show strategy should include pre- and post-show activities as well as at-show planning. Use the event to contact key clients and prospects prior to the show and invite them to stop by your booth while at the show. Hold special VIP events at your booth after hours for product demonstrations and networking, and pre-arrange meetings with editors and writers from the key trade publications to stop by your booth to hear why your company is leading the way in your industry.

Most importantly, after the show follow up with everyone you made contact with, using specific information demonstrating your experience at the show with them was meaningful.

Develop Relationships, Increase Awareness, Gain Expert Status

We’ve all seen the exhibitors that show up, set up and sit at their booth waiting to give their sales pitch to anyone who happens to stop by long enough to listen. Trade shows are your opportunity to develop relationships, gain awareness of your products and services and position yourself as the expert in your industry. Make tradshows more than just a big line item in your budget because you “have to go because everyone else does.” Make them relationship builders and revenue generators. When planned and optimized, that’s exactly what they will become.

Regardless of whether you have an established bricks and mortar business and wish to expand into the online market, or whether you want to launch an exclusively online enterprise, the key to success is knowing how to effectively promote your brand on the web and thereby earn the trust of online shoppers.

The development of strong brand is a prerequisite for any business and clarity is very important. Be clear about your customer proposition and promote your USP (unique selling point) effectively to obtain sales. Think about what aspect of your business sets you apart from the competition. That is the area you should ideally promote and clearly communicate to your customers. Letting customers know what’s happening, both with their orders and also alerting them to offers helps build loyalty and that in turn engenders brand promotion through word of mouth.

When it comes to launching brands online the owners of many businesses spend a lot of time and effort planning and building their website; concentrating on how it looks and sorting appropriate content only to neglect it once it goes live. Any successful commercial internet presence will need to be regularly updated and promoted across the World Wide Web (WWW). It is not enough to merely build a site and expect the business to roll in; you must also use your site as an active and important business and sales tool. Regular relevant content updates and the development of a Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) campaign should be considered particularly important.

Effective online brand awareness starts with an appropriate domain name or website address. Most choose the company name as an address or one that accurately and succinctly describes exactly what the business delivers. Some businesses buy both types of domain names and re-direct one address to the other.

Finally, brand reputation can be very easily damaged on the web if one or more people decide to use forums to negatively report your business. Regularly check on Google that your enterprise is not being portrayed in a negative light. All it takes is one particularly vocal person who decides that they didn’t get what they wanted from your company to start negative comments flowing. You must be ready to state your case on such forums and if necessary take legal action to get libellous comments removed. You should fiercely protect your brand and reputation as it represents your business. After all, if you don’t care about your brand you shouldn’t expect your customers to care either.