SEVEN STEPS TO PR SUCCESS
Size doesn’t matter - at least not when it comes to promoting your business. When savvy public relations techniques are applied to solid credentials, your company can be positioned as an industry leader. Here are seven steps to help showcase your company’s expertise, raise visibility before prospective clients/customers and generate positive publicity:
1) Define your point of intrigue.
Understand what is different and unique
about your company. Be able to share that “hook” in one or
two lines.
2) Become a trend watcher. Think about the clients you serve and the industry overall. What are the hot topics of the day or emerging trends in the future? How could you tailor your areas of expertise and knowledge to becoming the authority quoted in news stories?
3) Tell a compelling story. You’ve got the credentials. Now it’s a matter of selling yourself as an expert to media outlets that are important to your business. Create an overview sheet about yourself and your company that lists points of difference, a “pitch” letter that defines how you could address several topics of interest to their readers/viewers/listeners and other supporting items.
4) Embrace creativity. Look at your industry from a different perspective. Think about opportunities to develop special events, seminars or other offerings that no one else has conceived of yet.
5) Plan for appetizers. Sharing your knowledge is a beautiful thing. Give just enough to help others and whet their appetite for learning more. If you’re terrific at what you do, chances are you’re the person they would like to work with to implement suggestions.
6) Remain accessible. Of course you’re always there for your customers. But if a reporter calls, give them the same top priority. Find out what their deadlines are and provide them with the information they need as quickly as possible. Speed does count when reporters decide who makes the cut for a story.
7) Leverage PR wins. You’ve written a by-lined article for the top trade magazine in your industry. Congratulations! Now it’s time to capitalize on that piece as much as possible. Link it to your website, order reprints and send to prospective customers as a direct mail piece, create a seminar on the topic you wrote about for your current clients. Even add a line in your official bio that says you’ve written for the publication in your credentials.