PR and marketing are vital to any enterprise. However, public relations is often not emphasized as much as marketing, which can be a real mistake. Your company may funnel quite a bit of money into ads, social media campaigns, and more while missing out on the power of the press.
Harnessing PR to promote your business, build creditability, and create valuable relationships can give your company message a much-needed signal boost, reaching more people than ever before. It’s also a way to show the world that your business is here to stay.
Five Techniques for Getting Free Press
Have you seen a business featured in the Fortune 500 or on Reuters and wondered how you could get your company into the news? Here are five ways you can promote your businesses good works, without paying for ads:
- Write a press release
Many companies miss out on the opportunity to share their latest product, business development, or open house with interested parties by forgetting this standard PR action. Writing a press release and sending it out to proper channels can be time-consuming, but it’s also worth it when an industry publication picks up the story and shares it far and wide.
- Submit a company event to a local or business calendar
You may be surprised at the sheer number of online calendars available for listing your next company open house, conference, or meetup. Local news outlets often provide an online submission form, many company review sites like Yelp! have an events section, and more commonly used sites like Meetup.com and EventBrite all allow you to list events. This is free press in itself as you can submit your event information in your own words and provide that information to people throughout your community.
- Pitch your own story
Do you think your business is worth covering? Pick your favorite industry publication and pitch a story. Story pitches are less common than press releases, and a well-written pitch may just get you a spot in the publication!
- Take to Twitter
Journalists love Twitter, so your PR team should too. There are many ways to use Twitter to your company’s advantage. Your team can follow industry journalists to get ideas for story pitches, check the hashtag #urgharo to see if a journalist needs help from someone in your industry, and generally keep a finger on the pulse of what’s trending. All of this information can give you and your team an understanding of what journalists are interested in right now, giving you an edge over the competition.
- Ask for an interview
Many online magazines and newspapers do bios on successful local entrepreneurs and industry leaders. If you have a particular journalist you enjoy reading, ask him or her if they can do a bio on you!
Getting a foothold in the press requires a lot of time, attention, and hard work. However, it’s a valuable way to share the good news about what your company is doing.
Are you ready to strategize your next steps? Contact Business Success Consulting Group today for executive coaching and marketing consulting.
