subject: Eight First Steps to Successful PR [print this page] Eight First Steps to Successful PR Eight First Steps to Successful PR
When you start your own business you have a million and one things to think about.
You're not just the manager, you're responsible for public relations (PR), marketing, sales, admin, filing, cleaning and just about everything else.
One of the most common questions I am asked by new and small businesses is whether it is possbile to generate PR on a limited budget and if so how?
The answer is that it is not only possible, it is imperative.
I firmly believe that marketing and PR are two sides of the same coin and they need each other to be successful.
For any any business, big or small, new or old, getting people to buy your product or service is the single most important thing that you have to focus on.
You might think that's stating the obvious.
You would be amazed at how many small (and not so small) businesses get it wrong.
Unless you are very fortunate, as a small business you are going to have to generate almost all of your PR and Marketing coverage with a limited, sometimes even a non existent budget.
This is not impossible, there are a number of ways that you can set about this, but you do have to invest a lot of time, and if you can't commit to this, get someone else involved who can.
Over the last ten or fifteen years, PR has become inextricably linked with publicity hungry celebrities or members of the public looking to cash in on their five minutes of fame.
Real PR is much, much more than this.
Quite simply, PR is the relationship your business has with the public, with your customers and your potential customers.
This relationship will be the single most important factor in the future of your business, so PR should most definitely not be considered as being something that's reserved for big companies and Katie Price it is one of the most important hats that you will wear when you are running a business.
Here are some simple steps to help to get you started.
1. Make sure your product or service is ready
Again it seems obvious yet so many businesses start their marketing campaign before their product / service is ready.
This can be fatal.
Before you start marketing your product / service, you need to be sure that it works. And this does not just stop at the product. If you have a website does the site work? Does it engage your visitors?
If you have sales or product literature is it clear? Does it encourage the desired response?
If you are driving people to your website, or flooding your local area with literature and they do not do what they are supposed to you have not just wasted time and money, you have potentialy lost that business forever.
It is going to be much harder to encourage them back to your site / business if they have failed to be impressed the first time around.
This is an incredibly common mistake.
So before you start to push your business make sure that is completely ready to go.
2. Know your target market
You will only be successful in PR and marketing terms if you hit the right target market with the right message.
Research your market thoroughly. Establish who your customers are likey to be and what their buying habits are.
3. Learn where to find them
Once you know your target market, you have to learn where to find them and what to tell them.
You have to consider not only newspapers and magazines, but websites, business events, forums, radio programmes and so on.
Only once you have established where to find your perfect customers and what you are going to tell them can you ever hope to reel them in.
4 Get a plan
Don't just fire off e mails and press releases randomly. Blanket e mails and press releases are no longer effective.
You know what you do with junk mail everyone else does the same.
Build a structured plan.
Take into account online and offline opportunities.
Schedule the time each week to focus solely on PR and marketing activities and make sure that you stick to it.
5. Keep it simple
Many PR companies and agents like to hear themselves talk.
They like to look flash and make you think you can't live without them.
The truth is that 97% of the time - simple is best.
What's important is your message you don't want to lose this amidst flashy graphics or excess hype.
A clear, concise message is all that you need.
In fact, if you cannot sum up what you are doing in a few sentences, no one is going to read it.
6. Use the Web
It's an overused phrase, but the internet genuinely is a great leveller.
With some hard work and a little creative thinking you can generate more free publicity than you could ever have dreamt possible.
Start a blog, get involved with relevant forums, there are thousands of opportunities for you to explore, and to profit from, online.
7. Be creative
Don't just stick to your local press and your local business groups.
Be ambitious, seek out creative ways and places to get your message across.
Just because your business is small does not mean that you need to think small.
8. Be persistent
One of our biggest problems in the UK is a fear of failure. We hate rejection, so often avoid putting ourselves into positions where we risk facing it.
However, persistence is the single most important factor when it comes to making your business work. From a PR and marketing perspective it is essential.
Unless you have a big budget, or get incredibly lucky (which can happen) things will not happen over night.
You must devote enough time and energy to your PR to make it a success.
Don't be despondent if your press release or e mail is ignored the vast majority of press releases are ignored.
Even if you pay a PR agency to deliver and distribute press releases for you, the chances are, most of them will be ignored first time, even second time around.
Keep trying.
Because whatever your business, whatever your size, PR is not a luxury item, it is an essential.
