PR is a must for your business, not only does it help get your business into the eyes of the right people, but it also helps to build your authority as an industry leader. Unfortunately, a lot of businesses either neglect their PR or ignore it completely. Here are a few of our top tips to smash your PR for now and in the future…
Write Stories Instead of Press Release
A lot of businesses feel pressured to come up with news good enough for a press release. The issue is, a lot of the time, the news you’re pushing probably isn’t newsworthy. You definitely don’t want to get a reputation for pushing out dull and irrelevant press releases, your press releases will end up getting ignored and you’ll struggle to publish anything at all.
Just like you would in any other area of your business, use a customer-centric approach. What do your customers want to read? The ability to write a truly interesting and engaging story is a massive skill for PR. You still need to be authentic and get your point across. Highlight a problem and show your customers how you solve it. Praise and commend your business and get across the benefit your business can provide or the benefit of your product. Tell a genuinely interesting and engaging story that shows your customers how you can help them.
Relationships are Key
As the saying goes, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. In the PR world, you aren’t going anywhere without good relationships. In the digital landscape, relationships tend to be a purely selfish endeavour, looking for transactions or results. You can’t ignore or dismiss certain individuals of the press just because you haven’t got what you’re looking for.
If you want to get good stories out to the right people, it’s important you take the time and put in the effort to be the person the media can turn to for a credible and relevant story and for insightful industry comments. Remember, PR is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, so keep at it and cultivate your relationships.
Consider Leftfield PR Opportunities
There are more PR opportunities outside of Press Releases. The UK currently has a population of 67.2 million people, 21.2 million of these people listen to podcasts, according to Statista. The right podcast feature can put you in front of a much bigger and potentially more focused audience than any press release can. If you have the time and resources, you can start your own podcast and bring industry secrets and insights right into the view of your audience.
Don’t be shy about reaching out to people you think would benefit from working with you. This could be podcast hosts that will have you on the show or even industry-specific websites for a feature or interview. Guest posting as it is known is also a great way to get backlinks to your site which works hand in hand with SEO.
Use Tools
There are plenty of tools out there that can not only assist your PR campaign, but make it easier. HARO for example is a great tool that sends you a list of press releases that need comments from experts three times a day. Not all of the press releases will be relevant and you may go a while between genuine opportunities, but it’ll be a nice change to be reached out to rather than doing the reaching out!
Just remember that HARO and similar tools like Terkel can be competitive and the journalists will only take the best answers, so make sure you really spend time and put in effort on your answer, the rewards can be massive.
Also, take advantage of social media and its power. If you do get published somewhere, featured on a podcast or anything else, share it! Talk about it with your existing followers and their engagement can boost the post right up into the eyes of people who may be interested themselves.
Utilise Someone Else’s Audience
Whether you spend a lot of time on social media or not, you can’t avoid hearing about influencers, and for good reason. They can be a great addition to your PR strategy and have a massive influence over their audience.
There are all kinds of influencers out there, from food, to travel, to automotive, and so much more. Finding the right influencers can be tricky, and depending on their size they can get expensive, but when done right can be a huge asset to your strategy.
Ask about their track record, who they’ve worked with in the past, along with the success the brands have had off the back of working with influencers. They should also provide a breakdown of their followers, engagement, and show genuine interest, you don’t just want to be a payday for them.
An influencer will already have an established relationship with their following, and these people are much more likely to follow through with their recommendations than a random person who has just seen your ad or found your website. Just make sure you find the right influencer for your business and your industry.
If all this sounds a bit tricky or confusing, why not just leave it to the experts. We have helped our clients get featured in all kinds of publications like Cosmopolitan, Tees Business and so much more. We also love working with influencers and will work hard to find the right people for you. If you’re intrigued get in touch to learn more.
