Today, we will be focusing on how public relations can benefit your business. There are three key areas of public relations you can use to boost your advertising results ten-fold over your paid advertising.
The key to public relations lies in:
- Public relation or publicity
- Merchandising
- Promotions
With a solid plan in place that encompasses the above, you’ll have a solid foundation to use public relations in the best way possible.
Public relations include anything that can be identified as media. Don’t limit yourself to any one form of media. The attention of newspapers, television, radio, magazines, bloggers, ezines and more are all equally powerful. Online marketing is just as important as, and possibly even becoming more important than, conventional media.
Here are the steps to get noticed by the media:
- Write a press release for your company. The press release must be relevant to your target market and address consumer interest, not just announce your business.
- Compress your press release to include one hook and one angle. Whatever you choose, make sure they are attention grabbing in order to compel the media representative to read it.
- Professionally format your press release. Press releases require a dateline with the most important information at the top, followed by pertinent facts and figures, and finally concluded with contact details including who and how. Print the press release on your letterhead.
- Send your press release to all television and radio stations, local and metro newspapers, national newspapers, industry magazines, and any other form of media that will reach your target market. Don’t forgot to include relevant blogs, ezines, press release submission sites and industry professionals.
More important than a perfect press release is making sure that the press release clearly addresses the needs of your target market of the products and/or services you offer. If you are providing people a solution to a problem, a way to avoid a problem, and an opportunity to enhance their life, the media and public will be interested.
If you have a connection (or the ability to get a connection) with a celebrity, this can practically guarantee you’ll get attention. Make sure you are offered newsworthy information, and then follow up with media outlets to ensure they are publicizing that information.
“One of the most powerful techniques every business should use is free publicity. As the name implies, there is no cost, just the time and effort required to attract attention to your business.” -Jay Abraham
Please reach out to me to show you how to put together press releases that work! Check out how the pros do it and craft the perfect press releases for your business.