Why Your Customers Can be Your Best PR

September 13, 2011 Leave a comment

Your best stories might not be your product or your service; your best stories illustrate your value.  Where most people get lost when trying to come up with story angles or media hooks to launch their PR campaigns is that they focus on what is important to them, as opposed to what would interest the media.  It’s an easy trap to fall into and one that railroads most public relations campaigns.  So what makes for a good story or pitch idea?  Remember, your focus is on the media and the media’s focus is on their readers, viewers or listeners.  If you can pitch a writer a story that is going to interest their readers, or a TV producer a segment idea that is going to hook their viewers, you’re going to succeed.

But again the most difficult part is being able to step back and come to terms with the possibility that the story that you want to get in the media may very well not be the story that the media is interested in.  So, for now, forget your product or service and focus on your value.  How to you impact people’s lives?  Do you help people make more money?  Do you save them time and effort?  Do you help them lose weight?  Do you make them healthier?  Focus on what you do for your clients or customers.  Keep in mind that your best stories are often your client success stories.  Make a list of clients or customers who have interesting impactful stories they can tell.  You want these stories to illustrate how lives were changed or transformed by working with you or buying your product or service.

Contact the appropriate clients, explain how their stories can help educate and inform others who are dealing with similar problems or issues.

If the stories include before and after photos, make sure to get images that are as professional as possible.  Have your clients sign a release form.

Match the various patient stories to the appropriate media outlets.  For example a story about weight loss, would be pitched differently than a story about a new financial product.

Meet with the clients and review the questions that the media could ask them.  Make them as comfortable as possible with the process.  Remember, these clients are not only telling their stories, they’re representing you and your business.  You want them to be articulate the presentation to be accurate and appropriate.

When talking to a client about the process, explain what would be involved and see if they’d be willing to talk to the media. Keep in mind that often this can amount to free PR for them, so it can be presented as a win-win arrangement.  The media gets a good story, your client can often mention his or her business and you are presented as a solution to a problem.  Not a bad deal.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, Media, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Creating a PR Pitch that Works

September 7, 2011 Leave a comment

An effective public relations campaign can reach your target market, establish you as an expert in your field, and offer you validation and legitimacy that comes with being featured as a news story.  That’s great, right?  But how do you come up with the right pitches and ideas to grab the media’s attention?  You can send out press releases and media blasts all day long, but if you don’t have a compelling story that meets the media’s needs, your PR campaign is not going to work for you.  So how do you go from concept to actually landing TV and print stories?  Brainstorm.  Think like a journalist, not like a business person.

  • Set up a brainstorming session with your PR consultant, or, if you’re doing this in-house, meet with members of your staff that understand your practice.
  •  Allow everyone involved to speak freely.  Start with a list of the obvious stories, then drill down to more unique stories or review different ways to present stories.
  • Think out of the box.  Be creative.  Remember you don’t have to use all of these stories, but the deeper you drill, the better the chances of finding a great story, so let the ideas flow-freely.  You’re pitching TV, so think in terms of the strongest visual stories you can present
  • Divide the stories as per the various media outlets you’ll be approaching.  There will be some stories that are timely, others that are seasonal and others that are evergreen.  Come up with a schedule of when to pitch which stories
  • Divide the stories into local, regional and national.  Different media outlets have different needs.  You want to pitch towards their specific needs.

You want to illustrate why your story and pitch is a perfect fit for their readers or viewers.   You want them to see the value in your story.  To do that you have to come up with a pitch that speaks to each media outlet’s specific audience.  You very well could pitch Vogue, the Today Show, the Wall Street Journal and your local newspaper the same story, but you’d have to tailor you pitch to meet those outlet’s specific needs.  You’d need a female angle, a visual angle, a business angle and a local angle.

Remember, your job is to present yourself and your product or service as a story the media will want to cover, not to do a sales job.  As soon as you try to “sell” a producer or an editor, you’ve lost.  To interest the media don’t pitch your product or your service, pitch a story; pitch your value.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, news, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

5 Tips to Creating An Effective PR Campaign

September 2, 2011 Leave a comment

Whether you hire a public relations firm, a PR consultant, or try a do-it-yourself media relations approach, the following is a quick outline on how to create your own public relations campaign.  If you’re working on a shoestring budget, or are launching your campaign on your own, remember what you don’t know definitely can hurt you.  Study the media and do your homework before trying to land media placements.  The wrong story idea, pitch or approach can end up doing you more harm than good.

If you’re working with a PR firm, do precisely that, work with them.  You know your business better than they ever will, but they know the media.  Working with each other and bringing your various strengths to the table will help ensure your success.  You’re job isn’t to give your public relations firm marching orders, but to work hand in hand with them, help them develop story ideas, and involve yourself in the process.  It works best when everyone is a part of the creative team.

Once you’re ready to move forward:

1.  Hold a brainstorming session to develop pitches and angles

Remember a good PR campaign comes down to having good stories to tell.  Have a brainstorming session where you come up with anywhere from five to seven different PR hooks or story ideas.

2. Create a list of compelling anecdotal stories.

If you offer a product or service, come up with anecdotal stories that help illustrate what you do and how you affect people’s lives.  Your journey, how you started the company or created your product could offer a compelling angle.

3. Create a list of potential stories and match them to appropriate media outlets.

Remember not all stories or pitches will fit each media outlet.  Study the various magazines, newspapers, TV shows and radio programs.  Now work to match your pitch to each media outlet’s particular needs. Make a list of appropriate media outlets and write a one-page press release that you can modify to fit the needs of each specific media outlet.

4. Review various ways to present yourself in order to establish yourself as an expert.

Work on presenting yourself as an expert in your field.  Is there a news story that you can comment on?  Can you explain how your business or field works or how it impacts people’s lives?

5. Develop different story angles for print, TV or radio.

Remember TV is a visual medium.  Try and come up with visually oriented stories that you can pitch to producers.  Print and radio generally offer you a bit more time to tell your story.  Develop strong transformational stories that are interesting, compelling and informative.

PR is the only form of marketing that can reach your target market, establish you as an expert in your field and offer you the validation and legitimacy of being featured as a news story.  It’s an amazing marketing tool.  Whether you hire a PR firm, a public relations consultant or launch a campaign in-house – start now!

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

 

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Is All Publicity Good Publicity – Well, Maybe If You’re Lady Gaga

August 22, 2011 Leave a comment

There is perhaps no bigger myth than the one that states all publicity is good publicity.  PT Barnum is said to have made that statement along those lines.  But who knows.  If it wasn’t PT, whoever said it certainly made an impression, since it has now become a part of our lexicon.  If he did say it, I’m not sure you want to take branding and image advice from a guy who owned a circus and made a living out of promoting what he referred to as freaks.   If you own a circus, maybe your PR standards are a bit different, but even then, all PR is certainly not good PR.

For example, being caught with a hooker, that’s probably not going to do a heck of a lot for you or your career; getting caught sending lewd photos on Facebook or Twitter isn’t one of your better brand building approaches; and having a YouTube video in which you’re shown ingesting huge quantities of drugs would maybe be somewhat of an image mistake.  There are politicians with sex and money scandals, sports figures with sex and drug scandals, actors and singers with a Chinese menu of scandals.  The list is a long one.

You can come up with a litany of media train wrecks and image disasters that convincingly illustrate that all PR is certainly not good PR. Entrepreneurs and PR consultants that look to generate interest through shock and scandal are walking a tightrope.  Pushing the envelope can pay off for some.  Lady Gaga would not be where she is without controversy.  But how many Lady Gaga’s are there?  And even she wouldn’t welcome any media coverage.  Plus, how many business owners and professionals want to foster that particular image?  If you do, great, take off the gloves and go for it.  But if you’re looking to build a different type of image and create a strong lasting brand, I’d suggest perhaps considering a different approach.

PR can grow your business, bring in clients and customers, build your brand and establish you as an expert in your field.  It is the most important marketing tool available because it offers you the credibility and validation of being featured as a news story.  With that in mind you want to create a list of objectives and develop a game plan and launch a targeted well thought out campaign.  You also want to control what you can.  In this age of blogging and social media, never forget that what you post on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or any other social media site is most likely going to be there for a long time to come.

When it comes to traditional media, think long and hard about your stories and how you want you and your company to be perceived.  Remember a good story is what effective media relations is all about.  Transformational stories are the best when it comes to garnering media placement.  How have you made someone’s life easier, more fulfilling, healthier, etc?  You want to establish yourself as an expert and your product or service as one that positively affects people’s lives.  Focus on your strengths and expertise.  Present yourself as a problem solver.

Those are the areas you want to focus on when it comes to your PR and press coverage. Media train wrecks are good news for the tabloid magazines and sensational TV programs.  They sell magazines and build ratings, but that’s about all they’re good for.  Unless, of course, you’re Lady Gaga.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, Marketing, PR, small business Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How to Maximize Local PR

August 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Whereas I’m a big believer in going national if you have a strong story, there is a lot to be said for regional and local PR coverage.  If you live in a major media city such as Los Angeles or New York, local media placement can be challenging because in a sense many of the outlets in those cities offer a more national slant; plus, simply because of the sheer numbers in those cities, the competition is fierce.  But, even in major cities, if you shift your focus from the primary outlets and concentrate on the smaller more community based newspapers and magazines you can launch a local-oriented campaign.

Keep in mind what interests local media are local stories.  You need to understand their audience and their needs.  Their focus is community based.  For example if you are based in or you were born in Boise, Idaho and you’re pitching the local newspapers or TV stations, your tie to that city is your lead.  If you were pitching the Today Show or Time magazine, where you’re from or where you were born is generally incidental, unless it directly impacts the story.

Reference local events and/or partner when possible.  When putting on your own event, use local resources.  Pick a person or a brand that is well recognized in the community.  If there is a local cause you can get involved with, do so.  Connect with causes and charities that directly impact the area.

If you have a personal story that has a local slant to it, use it.  Maybe a story as to how you built your business, or a story about how your product, service or company helped transform the life of someone else who lives in the community.  The media loves transformational stories, so offer them one with a strong local hook.

Study the local media outlets.  Research the types of stories they do, the style they use as well as their tone and approach.  You want to pitch towards their needs.  The more you study and learn about your local media outlets, the better prepared you’ll be to pitch them stories they can use.

Remember to tie in holiday oriented stories and pitches.  Do something fun or different or interesting.  Give it some thought.  Don’t just stick to the main holidays; remember St. Patrick’s Day or even April Fools Day.  But always give your pitch a local slant.  Remember you’re drilling down, pitching narrow, not wide.

And don’t forget to amplify and magnify your local media coverage using social media. Whenever you get a newspaper or magazine story, or a segment on local TV, make sure and place links to those media hits on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites.  And guess what, by posting your story on the internet; you’ve now turned that local story into a national and even international story.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, Business Strategy, Media, Media Exposure, Media Relations, PR, social media, traditional media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The PR Business Model Approach

August 2, 2011 Leave a comment

The World Book Encyclopedia defines public relations, or PR, as “an activity aimed at increasing communication and understanding between an organization or individual and one or more groups called publics.” That is a good start. A good PR or media relations campaign also informs and educates. If you think about it learning how to communicate, explain and educate the public about you and your company, service or product really drills down to the basics of business. And this is true whether or not you’re looking at launching a PR campaign. Whether you’re launching a public relations campaign or building a strategy for the overall communications, marketing and branding for your business, following the PR blueprint is an invaluable exercise.

Why is PR such a valuable tool?

Simple. Referrals, or the lack thereof, are what make or break most businesses. Business growth basically comes down to that very low-tech, old-as-the-hills strategy known as “word of mouth.
If you have a great product or service, but are unable to communicate what makes it great, who it’s for and why anyone should buy it, you’re in trouble. The basic steps for launching a PR campaign make for a great blueprint for any business owner to follow. Once you’ve outlined these you know what your message is, what your target market is, how to reach your target market and what your primary selling points are.

The Basic Questions To Answer Before Launching A PR Campaign Include:

Who are your target markets?
Why is your product or service valuable?
What problems does it solve?
What value does it offer?
Who is your primary target market?
How do you reach that target market?

When developing a media relations campaign, we then focus on the media outlets, when and how to pitch them and what angle to pitch where. But, even if you don’t get to that stage, simply answering the above questions can be invaluable. We’ve consulted with clients where our focus has been on defining the message, market and brand, without actively launching a campaign.

A successful campaign is based on lucid, crisp, to the point communication. You clearly appeal to your target markets’ wants and needs, and you illustrate how you, your product or your service meets those needs. You also need to throw in a little imagination and creative brainstorming.

Communicate your message in the shortest amount of time with the greatest impact. This is an important business skill, as well as a media skill; because we live in a 24/7 world and we’re assaulted with up to 20,000 images a day. Our attention spans are short – only about 10 seconds – so you need to engage the listener and you need to do it quickly.

For a campaign to be truly effective, it needs to be well strategized and thought out. It is a cumulative process that builds day by day and month by month. I have seen both businesses and careers launched through public relations, but I have also witnessed campaigns that went nowhere. The latter is usually due to ignorance of the process.

Know your market(s). You may have the best product in the world, but if you’ve picked the wrong target audience, or don’t know who they are, they’re needs, what defines them, it’s not going to work.

So, whether you’re launching a PR campaign, or are simply putting together the building blocks for your business, marketing and branding, follow the PR basics and develop your business game plan.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, PR, Public Relations, Target Market Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Developing a New PR Approach

July 25, 2011 Leave a comment

Marketing has shifted dramatically in the past decade.  With the advent of blogs and social media, companies now have different marketing and PR needs.  With that in mind, it’s important to rethink your approach to media relations.  As opposed to focusing solely on traditional PR campaigns or 100% on online campaigns, consider a menu of strategies.   What fits your specific needs can vary, from

1) A full blown traditional PR and social media campaign,

2) A campaign that emphasizes traditional public relations, along with a more targeted online media approach,

3) One that cover a targeted traditional media outreach in conjunction with an online media approach,

4)  A campaign that focuses 100% on online PR

5) A social media campaign.

6) You get the picture, you can mix and match.

Remember what is right for you and your company depends on your specific needs and its budget.  Although it is possible to launch a successful online PR campaign, it is quite different from a traditional media outreach.  The media outlets and the overall approach have to be handled differently.  When launching an online campaign, you’re targeting bloggers, online media, forums and individuals via social media such as Facebook and Twitter.  Your approach needs to be more conversational and more personal in its tone. The traditional media approach is more formal and more press release driven.

This is a PR/marketing world of mix and match, and no one approach is designed to fit all.  Study your prospective clients and customers; review your marketing needs and how to best reach your target market. Now come up with a plan that specifically meets those needs.

Although both traditional and new media PR campaigns can be successful, your best bet is to create a campaign that encompasses both. Whereas some companies have been quite successful going strictly with the online approach, your needs might be better served by adding the credibility of being featured in the news.  A feature in a magazine or segment on a TV program changes how you’re viewed by your clients and prospective clients.  You are more readily perceived as an expert in your field.   People who see your magazine articles and TV segments on social media sites will view you as an expert, as a professional who can be trusted.

A strong traditional media campaign is still imperative to gain the credibility and validation of being featured as a news story.  Yet particularly when starting out, you can achieve your initial marketing goals if you have both a strong online presence and a limited traditional PR campaign.

Develop a media relations plan and campaign that is designed specifically for your needs.  Don’t assume you intrinsically know who your target market is and how to reach them.  Do your homework.  It will pay off in the long run.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, Media, Media Relations, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why You Don’t Know That – You Need PR

July 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Many people still feel that Public Relations is for celebrities, politicians and professional athletes; those people are missing a huge marketing opportunity to build their business.  Do you need to sign more clients, sell more products, increase your cash flow, establish your brand, interest more prospects, or broaden your target market?  Then read on.

Do You Need To:

Sign more clients?

Sell more products?

Generate a better cash flow?

Interest more prospects?

Get in front of your target market?

Establish your brand?

Grow your business?

Establish yourself as an expert in your field?

Get in front of decision makers?

Broaden your market reach?

Separate yourselves from the others in your field?

Fill your seminars, telseseminars and workshops?

Market and sell your book?

Find a distributor for your film?

Create a buzz around your concerts and your CD?

Land more speaking engagements?

Achieve the validation and credibility that only comes by being featured in the media?

 If the answer to any of those was yes -  You need PR

Many people still feel that Media Relations is for celebrities, politicians and professional athletes; those people are missing a huge marketing opportunity to build their business.  Public relations is not primarily for entertainers or politicians.  It is one of the most powerful marketing tools available for growing your business, landing clients, finding customers and growing your brand.  PR can achieve a variety of goals.  Some clients are looking to establish their product and reach their target market, others are primarily looking to establish themselves as experts in their fields, while others are looking to build their business and increase their cash flow.  Others are looking for a way to reach their target market, or broaden their reach into new markets.

Understanding that PR is vital is particularly important in a challenging economy.  What good is it to offer a quality product or service, if no one knows it exists? What good is all of your hard work, if you keep it a secret? You could have the best product or service that there is, but if you don’t build a bridge between yourself and your clients or customers, your success is unlikely.

An effective public relations campaign is an integral and extremely necessary part of any business plan. Developing and implementing an effective public relations campaign should be as integral a part of your business as paying your bills, or buying your materials.

Keep in mind that your job is to reach your market, your customers and your clients.  Once you do decide to move forward, begin with some clear specific objectives.  Do you want to increase your business by a third in one year? Do you want to open another store or branch? Do you want to take a product national? What are your long term goals?

Keep your eye on the future. This is a long-term, cumulative process.  Write down your short-term and long-term objectives, then put together a campaign with those objectives in mind.  One client we worked with was featured in Time, Newsweek, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, NPR and countless other media outlets, but these interviews did not come about overnight. They were part of a long term commitment to achieving her PR objectives. If we had stopped her campaign in two or three month’s time, she would never have been in Time or the Wall Street Journal and would never had known that her campaign was going to pay off in that way.

So even though the chances are you don’t think you need PR, if you’re looking to build your business, land more clients, generate more sales, establish your brand, give it a shot.  As they say, you’ll be glad you did

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, PR, Public Relations Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Difference Between Publicity and Public Relations

June 30, 2011 Leave a comment

To be honest, there are a slew of different definitions regarding what publicity is and how it differs from public relations. Publicity and publicists are generally viewed as being connected solely with the entertainment world.  Actors and actresses have publicists.  Feature films have publicists.  In a way the term has become archaic.  Whereas not only actors and singers have publicists, basically a traditional publicist is the Hollywood rep we’ve all come to know.  They place their clients in the media, take them to events, do red carpet walks, set up press conferences, etc.   Whereas companies in any field need media coverage, most need the services of a public relations firm, as opposed to a publicist.

Public relations is a unique marketing approach.  Unlike advertising where an ad firm can control the content and the placement, a publicist can control the content that he or she delivers to the media he or she cannot control its placement or how the media presents the story. There are different ways of getting stories placed.  There is the proactive approach where you pitch an editor, writer or producer a particular story or angle and there is the reactive approach where a journalist contacts you looking for someone to interview for his or her story.  There are also times where you see that a particular story is being covered.  Then there are different types of stories, there are those that feature you as the main focus.  Those are features that spotlight you, your product, your service or your story.  Then there are stories or segments where you or your company or product are included in an already existing story.

On the other hand a well placed news story can be much more valuable than an ad or a commercial because of the validation and credibility factors business people and entrepreneurs generally feel they don’t need publicists.  In point of fact they do need publicity, but that is simply one part of an overall public relations program.  Public relations is a much broader topic.  It encompasses publicity but publicity is only one piece.  Public Relations is an umbrella term that can include investor relations, crisis communications, media training, special events and sponsorships, and other activities.

In fact many people use the terms interchangeably what one calls a PR consultant another will call a publicist, and what one person refers to as publicity another will call a media relations campaign.  The terms don’t matter as much as the ways the campaigns are structured and the results.  The bottom line in any PR or publicity, or media relations, or public relations campaign is creating effective compelling stories.  Effective PR is the art of good storytelling.  For a campaign to work it’s important to define the story, develop written material that tells that story, understand the target market, and find the media that communicates with that market and present that story in a compelling manner that meets the media’s needs.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, PR, Public Relations, publicity Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A Fashion PR Truism: Out of Sight, out of Mind

June 28, 2011 1 Comment

Perhaps in fashion, more than in any other industry, “out of sight out of mind” is a truism, which is why PR is such an important element of a successful fashion line.   It’s very difficult for fashion and clothing lines to become truly successful without being in the public eye.  Fashion lines can grow without traditional advertising, but if you’re a new designer hoping to build your brand and grow your company, trying to do that without media coverage is like not putting a label on your designs.   More importantly why would you want to launch your line without being featured in the media?  By appearing in magazines, newspapers and TV shows your designs are viewed as newsworthy.  You and your fashions get the validation and credibility that comes with being featured in the news.  Today traditional media works hand in hand with blogging and social media.  If you land an article in a local newspaper you can then amplify that article by posting it on Facebook, Twitter, Digg and other social media sites.  By combining a traditional media campaign with a social media campaign, you can create an extremely powerful branding and marketing campaign for you and your designs.

But don’t just jump into a media relations campaign.  My advice is that you either hire a public relations company or PR consultant to launch your campaign for you.  Yes, it is an expense, but the pay-off can be huge and the cost is negligible compared to monies involved in launching a traditional advertising campaign.  If you are unable to afford a public relations firm, don’t just wait on the sidelines.  There are steps you can take and actions you can make to get started.  But do your homework before moving forward.
To start, know your story.  Good PR is good storytelling.  Figure out what your story is before approaching the media.  What makes your fashions different, unique?  What about your personal story?  Do you have a compelling human interest story about how or why you started your own line, or began in the fashion industry?

Once you know your story, study the publications.  Become acquainted with what they write about, who reads it and what their target market is.  Most magazines have editorial calendars, study them.  Remember that monthly publications work on a long lead time.  In August they’re gearing up for the Christmas issue.  

Come up with interesting and unique pitches.  Focus on what makes you and your designs unique; now think of creative ways that you can present your story and your fashions to the media.  

Invest in quality photos and an attractive website or blog.  You don’t need to break the bank here.  You can be creative.  Make deals with up and coming photographers and come up with a clean, attractive, but inexpensive site, but make sure the look is fun, exciting and attractive.

Write, or hire someone to write a one-page (it cannot exceed a page) press release that tells your initial story in a compelling and succinct manner.

Make a list of media that would work for you.  Don’t come up with a list that includes hundreds of media outlets; create a local list and a national list of no more than 20 outlets.  Find the appropriate editors or writers and concentrate on those.
As mentioned earlier, do not neglect social media.  It not only enhances your traditional media campaign; it is also a way to speak directly with your customers.  Create your own YouTube channel and tape any and all shows or live promotions that showcase your designs.  Also, videotape yourself talking about your line and fashion in general.  Start establishing yourself as an expert in your field.  Wear your own designs whenever you’re in public (well you don’t have to wear them to throw out the trash), but you get my drift.  Remember if you don’t think enough about your designs to wear them, why will anyone else?
Regardless of how you decide to PR and market your brand, it is one of the most important steps you can take.  So – get started!

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Fashion Design, Fashion PR, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Traditional plus Social Media: The Beauty Biz Success Secret

June 24, 2011 Leave a comment

According to research conducted by The NPD Group, Inc., a leading market research company, in 2010, total  U.S. prestige beauty generated $8.4 billion, an increase of 4 percent in dollars, compared to $8.19 billion in 2009.

Beauty is a huge market and that figure does not take into consideration all brands and products.  The bottom line is that beauty sells.  As with fashion and entertainment a beauty-oriented company needs to develop a strong brand in order to be truly successful and nothing is more effective for creating a powerful brand and brand awareness than PR and media relations.   Through public relations your product or service is positioned as a news story, not as an ad or a commercial.  Through the media, you are also positioned as an expert in the field, as a beauty guru.  Soon the media starts coming to you to learn the latest beauty or skin care tips and secrets.  You help define beauty and style trends, while positioning both you and your company via the media.

You can then meld a blogging and social media campaign with your traditional media campaign.  For example, if you receive coverage in your local newspaper on your salon, or your new product line, you can take that article and link it on your blog as well as on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Digg and other social sites.  You have now turned a local article into a national article.  Or conversely, you can tape a very cool, interesting segment and post it on YouTube.  In the beauty world you can be a bit outrageous, so make it fun, make it interesting, give it attitude.  Now using your blog, Facebook, Twitter and other online venues, try and create a buzz around that video.  If you generate enough interest you can then pitch your YouTube phenomena to the mainstream media and garner media coverage in print and TV.  That’s not a slam dunk, and requires work and some creative thinking, but we’ve done it, so it is possible.

The key to a successful beauty PR campaign is to create a compelling story around your product or service.  Make it interesting, stylish, and compelling.  Always keep your target market in mind. Then study the media outlets that reach your target market.  Now develop a number of different stories to pitch to a variety of different media outlets.  Each media source has needs and interests that are specific to it.  The primary secret to launching an effective media relations campaign is to focus on what the various media outlets need, and pitch each outlet accordingly.  For example, beauty trade publications will be interested in a business angle, whereas your local media will respond to a pitch with a local slant and a national TV show is going to be more willing to run with a story that has a strong visual component.  Being in the beauty field offers you strong visuals, so be creative and use them.  Also remember that the ingredients, the look and the packaging itself can offer you a compelling story.  If you use eco-friendly packaging, or if your ingredients are non allergenic, or if you utilize customer recycling initiatives, these can all be angles you can pitch to the media.

More and more, savvy beauty-oriented companies are spending zero on traditional advertising and utilizing a creative mix of traditional public relations combined with a creative blogging and social media campaign to build their business, grow their brand and achieve success in the beauty biz.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under beauty, Beauty Industry PR, beauty products, Marketing, PR, traditional media, TV Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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