Isn’t Public Relations Only For National Exposure?

July 9, 2012 Leave a comment

My general rule of thumb is to never use the word only when referring to public relations.  For example, statements such as: public relations is only for celebrities, or PR is only for major corporations, or PR is only for national exposure are all incorrect statements.  Yet, most people have a tendency to think about PR in that type of only perspective.  Which is why there are so many misconceptions around what PR is and how media relations works.  Those type of onlys tend to shut people down and often lead business owners and entrepreneurs to make the wrong marketing decisions.

So they miss out on finding new ways to establish their business, bring in more clients, make more money and build their brand.  For example let’s take the statement that PR is only for national exposure.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  There are a number of ways businesses can local marketing exposure for national companies is one of the most overlooked areas of opportunity. Local exposure for businesses that provide products and services only in a designated local geographical area generally have an abundance of exposure opportunities available to them.

The truth is that PR, like a car, can be used for a multiple of reasons.  If you’d never bought a car and you heard that they were only for celebrities, or only for professional race car drivers, or only for the owners of large corporations, you’d think twice before buying, but think of what you’d be missing. There are myriad reasons that people buy cars. Some drivers only want a car for local transportation, others cover long distances, some carry equipment and are used for work, others are high end or turbo charged; it all depends on the driver and his or her needs.  And the same is true when it comes to launching a public relations campaign.  Your primary focus might be local or national, or a blend of the two; your aim might be to build your business, or bring in more clients, or establish yourself as an expert in your field, or establish your brand.  All of those are legitimate goals that can be accomplished via PR, publicity and media relations.

PR is perfect for start ups, small businesses, huge corporations, artists, celebrities, physicians… you can pretty much fill in the blank.  It is a form of marketing that you can utilize to meet your particular business and marketing needs.

So figure out what your marketing goals are.  What is your target market?  Who is your audience?   Who are your clients and customers?  Once you know your objectives you can develop a public relations campaign custom made for you and your business.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2012

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The following is a guest blog by Ann Convery. Ann is offering an amazing free telecall tomorrow:

April 30, 2012 Leave a comment

Don’t Talk About The Features Of Your Service — They Scare Away Your Prospects

By Ann Convery

So this is the deal…. let me tell you about Joanne. She’s one of the smartest people I know when it comes to grabbing people’s attention. She was a business strategist and a good copywriter, and she knew her stuff backwards and forwards. If she got into a private discussion with you she’d solve your problems like that. But when she got in front of a prospect, and there was a whiff of a sale in the air, (little laugh) she started babbling, and it was driving her nuts. She was watching people walk away. And she was at the point of abandoning her business, in fact her husband was pushing her to let it go, and find a job. And here=s how we turned it around for Joanne and this is the same thing that will turn it around for you.

Because Joanne was a great coach, she was a great teacher. And I know a lot of you are good teachers. And teachers tend to stay teach way before they should – like, talk about how great the features of their service or programs are to people they’ve just met.

And Joanne was scared of being salesy, so she retreated into her comfort zone, teaching. She’d say, I’m not only an MBA, I’m a certified NLP practitioner, so when I coach with people I’m able to get into what’s blocking them immediately, and remove the blocks so they go much faster. In fact we do that on the first session. And because I do laser-coaching on unconscious blocks, , my clients get a global vision of their business in the first session, blah blah blah blah blah blah… these are features.

Here Joanne was telling everyone she met how much she could give them, and there is nothing that turns off a prospect faster than features. And the biggest mistake people make is that they use adjectives to make their features sound really cool. Too many adjectives — can actually kill a sale. Joanne ended up several times in tears in the ladies’ room at networking events.

And she realized that all her emails were stuffed with features, which is why she had such a poor open rate. So we actually put a sign on her desk and in her purse that said “No Features.” The only thing she talked about was results. She said, “Clients come to me when their backs are against the wall. Like Tom. By the time he called me, they’d turned off his light bill and he hadn’t had a client in three months. 60 days later, he had 4 new clients, 6 good prospects, and his monthly income had gone from 0 to 16,000.”

She realized what most of us just don’t realize about features—and it sounds stupid, but they’re an addiction, and they’re dangerous. They’re so comfortable, especially for teachers. And they’re like a huge brick wall between you and the clients who really want to work with you. Why are they so dangerous? They’re dangerous because block feeling. 

When you talk about features, you’re asking your clients to think. And they do. But they don’t feel. And if your audience doesn’t feel, nothing happens. No sale happens, no signing happens. Nothing moves. And that’s why it’s so mysterious, that’s why it’s so painful, and that’s why you can’t put your finger on it. People keep asking you – “What do you do?” How do you do that?

And so you tell them. And it’s like handing chocolate to a chocoholic; the addiction kicks in.

“Ooooh, this feels so good, I’m talking about my best features. I’m talking about those degrees I worked so hard to get.” And they disappear. Your audience disappears. Features are such an innocent, tragic mistake that can keep you from thousands of dollars that are just outside your door, they’re waiting. And you’re turning them off.

And it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t have to suffer and neither does your income. Just take the features out of your conversation, and out of most of your copy. And talk about your results instead.

Copyright © Ann Convery 2012

 
 

Filed under Marketing, sales, Sell YOur Product Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What’s a Zinger and How Can it Bring You Faster Money?

November 7, 2011 Leave a comment

Deborah was a business growth coach whose clients raved about her work.

So why was she struggling for business?

“This is humiliating!” she said.  “I’m the growth coach. What am I doing wrong?”

Deborah wasn’t using Zingers.

Deborah was logical, rational, and explained just what she did:

“My clients go from struggling to successful in 12 to 18 months.”

There are no Zingers here.

A Zinger is a little suggestion or phrase that tells your audience you know their pain.

A Zinger tells them:

“I’m here inside your head. I know just how you feel.”

No Zingers, no feeling.

No feeling, no clients.

In order for someone to take action with you,

1. They have to feel the gap between where they are and where they could be
2. You need to allow them to feel this gap, frequently

Where can you find great Zingers? Look at the complaints your clients have.

When Deborah started dropping Zingers such as…

“When I met Jean she was too broke to hire help, and so burned out it was making her sick..”

“When I started with Sue, she just broke down sobbing.  She’d put on 30 lbs since her business started.  Just eating to calm the panic…”

“At first, my client Jo was so deeply in debt she’d stopped looking at her bank statements…”

And then Deborah followed up with where her clients are now…

“When I started with Mary, she was too scared to charge what she was worth, and she couldn’t pay her phone bill.  Now she has two part-time employees and she’s set to break six figures this year.”

A good Zinger:

Suddenly makes you the Trusted Ally, instead of the Salesy Expert

Instantly places you mentally and emotionally close to your prospect

Speeds up the buying cycle, bringing you faster money.

Breaks through dozens of mental and emotional barriers

Surprises your clients because they thought no one knew how they felt inside

Enters the conversation inside their heads and keeps it going

Positions you as the Uber-Guide who knows how to lead them out of the swamp

and MOST IMPORTANT:

Good Zingers make your clients FEEL.

No feeling, no action.

No action, no clients.

Look at the complaints you get from your current clients.

Get every juicy little detail.

Then drop them into your conversation, your tweets, your social media, and your website.

Try it.

It works.

For more nuggets about how to increase your money and client flow, visit me at http://www.annconvery.com

Copyright © Ann Convery 2011

Filed under Entrepreneur PR, Marketing Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why You Should Launch Next Year’s PR Campaign this November

November 4, 2011 Leave a comment

You want the fourth quarter to end on a strong note, which is why it’s so important to launch a media relations campaign for the holidays, but even if your end of year plans are set and you’re looking to launch in a big way for the upcoming year, you need to start your PR and marketing no later than November.

There are a few practical reasons for this. To start, if you’re looking to place stories in any of the national monthly publications, keep in mind they work on a three to four month lead time; which means, at least as far as those media outlets are concerned, you need to pitch them in September or October to have any chance of landing coverage in January. Although other media outlets work on much shorter lead times, you want to place stories during the end of the current year to help build your brand going into the new year. You also want to start pitching in November to get on the media’s radar for New Year-oriented stories. January is going to be filled with stories that have to do with new gadgets, diets, approaches, products, and services that can help people get a fresh start in the new year.

Remember the media is looking for a hook and an angle that works for them, so approach your pitch from their perspective. For example, if you’re an accountant your pitch might be:
5 Insider Tips On How To Start Your New Year Accounting And Bookkeeping On The Right Foot,
or 5 Tips To Prepare For The Upcoming Tax Season

If your in the beauty, fitness or weight loss business, focus on such pitches as
How To Achieve Your Optimum New Look For The New Year


Focus on what makes your business, service or product special. Is there a different approach you use that can help people start the new year right? What problems do you solve? How do you, your product or service differ from others in the field? Maybe you’ve updated or modified your product or service for the New Year. Look at it from all angles; is it smaller, larger, brighter, less expensive, more user friendly, or more effective? How could you present what you do or sell in a way that’s different, offers a story and ties in with the New Year theme?
And don’t forget the most important focus; how does your business or product affect others? How has it helped change people’s lives? What solutions does it offer? Does it make life easier? Does it make people richer, thinner, smarter, faster, or happier? Perhaps you have clients who would be able to tell their story to the media? The most effective PR campaigns are those that tell transformational stories. If by launching an effective public relations campaign you can illustrate how your business has positively affected the life of others, people who see read or hear your story will want to know if you can do the same for them. And your phone will start ringing.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Entrepreneur PR, Marketing, PR Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

From Guest Blogger, Ann Convery–>More Clients Secrets: Take the Sting out of Client Objections Forever

October 17, 2011 Leave a comment

Here’s how to take the sting out of an objection.

(If you like this secret, join us for a lot more – below.)

So…how do you take the sting out of an objection?

Agree with the objection.

When a potential client says,   “I can’t afford your fee,” – it looks like an objection.

It’s not.  It’s really a plea for more help and information.

If your future client says your price is too high, she doesn’t get your value yet.

She doesn’t have enough information to make a decision – so she’s objecting.

Say you’re a business coach. Agree with her.

Tell her, “So, our objective is to make more money in your business at a fee you can afford, right?”

(Always put the transformation you deliver into your question.)

Your future client will say, “Yes, that’s right.”

  1.  This turns the conversation in a positive direction.
  2.  She’s agreeing with you.
  3.  And you can nail down her real concern (she’s afraid she won’t get enough value for her hard-earned money.)

Agreeing with objections is a lot easier than trying to overcome them.

Try it – it works!

Would you like more where that came from? These secrets are unusual. They are rooted in the Unconscious.

And they always work. Because the Unconscious rules you and me.  Work with it and you can get just about anything you want.

Check out our upcoming blog posts on:

  1. Why people’s first unconscious response to you is “NO” and
    what you MUST do to reverse that  “No”… with your first 10 words. 
    (Neglect this and you could be losing half the prospects you’re trying to attract.)
  2. How to show your prospects you’re one of their tribe,
    so they immediately accept you.  (Use this secret and
    your future clients can’t wait to do business with you.)
  3.   How to arouse emotion – unconsciously – using the 5 senses,
    so your prospects want ONLY YOU – without knowing why.
    (This is THE most powerful marketing tool in the world.)
  4.  How to RE-POSITION – not lower – your fees, so you are
    not losing potential clients due to “Old Brain Buying Pain.”
    (Miss this and you could lose clients who “freeze” at your
    fees.)
  5. How to reverse-engineered questions bring in more clients - 
    verbally and online.  (It’s easy and it can make you a lot more money.)
  6. Your Home Page – is it about You or Them?
    (If it’s about You, you could be losing a LOT of customers.)

And More!

These techniques work, this science is new, and I want
you to have more business in the next 3 months.

It may be a new year and a new economy.

But the 450,000 brain hasn’t budged.

Engage it, and you can bring in more business and income within weeks.

Ignore it, and you can butt your head against the wall for another 12 months
and never know why.

Copyright © Ann Convery 2011

Filed under entrepreneur, sales 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 a Successful Small Business Marketing Strategy

August 30, 2011 Leave a comment

Everyday we are bombarded with news about new apps, new social media sites, and the latest online marketing approaches.  It’s easy to get lost trying to keep up with the latest developments.  It’s also dangerous; you can spend your time trying to stay ahead of the information curve, but fall behind when it comes to effectively marketing your company.  Your main focus needs to be on developing a marketing and PR approach that reaches your target market; sells products, brings in clients and grows your business. 

It’s tough to keep focus when you’re bombarded with information; the myriad marketing options available grow on a seemingly daily basis.   Whereas having a number of choices can often be a good thing, in this case that can cause you and your company to come to a virtual standstill, as you spend the bulk of your time struggling to figure out the most effective marketing approaches.

Strategy Tip #1   Remember, you don’t need to do everything.

You simply need to do some homework, experiment a bit, find out what works best for you and focus on what works.  Just because there are a variety of options available that doesn’t mean you need to utilize all of them.  You don’t eat everything on a menu, you pick and chose, do the same when it comes to your marketing strategy.  You can launch a public relations campaign, start a blog, target every social media site, and launch an online video campaign, ezine, email campaign.  You can also run a pay per click campaign and focus on offline marketing efforts.  Those are just some of your options.  If you try to implement all of those options, most of your time will be spent trying to make sense out of the marketing mix.

Strategy Tip #2 Work on one marketing approach at a time or assign different strategies to different employees in your marketing department.

Especially with online marketing, each program takes attention, strategy, and time.  Watch what your marketing department is doing.  Are they on the same page? Are they too scattered? Get feedback and reports, and manage to make sure they are effectively working each approach, one at a time, or in various organized teams.

Strategy Tip #3 Eliminate approaches that are too cumbersome, expensive or don’t speak directly to your audience from your marketing mix.

Go with a less-is-more approach and keep your focus on where you customers or clients truly find their information.

Strategy Tip #4 Begin a basic and effective PR and media relations outreach to offer your company the validation and credibility that comes with being featured in the media. 

Implementing a basic PR campaign can be as simple as writing a press release, and pitching targeted media outlets.  Follow topics that are trending in the media that relate to your area of expertise. Write a one page press release that includes an angle that will serve the media’s needs.  Email pitch and follow-up. Find more details on communicating with and pitching the media here.

Strategy Tip #5 Develop a presence online.

You’re job is to figure out which online direction serves you the best.  Study the various approaches.  You could perhaps benefit from article marketing; perhaps a blog is a good fit, study how you can best utilize social media and what sites work best for you.   Be selective, keep your focus on your market and stay targeted.  Build an individualized promotional campaign that serves your clients and reaches your prospects.  Don’t get lost in the marketing maze.  Stay focused and develop a marketing success formula for your business.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, Marketing Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Small Business PR Success Tips

August 27, 2011 Leave a comment

Brad Pitt’s publicist’s job isn’t to pitch him to the media, but to coordinate media for him.  Brad Pitt commands media because, well, he’s… Brad Pitt.  He’s a star and the media is going to cover him or his new film, whenever he’s willing and ready to talk.  But if John Smith is starring in a new film, that’s a whole different story.  No one knows who John Smith is, except for maybe his friends, family and Twitter followers.  So John has a different job cut out for him, unlike Brad whose main job is figuring out what media interviews he wants to do, John needs to convince the media that it’s worth their while to run a story on him and his film.

As a small business owner you’re in the same position as our friend John.  He has a great film that he can’t wait to promote, you have a great business product or service that you want media coverage for.   And, like John, you’re not Brad Pitt, which means you need to come up with a compelling reason why the media will want to cover you and your story.

The first thing you want to do is figure out what your main stories are.  Reviewing the following check list will give you a good start.

1)  How do you present that in a way that separates you from the competition and makes for a good news story?

2) What makes your story interesting?

3) What is it you do that solves problems?

4) Do you help people lose weight, make money, save time or find a relationship?

5) Do you have a strong local angle you can pitch to your local media?

6) Is there a national story you can tie in to.  Can you discuss or address a story that’s already in the news?

Effective public relations all comes down to effective story telling.  Remember you’re not pitching you or your product, you’re pitching the media outlets a story that will interest their readers, viewers or listeners.  You want to entertain, teach, instruct, or solve problems.  The last thing you want to do is try and sell the media, because the media doesn’t want to be sold.  Media coverage not only reaches your target market it offers you the  validation and credibility that no other form of media can offer, which is why it’s so important that you present the media with a news story and not a sales pitch.

Being a small business doesn’t have to be a PR liability.  It can actually work in your favor if you think creatively and come up with interesting stories that solve problems, educate and inform.  Focus on your strengths.  You don’t need to be Brad Pitt to make it onto the evening news; you just need to learn to be media savvy.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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 , , , , , , , , , , , ,

When Should You Launch A PR Campaign?

August 5, 2011 Leave a comment

If you’re reading this in real time, it’s early August, the talk shows are gearing up and getting ready to start production and the monthly magazines are turning their attention to their holiday issues.  There is no greater time to launch a public relations campaign than now.  But what if you’re reading this in December or early June, should you wait, move forward? What is the best time to launch a PR campaign?

The answer is, it depends on your specific needs.  Unless I’m dealing with a seasonal or holiday oriented product, I seldom decide when to launch by looking at the calendar.  What I focus on are my client’s needs and objectives.  If you have a product, or service that is ready to launch, do it now.

If you’re a larger company and are launching a fashion line or new toy line, your timeline is different, you want to launch in time to hit whatever your primary season is, or your industry’s particular timeline.  But if you’re a newer company, or are launching your first PR campaign, your primary focus should be on establishing your presence.  At this point, forget what the big players are doing, your focus and your intent is different.  If you’re a new clothing line, your PR strategy should not mirror that of Ralph Lauren.  That company is currently on a different trajectory than yours.  It has different goals than yours.  If all goes as planned you could be launching that style of media relations campaign in a few years, but for now focus on your own unique objectives.

That can be confusing, because chances are the feedback you’ll get from others will be based on what other companies are doing.  Remember, right now chances are you’re not competing with Paramount Pictures, Facebook, Harry Winston or Revlon.  You might be playing in the same arena, but you’re playing a different game.  Don’t get steered in the wrong direction.  Chances are you’ll end up wasting quite a lot of time and money.

If you’re launching a new product or service, or are a relatively small company and are doing PR for the first time, your objective is to get yourself on the map.  You want to establish yourself and your company.  With that in mind, unless your product is specifically seasonal or tied to a particular holiday, your focus shouldn’t be on when you’re going to launch your campaign but on whether you have your stories, release, media list, bio, pitches and game plan ready to go.  Your focus should be on starting your campaign now.  The media never stops.  They are always looking for new stories.  So, put the calendar away and get ready to launch.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under business, Marketing, Media, Media Relations, Public Relations Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How PR Can Help Your Small Business To Succeed

June 20, 2011 Leave a comment

Public relations is the most effective and least expensive way to build your brand, grow your business and establish yourself as a go-to expert in your field.  Whether or not you should launch a media relations campaign should not be the question, because the answer to that is a no-brainer; yes you should.  The real question is how are you going to do that? Your best bet is to bring on a firm or media consultant who can chart your marketing course for you and launch your campaign.  But whatever avenue you choose, the following points apply.

Don’t think that a PR, media relations or publicity campaign comes down to spamming the media with press releases and pitches.  The media is inundated with press releases.  They’re not looking for releases; they’re looking for good stories.  Simply sending out a release is not going to do the trick.

Press releases do have other uses now a days.  They are no longer pitches that you simply send to the media.  With blogs, forums, social media and online press release services you can now use your releases to directly reach your customer.  In fact that is probably the biggest value that a press release posted online has for a small company.  Chances are slim that the traditional media will react to an online press release, but it will help with your SEO and it is a direct way for you to reach customers.  One note of warning, do not post a press release on a blog site or forum in a press release format.  You might want to take some of that information and post in it a conversational way.  But posting a standard press release on a blog or social media site will generally backfire on you.  Your best bet is to comment on blogs, forums, social media sites or forums, but don’t pitch your product or service.  Talk about your field in general. Educate, give some tips but don’t try and sell.

When you do decide to give PR a shot, remember you’re not Google or American Express.  Don’t try to impress the media by trying to launch a campaign or a story the way a huge corporation would. For example, unless there is a truly compelling reason, my suggestion is that you stay away from embargoes and exclusives.  Those are only utilized in certain situations and if you don’t understand the process it can end up backfiring on you.  To clarify, an embargo is an agreement with certain media outlets where they agree not to publish or release a story before an agreed upon date and time.  An exclusive is an agreement to give your story to only one media outlet.  There are times these are important arrangements to make with the media, but chances are you’ll rarely run into one.

Remember that the media world has greatly expanded.  Traditional media outlets such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Today Show and CNN still offer you the type of exposure, validation and credibility that no other form of marketing can offer, but that not where PR stops.  Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, Digg, blogs, all of these are now a part of the media landscape and ignore them at your peril.  For example, if your local newspaper runs a story on you or your company, post a link to that story on the various social media sites.  This is a way for you to turn a local story into a national story.  Also utilize the power of YouTube.  Shoot a short video about you, your company or your service.  But don’t make it a sales video.  You’re not trying to run a commercial here; your job is to communicate with your prospective clients and customers.  Make a video where you illustrate how to solve a problem, answer questions, add value to the lives of those who watch the video.  If you’re going to use PR to sell anything, don’t sell your product or service.  Sell your value.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2011

Filed under Marketing, Public Relations, small business Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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