For small companies without a large marketing budget, implementing PR (public relations) campaigns is always an effective method both financially and in terms of market exploration and promoting the company's brand.
But few business owners know how to approach the media, what to look for to highlight current business activities and whether to hire a PR firm. Georgette Pascale, President of Pascale Communications, a well-known communications consultancy, has PR advice for small businesses.
Want too much
The main problem with small companies trying to do PR, says Georgette Pascale, is that they want too much. They want their business to be featured in The New York Times or on popular TV shows.
Georgette Pascale advises small business owners to be clear about their goals and their customers. “I have a small business with 12 employees, and I understand that, like me, other small businesses often don’t have the budget to do things like this,” she says.
The difference between PR and advertising
In advertising, you spend money to get messages out to the public that you want and can control. PR means getting stories written about your company in newspapers, books, television, and other media.
PR is an informative message about your company, but you don't have complete control over its content.
Small businesses should consider adding PR to their marketing plan.
Consumers are becoming more sophisticated. They are exposed to many different advertisements every day. New companies, on average, are launching thousands of advertisements every day and getting almost no meaningful response, says Georgette Pascale.
But when customers read articles in the press, they take the information more seriously than regular advertising, especially when your company is positively reviewed by an objective third party—a former customer or a reputable expert—in the article about your company.
This gives you credibility. It’s great when the publicity doesn’t come directly from you and you don’t have to pay for it. A PR firm might only cost you a few hundred dollars a month, but that’s a world away from spending $150,000 on an ad in the New York Times.
Do your own PR campaign
Small businesses should consider PR when word of mouth about their products or services fades, says Georgette Pascale. You may get some media attention when you start your business, but your first customers will likely come from referrals from friends, family, or colleagues.
But ultimately this method is not an endless source of generating customers, and you will need new ways to attract new customers.
Business owners can come up with their own PR messages for each media outlet to introduce their company or engage a few individuals with experience and knowledge in the PR field.
Typically, you will get better results this way because experienced individuals know how to approach the media and deliver more effective PR messages. Contacting large PR firms is completely unnecessary as it will cost you a lot of money.
Start a guerrilla PR campaign
You can start a PR campaign by sending articles introducing the successes and special, attractive features of your company's products/services to local newspapers and TV stations. And after reaching out to editors and journalists, you need to emphasize the differences in your products/services with local competitors.
Once you have gained local publicity, the next step is to reach out to media outlets in surrounding areas – as these are likely to be the most likely sources of potential customers for your products/services.
Your company’s credibility will be multiplied exponentially if you have multiple articles in different newspapers and magazines. And the more articles written about you, the faster you will be on radio, television, the Internet, and even online news. That also means more opportunities for your information to reach your potential customers.
Build a list of useful media
Small business owners need to put together a company incorporation statement, a brief history of the company, and some other information about the business. Design them in electronic form with your company logo, then email them to the media you want to target.
You can find personal information by going to media websites and finding out who covers your industry or who covers small businesses. You can then forward information about your company directly to their email address.
If you cannot find the email address information from these websites, do not hesitate to call the newspaper or radio station headquarters and ask for more specific information.
Pay attention to specialized media
After all, every goal you aim for has the common goal of helping you identify exactly who your customers are and what their characteristics are. One of the PR tools that you cannot ignore is specialized media.
If your customers are insurance companies or individuals, they will read brochures, newspapers, magazines and websites sponsored by major insurance industry trade groups.
Specialized media are like little gems that are overlooked by many, but are actually incredibly powerful if you know how to use them.
Proper structure of promotional information about the company
Georgette Pascale advises that before you write anything, put yourself in the reader's shoes and ask yourself: Would they want to read it? Is it interesting? Does it attract attention? Does it create a pleasant atmosphere? Does it show originality?
Only include the most valuable information about your company in the newspaper and to a certain extent, just enough for the reader to recognize and understand. Do not cram too much unnecessary information because it will confuse the reader's ability to perceive and evaluate.
And one rule you need to pay attention to is that any PR information sent out should go to the right editor or the right journalists. You should also pay attention to what content they regularly mention.
This job is not too difficult because of the benefits brought by the strong development of Internet technology. You can completely read the articles that they have written before. At the same time, ask yourself: Does the message you give really attract the interest and attention of the customers you are aiming for?
Another idea in PR is to promote yourself by using a professional writer in the press or an expert in your industry. Especially in the business media, they are always looking for free informational content from real experts.
Your expertise in a certain business field combined with your writing skills will be a great thing, if not you can hire a professional journalist to write useful ideas for you, that is an effective formula to help your name and company quickly appear in newspapers and other media.
Finally, if you have a strong passion for business, know how to express it in your messages or PR campaigns to increase their appeal and effectiveness.
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