By Evan Vitale
There are many ways you can put your business in the local, regional or national spotlight by utilizing public relations techniques and strategies.
What are public relations (also known as “PR”) and can it really help my business?
PR is the process by which you build more positive awareness of your company. This can be through television, radio, newspapers or even writing guest articles and blog posts for other websites. Don’t let anyone tell you PR is dead. In most cases, small businesses don’t take advantage of many PR opportunities and some companies totally miss great changes to put their business in the spotlight.
For example, a friend of mine had a client who owned a heating and cooling company. Since local area was expecting record-setting frigid temperatures, he called the local television stations and suggested a piece on how home owners could stay warm and make sure their furnace ran properly during the cold weather. The TV station came to his location; filmed an interview and it was broadcast on the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. news. Immediate PR.
No matter the size of your business, local media outlets are starving for news, features and human interest stories. All have experienced staff downsizing and now rely on reader-submitted content and ideas for stories.
One of the best ways to establish your firm through public relations is to being compiling a list of local writers, broadcasters and televisions reporters. Contact them. Introduce yourself and tell them a little bit about a possible story idea. They are not interested in how great your company is or how awesome your products are. Instead, they want to know tips, techniques and other things of interest that can impact their viewers (i.e., saving money, staying healthy, upcoming events, etc.).
It might take a little while for you to get some media attention, but continue to submit ideas and keep your contact list up-to-date on your business and your industry.
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