How to DIY PR for your Small or Medium Sized Business
Public Relations is the misunderstood step-sister of marketing that is often overlooked. But in reality, marketing and PR go hand-in-hand. The basic way most people differentiate marketing and PR is that marketing supports sales and revenue through digital or traditional forms of advertising and PR supports the overall brand through media coverage. However, it’s much more than that. With marketing, your business seeks to know your audience whereas with PR you want your audience to know your business and your brand.
But how do you go about handling your business’ PR? It’s much easier than you think! Some PR tactics are simple and obvious once you hear them, but sometimes can be forgotten or not used properly.
Before we dive into how you can DIY your own PR, we wanted to cover the 5 key areas to keep top of mind when thinking of PR for your business.
#1 - KNOW YOUR INDUSTRY & KEEP UP WITH TRENDS
If your business involves dessert, know what’s going on in the dessert world. If it’s make-up, know what’s going on in the beauty world. If it’s yoga, know what’s going on in the fitness world. Simple enough, right?
As a small business, the dealings of bigger corporations may not seem like they’re worth your time, but they are. Learn from the mistakes and successes of others in your industry. Do your research and stay up-to-date with what’s trending and why. Being able to understand what’s happening on a grander scale can help you understand the trends that will eventually trickle down to affect your small business. We all want to stand out and be trendsetters in our respective fields, but you need to understand current trends before being able to set them yourself.
If something is trending, ask yourself WHY? Why do audiences like and follow a certain trend? Once you understand these trends, they can tell you what audiences want from your industry. Take that information to figure out what will make consumers want to know you and your small business. Even if you plan to go against a trend, you need to know it is a trend before going against it. And when trends change, change with it. Evolve your brand as your industry evolves. Because if trends are changing, so is your audience. Don’t be left behind because you’re not aware of what’s going on around you.
#2 - NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK
A huge part of public relations is the relations part of it all. Know the key players in your industry. If you’re wondering how to keep up with your industry, networking is definitely a way to go. Build relationships with people in your field to keep up with your industry in a personal way. Not every business decision is headline worthy, but keeping up with people in your industry allows you to learn even the small decisions being made. It can keep you ahead of trends by knowing what’s about to happen before it even makes news.
No, that doesn’t mean you can steal someone’s thunder by stealing ideas, but you can use the information to prepare you and your own business. If you know something is up-and-coming, boost it. Your business won’t lag behind because you know what’s about to happen. Other people in your industry are not your enemies. Quite the opposite actually. They are your allies so keep them close. Learn from one another and build together.
Don’t stop there, though. Network with influencers, bloggers, and press. Figure out who has influence on your consumer audience and reach out to them. Get to know them, gain their trust and show them why they should choose you. Let them know why they should tell their audiences about you. True publicity is being mentioned in the press, so make yourself newsworthy and put your business out there. And with influencers and bloggers gaining legitimacy in the eyes of consumers, make sure they also know what’s going on so they can share with their audiences as well.
Keep in mind that building these relationships with people takes time. PR is an investment for the future. Don’t expect it to happen instantly. Take your time to build a relationship with people before asking for favors. PR may be free in terms of money, but know there is always a price. Scratch their back and they’ll scratch yours. These are people you want to have when you’re about to launch something new and you want big buzz surrounding it, so keep them in your good graces. Networking isn’t a one time thing. Networking never ends! The more you keep up with these relationships, the more you’ll see how fruitful they can be.
#3 - BE A PART OF THE COMMUNITY
Now guess what! Networking doesn’t stop at industry key players, influencers, bloggers, and press. The most important people to network with are your consumers and audience. It’s the best way for them to get to know you. Remember how we mentioned keeping up with trends earlier? Well lucky for you, it’s currently very trendy to support local and small businesses. Take advantage of that! Bring your business to your community. Participate in community events. Heck, let your business sponsor community events. Show your community that you’re here for them and that you care. Because who doesn’t want to support a business that cares about their community?
Engage with the community so you can build their trust. Let them get to know your business and what you stand for. The more they know and trust you, the more they will choose you. Press is great, but the best PR you can get is word of mouth. People trust their friends more than any ad you place in front of them. Build a brand with a good reputation so that your audience knows and trusts you enough to tell other people. Your consumers basically do the work for you when they spread the word themselves. And of course, you can get direct feedback as well. What parts of your brand really connects with them? What parts of the brand fall short? How can you fix it? Your brand should be something that people want to have in their life. It’s really a win-win situation when you get to connect with your audience while also cultivating a positive brand for your business.
#4 - SHARE YOUR AUTHENTIC STORY
When you network with people you want them to get to know your business and your brand. Your brand should be built to tell a story - your honest and authentic story. Honesty really is the best policy. Consistency is key when building a brand because it allows audiences to easily recognize you. The best way to be consistent is to be honest. Even a tiny lie about your business in your brand can spiral into a tangled web. You can’t be consistent if your constantly dodging lies. So make sure everything you do for your brand is something that you genuinely care for.
For example, when you start participating in community events, don’t just jump into every event possible. Some of those events could stand for opposite views which does not show consistency on what your business supports. So when choosing what to engage in, make sure it is something your business genuinely connects with. Even if it’s not obvious at first, every decision you make should make sense to your audience by building on to your brand. Let all your decisions be a part of your story. People are drawn to things that they not only trust and understand but also to things that intrigue them. Peak human interest by telling a compelling story. You’re constantly pitching yourself, so make sure you know what story you’re telling.
#5 - BE UNIQUE
Last but not least, know your “It Factor.” When you pitch yourself to people, know what sets you apart from the rest. What makes your business special compared to the others? What is unique about your brand that keeps audiences coming back to you? Why should a journalist/influencer/consumer tell people about you? Sharing your story, being a part of the community, networking, and knowing what’s going on does nothing to help you if you don’t know what makes your business unique. Every time you share your authentic story, make sure that you have that special something. Your “it factor’ should be evident in your band, so whatever your “it factor” may be, take it and run with it.
Don’t let PR be overlooked when creating your business plan. Instead, utilize these tactics to work with your marketing strategy. And don’t worry if you don’t see immediate results, you can’t rush things that need time to grow.
If you’re sitting on some big news and are ready to start your PR campaign but don’t know where to start, look no further! We have a step by step guide to get you started on your own PR campaign.
STEP 1: BUILDING YOUR PRESS RELEASE
A press release is an official statement sent to the media sharing information or making an announcement. The basic building blocks to a press release include a catchy headline, dateline, the 5 Ws, boiler plate, and the media contact, . That may sound like a lot if you’re starting from scratch, but don’t worry because we’re here to break it down for you.
Catchy Headline: The catchy headline is exactly what it sounds like - a headline that grabs the attention of your audience. Super simple!
Dateline: The press release should always start with the city and the date when the information is released.
5 Ws: Who? What? Where? When? Why? Make sure your first paragraph answers all these questions in one concise sentence.
After the 5Ws comes the body of a press release. Typically a press release is only one page (2-5 paragraphs). Put the most important details first. All the information in a press release should add value. Keep in mind a journalist knows what’s going on when a publicist reaches out to them. You’re essentially asking for a favor, so make sure you make it easy for them to say yes by giving them all the information they need to craft the article you want.
Boiler Plate: The boiler plate is basically the “About” paragraph. It is the last paragraph of a press release that describes the WHO in your 5 Ws. The boiler plate should include: business/organization name, mission statement, founding dates, company size, and what your business does.
Media Contact: The media contact is the person the media can contact regarding the information or announcement. Be sure to provide the name, email and phone number of whoever that person is.
Now that you’ve built your press release, you are ready to send it out. So it’s time to learn who to send it to and how to get their attention.
STEP 2: FINDING THE BEST CONTACT
This may sound counterproductive but DO NOT PITCH OUTLETS. Yes, you read that correctly. Pitching general outlet emails may be one of the biggest PR mistakes possible. That and sending generic pitches, which we’ll get to shortly. However, the first issue is not knowing who should get the pitch in the first place.
Press outlets typically have a general pitch email that get hundreds of emails and pitches a day. Sending to a general publication’s email is a guaranteed way to get your pitch lost in the shuffle. Don’t waste your time by sending your pitch into the abyss. Instead, focus on specific writers.
Most outlets have writers specifically designated to topics. There are news writers, entertainment writers, health and wellness writers, etc. You shouldn’t be pitching your gardening services to the technology writer. They won’t care and it will make you look sloppy for not doing enough research. It goes back to knowing your industry. When you’re looking to pitch to an outlet, pitch specifically to the writer who covers your topic.
There are many tools out there that can help you find these specific journalists and their contacts. Systems like Muckrack, Cision, and HARO are great resources to connect publicists to journalists. You can search for journalists and their contacts by name, location, outlet, subject, and more. You can broaden and narrow your searches to help find the writer that’s right for you.
Make sure you do your own research as well. When you find a writer you like, read their past articles. See what they like and dislike. If you already have a personal connection with them (that you may have built through networking), that’s even better. Check their following and see what their reach is and how their audience reacts to their opinions. Muckrack, Cision, and HARO can all help you do this, but searching their direct site and social profiles can give you a fuller picture.
STEP 3: CRAFTING THE PERFECT PITCH EMAIL
Now that you know the journalists you are pitching, you’ve avoided a huge PR mistake. Avoid yet another one by sending these journalists personalized email pitches.
Journalists can spot a generic pitch from a mile away. It’s lazy and won’t attract any interest. Instead your pitch should tell them why they should write the article. What in the company news you want to share will stick out to them? Highlight that. Let them know why your news is newsworthy to them and their audience and why they’re the writer that should share it. When you pitch, show the journalist the value and benefits they’ll get from sharing your news. Writers won’t waste their time writing articles they don’t believe in. So make sure you give them a reason to write. And when you do this, do it all in a simple and precise manner.
Press have a lot going on and don’t want to dig through fluff, so get straight to the point in your email pitch. If they want to know more, they can refer to the details you’ve provided in the press release. We’ve already taught you how to build one so don’t let it go to waste! After you write out your pitch, be sure the press release is either embedded in or attached to the email.
STEP 4: FOLLOW UP
Once you hit send on a pitch, the best case scenario would be seeing a beautifully written article sharing your news. So be sure to check the outlets that received pitches. If you don’t see anything about your news, feel free to follow up. Again, press receive hundreds of emails a day. They may love your pitch once they see it, but may have just missed it for one reason or another. Check in and nudge them a little. But don’t send them the same email. Instead, reply on top of your previous email and check to see if they need anything else from you.
If you get a response and it’s a no, that’s also a great thing. This pitch may not have been right for them, but the fact they took the time out to even respond shows they care enough to put energy into you. Take this opportunity to network and start a relationship. You chose that journalist for a reason. Show them what else you have going on and see what they’re up to as well. Knowing why they said no now will help you pitch them better in the future.
Not every pitch you send will land and that’s OK. You can be as diligent in researching and putting together all the information, but once you put that pitch out there and follow up, the ball is in the writer’s court. Build your press contact list. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket and make sure you’re pitching to multiple outlets. As time goes on, you’ll start to see who you should be focusing on in pitches. But at the very least you know what steps to take to get there. So, for now we say: happy pitching!
If you have any questions about PR, don’t hesitate to contact our team.