Our world is now extremely transparent, which has meant that the need for good PR has never been more important for businesses. We live in a world of ‘public relationships’ so having a robust PR strategy in place to develop, maintain and protect your company’s brand should be a fundamental element of your overall business plan.
In this blog, Hertfordshire PR agency, Blackbird, offers a number of top tips to company owners and marketing professionals, to help them get the most value from their PR activity.
- Objective
What does your business want to achieve? It’s important to understand your market and where the influencers are. Communication needs to be focused so it’s not a waste of time and resources. Most businesses want to get noticed and most owners appreciate that more attention equals more sales. But before you start sending messages out there, you need a strategy that considers your business objectives.
- So what?
Relevance and context is absolutely crucial. What might be a major development for your company might be of little interest to everyone else. Saying “We’ve launched a new widget” is not going to excite a journalist. However, framing the narrative so that it’s relevant to readers, particularly if it solves a problem, is so much more powerful. For example, “UK designed widget will put an end to leaves on the line for rail travellers” is more likely to grab the attention of journalists. Your external news needs to overcome the ‘So what?’ question. More than 90% of material issued to journalists will never see the light of day. Make sure that your company news is not one that gets ‘spiked’ or discarded, through lack of relevance to the intended audience.
- The art of storytelling
Think originality, brevity and clarity. Getting the angle right is a fundamental pillar to a successful news release. Always consider the audience when creating a headline. Keep the content snappy and avoid ‘management’ clichés. Rather than try and pad out text, keep it short and meaningful so that every sentence counts. Always read it aloud or to someone in the office to check that it is easily understood. By the same token, if there’s no news, there shouldn’t be a press release. Lots of companies make the mistake of issuing a statement, thinking that it keeps them relevant. Those companies quickly lose credibility with journalists because they make noise for the sake of making noise.
- Timing
Before releasing news, consider what else might be going on in your sector. Has a competitor just stolen your thunder? Is there a tradeshow coming up that you’re exhibiting at? Does your announcement have seasonal relevance? For example, launching a range of new items for Christmas at the beginning of December is not going to win you any friends with media titles that have long lead-in times. Make your pitch well in advance.
- Targeting
Just as relevance of content is crucial, so is relevance of contact. The bane of a journalist’s life is being sent material that does not apply to their audience. Always research your target market thoroughly. Find out the key media channels in your sector and who the news editor is. Most publications have a free media pack online, which shows the demographic of their readership. Focus your efforts on outlets most closely aligned to your target market rather than taking a scattergun approach. This will boost your credibility significantly if you can position your business as the ‘go to’ company for comment.
- Piggyback
If your business works with larger ones, consider joining forces when developing news to increase your share of voice. Whether you are the latest supplier to join their roster or you are offering a reciprocal discount to each other’s customers, sharing resources and contacts can boost exposure. However, make sure not to duplicate the story.
- Earn recognition
Another means of increasing awareness with limited effort is by entering industry awards. There are a number of websites that offer lists, such as The Awards Agency. Very often free to enter, being shortlisted or winning generates plenty of free publicity and also provides an excellent networking opportunity and flag waving exercise, whatever the outcome. Blackbird is also an award-winning agency!
- Be professional
Always be mindful of brand reputation. Never admonish a customer or competitor in the public domain. It’s acceptable to disagree and stand your ground, however. Maintaining professionalism and courtesy in all situations creates the perception of control and authority. Always aim to take a difficult situation offline quickly. Remember that good news travels fast but bad news travels even faster.
- Be persistent
PR is not a quick fix. It’s a slow burn process, sometimes punctuated by specific short-term projects related to an event or product launch. Developing awareness takes time and it’s important to stay the course and keep generating meaningful, appropriate content. Silence is most certainly not golden when it comes to PR. Equally, don’t bombard your market with messages as this will simply switch people off. Aim to achieve exposure with every piece of news. Remember too that a press release is not always required to generate exposure. A well constructed pitch is just as effective. A press release is a useful tool but the news agenda is governed by media relations activity.
- Network
Identify and connect with key stakeholders on Twitter and if possible, contribute to their activity and start a dialogue. Build confidence in your brand. When you approach a journalist with a potential PR opportunity, you’re much more likely to get a positive response. Also consider targeted offline networking as a means of creating awareness. You never know who you’ll meet.
In summary, good PR takes time to develop and everyone is time poor these days. Consider the value that you are adding to the business by doing it in-house. Is it taking your attention from other areas? Writing well takes time. Writing succinctly takes even more time. French philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal famously wrote, “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.” If you’re going to spend the time to develop a press release, give it the time it needs to be crafted meaningfully.
Outsourcing public relations activity is a solution for businesses that do not have an internal resource. Think of it as an investment in your brand. It’s our job as a Hertfordshire PR agency specialising in a number of industry SECTORS to tell a client’s story and add value by boosting awareness and engagement.
Remember that PR stands for public relations, not press release.
CONTACT US FOR A DISCOVERY CALL.
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