Get Your Business Noticed
Congratulations! You have taken a leap of faith and are about to start your very own business. Determined to follow a successful path, you have done your homework and have ticked all the check list boxes – from company registration, business plan, insurance, website, premises, the lot.
Unfortunately public relations, or PR for short, is not on the list and, unless you are a savvy media person, there will be so much going on while you get your business established, that PR could end up in your ‘wish list’.
The problem is this – if people don’t know about you, they can’t do business with you. And what’s the best way to get noticed by potential clients without having to spend a fortune? Get your PR strategy right, get in the media and voila!
Here are a seven top tips of how you can get started:
1. If you have done your business plan, you should know your market pretty well by now and the people you are trying to influence to buy your products or services. So what you need to do now is to find out which media (newspapers, magazines, radio programmes, blogs, websites) your target audience is attracted to. There is no point in securing an article in the Financial Times if your target audience is more likely to read Cosmopolitan.
2. Once you have a good grasp of what media you will be targetting, get busy reading, listening and watching them as much as you can to get a feel for the tone they use and what type of materials they are interested in.
3. Draw a list of at least 20 media you would like to have yourself or your product/service featured. Although getting exposure in the national media surely is great, remember to include local and trade/niche media, especially if they hit the spot for your target audience.
4. Work on your key messages. At this stage, you are not looking to sell a story just yet – but you need to be clear about what it is your company/products/yourself are all about, so when you pick up the phone, email or meet a journalist, you are sure to seize the opportunity. Good starting points are – what makes your business unique, where your business adds value and your business vision.
5. Getting media coverage is a great way to create a buzz around your business, but journalists are not likely to contact you, unless you have an ongoing relationship with them. The best way to get that started is either to send them a story, which is perfect for their publication or gives them a fresh angle for an ongoing news story, or offer to write an article yourself. Many publications are happy to accept article offers as long as you can show them what you propose is of value to their readers and in line with their editorial guidelines.
6. Once you start contacting key journalists, make sure you keep the relationship going by making regular contact. You can email or phone them, or even invite them for a coffee or lunch. Make sure you understand what they are looking for and find ways to provide them with useful information on a regular basis. Journalists are very busy people, always working against deadlines, so ask them when is a quieter time to call/email. They are not likely to pay you any attention if they are busy finishing an article on press day, for example.
7. Put a PR plan together. If you are not sure you are on the right track, get expert help, either a freelance PR person or a business coach. You may not be in a position to hire a PR agency just yet, but getting an expert opinion may save you a lot of time. A successful PR plan will help you build your business brand and reputation at very little cost which in turn will help you attract more customers. So, if you are serious about your business, get serious about telling the world about it!
Article by Ana Paula Nacif
Youth & Business Coach
