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PR - Secrets Behind A Successful Business
All of us would agree that investing in creating a strong, credible image for our business is a worthwhile endeavor. We also know that long-term, business-building advertising and marketing activities are absolutely necessary for sustaining the effectiveness of our businesses. Many of us are not, however, aware that our secret weapon in this war for "share of mind" is public relations. And, that's due to the fact that public relations are more effective in changing public attitudes about businesses and products than advertising. It is easier for the public to believe messages if it's coming from an independent third party than if you are shouting it in an ad. Today, we are forced to think of new unconventional ways of reaching our audiences -- PR is one of the ways.
A skilled public relations program can help to extend the reach of your message and deliver it cost effectively and with a high-level of credibility. Any business can benefit from a strategic public relations program that builds stronger/closer ties with current customers as well as reaches potential new customers to generate trial and repeat purchase. History has shown that a well known, established business or product has incredible power with consumers and a much higher resale and share value.
The first step for you is to establish your company's position -- it's place in the market. Then create a specific image and immediate association for your business and products. Define a single hot button with the greatest relevance and importance to current and potential customers. For you it may be the pride a person feels when using your business or products or the feeling that they are helping the community by doing business with a company that is committed to their neighborhood or town. Communicating these emotional dimensions of a company helps to distinguish it from the competition, develop a personal relationship with your public, and create a warm connection with your business.
Keep in mind that to truly benefit more from public relations you must utilize it as a long-term strategic tool. Businesses are too often surprised by a competition's opening of a new business in their area or some unexpected crisis. Then and only then do they begin to think about public relations. Managers and owners will start to voice their concerns, "We have a major problem on our hands...We must send out a press release...Call the newspapers...Do something!" But it's too late. Public relations is not a quick fix panacea. It's a serious marketing tool. The time to plan was six months before the new bagel shop came to town, the environmental protection agency began its review of your manufacturing methods, or construction was started on the street in front of your shop.
Planning has begun to play an important role in all facets of business, including public relations. And, it is certainly not coincidental that it is happening at a time when public relations is being used more and more as the main tool to help to grow companies, reputations, and bottom lines. Public relations is there to keep you from floundering in a sea of adverse public opinion and to help reposition ailing companies, battered around by a demanding or disinterested public.
This systematic approach to public relations deserves special treatment. Learn to anticipate the company's future -- whether or not you want to sell, or how your company, product or service is positioned, define potential problems, and adopt a strategy to evaluate customer feedback that will put you on the road to a more successful and profitable business.
By itself, a systematic approach to public relations doesn't insure a successful program, but certainly the technique forces you to identify your goals, expectations, and express them in a clear and succinct manner. You need to utilize the tools of public relations -- the press release, interview, and feature article -- and understand what it means to create newsworthy issues and events.
Keep in mind, that there is a world of difference between the advertising message and public relations. To confuse the two is a tremendous mistake. In public relations you look for an element in the business, its product, or its users that has legitimate news value. The advertising writer on the other hand, does not concern themselves so much with news but concentrates on creating a message that will produce maximum interest and will compete successfully with other print ads or commercials.
Here's a look at some of the most common tools used by public relations specialists:
MEDIA KITS: Because a firm public relations foundation has not been laid for most companies, it is in their best interest to first introduce the business to the press. You should create a kit of Media friendly information, which will be used as the primary vehicle to carry your story and information on your company, products, or services. The intent of the kit is to provide a broad array of media with all of the information they will need to develop stories about the business, the market and other related topics that they might deem newsworthy. It is one of the key vehicles used in public relations to convey the desired positioning and company image. Include a company backgrounder that gives the editor or reporter all the information about the business: when it was established, senior management/owners, your product or service, dollar volume/market share, location, etc.
PRESS RELEASES: Just as the corporate background kit is the focal point for expanded coverage of a company and its products, news is the result of the distribution of standard press releases and captioned photography. These are the year-in-year-out foundation for keeping editors informed and generating ongoing media coverage. Informational press releases should be distributed to all appropriate media on an ongoing basis.
MEDIA PITCH LETTERS: Media pitch letters are critical tools for generating interest among the media on specific topics. In the public relations business, it is the preferred and accepted form of initial communication with media to advance story ideas to them in a clear and concise format. Each letter should be targeted to select media with specific, unique story angles. Each should provide the media with enough information to have the basic outline and structure of a story that will be meaningful to their readers/viewers. Part of the sell of a media pitch letter is to successfully demonstrate to the media that the story idea is of interest to their audience.
COMMUNICATING WITH THE TRADE: If press in your specific trade publications would have a short or long term benefit for your company, you should concentrate some effort on providing these publications with materials. Trade publications have an insatiable appetite for good editorial material. They are generally delighted to receive and use good materials that will appeal to their readers, even when they are commercial in nature. The time and effort required to prepare releases or feature articles, or to assist the publication in preparing them, are well spent because they represent an extremely effective method of communicating not only with the industry but also with people who may be interested in purchasing your company if you decide to sell it. It's also important to remember that the third party endorsement inherent in editorial coverage lends credibility to your business.
COMPANY SPOKESPERSON: Identify a company spokesperson for use to expand your coverage into the broadcast media. One of the core ingredients to a successful broadcast media placement effort is a quotable, media-savvy person to act as a company spokesperson. The spokesperson is available to present an expert point of view to the press for interviews and guest appearances. If executed properly, a well-planned public relations effort will yield exceptional results and also make doing business a lot more enjoyable
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