Take a systematic approach to small business public relations.
PR is a powerful small business marketing tool. By PR, we mean getting positive press mentions about your firm in local, trade and national publications.
These mentions are so powerful because they are seen to come from unbiased 3rd parties. So, they are more believable. People may think ad messages are just sales hype, but when they read about how great you are in the local business journal…well, it must be true.
A lot of people think that gaining positive PR is luck. No! It’s the result of a systematic commitment to generating media coverage.
The hardest part is getting the PR machine rolling. Once you get coverage, it just keeps on coming. The more coverage you get, the more the press will keep coming back to you.
Here’s our step by step system for generating positive press coverage.
Step 1 – Build relationships before you ask for the order! Target your media sources, including a growing list of Internet based media and news resources. Start networking with these media targets today by requesting editorial calendars, sending industry information, commenting on stories they write, passing on surveys and data, inviting them to workshops.
Tip: Network with the advertising sales folks at the publications too, they will give you lots of good information about who does what and where in the course of trying to sell you an ad.
Step 2 – Create three or four central media themes for the year that support your core marketing message.
Step 3 – Create a list of ten to twelve minor, but interesting, marketing related themes for ongoing PR. You need to fill in with volume while you are working on the front page feature.
Step 4 – Create a PR calendar and assign a PR theme and goal for each month. Focus on one publication or one writer and you will be amazed at how much you can accomplish. Remember to target editorial calendars (Publications will often assign themes to a month. Match your pitch to their theme.)
Step 5 – Write a fully developed pitch (start with our sample Media Pitch Letter below) for each of your major themes – A pitch is a story idea that you can “pitch” to a member of the media. This is not a press release, but more of a sales job. Wrap your story idea around a news angle or trend and package the pitch to interest the readers of a specific publication you are pitching. You can change and repackage your pitches as needed. These are reserved for your central media themes.
Step 6 – Formulate one page press releases (Send for the free Press Release Creator we talk about at the end of the article) with catchy headlines for each of your minor themes.
Step 7 – Once a month, target your core media list and distribute a press release or pitch for a major theme. Post all press releases on a national wire service such as PRWeb and send copies of your press releases to clients and prospects. Don’t forget op-eds and letters to the editor.
Step 8 – Follow-up with your core media list by telephone and offer some new piece of news or trend angle that you did not include in your pitch or press release.
Step 9 – Track media coverage in local and trade press, set-up Google Alerts for a number of key related terms and reprint for marketing purposes any media coverage received.
Step 10 – Send handwritten thank you notes (or t-shirts) to members of the media to thank them for an interview or mention.
Are you starting to get a glimpse of how combining advertising, PR and referrals can build momentum and create marketing energy? Try it and see the results.
Sample Media Pitch Letter
(Insert Date)
Dear (Insert Name of Media Representative/ Reporter):
(Intro – state the problem) Heart disease is the #1 killer of Canadian women. Unfortunately, only 57 percent of women know that heart disease is their leading cause of death and most fail to make the connection between its risk factors and their personal risk of developing heart disease.
(The “ask” – what you want them to do )In conjunction with The Heart Truth, a nationwide campaign raising awareness about women and heart disease, (insert Organization name) is asking you to consider producing a three-part series on women’s heart health. Your broadcast will send a clear message and go a long way in raising awareness and prompting action among your viewers.
(Summary – details about the story content) The requested series could explore the following themes:
Part I: The Problem—An overview of the impact of heart disease on women
Part II: The Risk Factors—A look at heart disease risk factors and how they affect women
Part III: The Solution—A practical action plan women can follow to find out their heart disease risk and steps to lower it
(More detail) The Heart Truth features a Red Dress as the national symbol for women and heart disease awareness. What’s a Red Dress got to do with it? A simple Red Dress works as a visual red alert to get the message heard loud and clear: “Heart Disease Doesn’t Care What You Wear—It’s the #1 Killer of Women.” To help enhance this message, broadcasters could wear red or wear the Red Dress Pin to complement the series. We can also help coordinate interviews with local female heart attack survivors and local experts on women and heart disease.
(Conclusion) We urge you to embrace this issue and help us alert women to The Heart Truth. Media coverage has proven to help raise awareness among its audiences and motivate change. Please consider including a series on women’s heart health to your news programming to raise awareness about this critical issue.
(Contact information) For more information on The Heart Truth campaign and to view the Red Dress Pin, visit http://www.thehearttruth.ca/the_campaign/
Please contact (insert contact name and information) to discuss the proposed series. Thank you in advance for your consideration.
Sincerely,
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