The mistake many small business owners make is assume that their marketing strategies cover the public relations end of the business as well yet while the two can be combined into a single department to reduce overhead costs, each requires its own strategies.
Public relation is concerned with connecting a company�s image and brand with the general public (not necessarily target customers) and building its reputation while marketing targets specific population segments with the goal of generating revenue for the company. The two need to work hand in hand but with different strategies for the best results.
As an entrepreneur, you want your business to appear in newspapers, TV, social media feeds and blogs in a way that�s is not direct advertising. You want the public to talk about your brand. That�s PR!
With ad avoidance becoming a problem for many businesses, public relations is the way to promote and grow your businesses. People love stories and you should take advantage of this to influence the public through stories in the right channels. This is what public relations is all about: using stories to influence people�s perceptions. You need PR to connect with the masses.
Below are a number of public relations strategies for your small business.
Hire a PR firm
You save quite a lot in salaries by hiring a PR firm to help your business instead of having an in-house team. If you are a small company then you want to your operational costs to a minimum as you work on building and growing your business.
By hiring a Pr Marketer, you actually get a bargain since you get the best professionals with the richest networks in the business for a fee. They will assess your company�s needs, put in place the suitable strategies and use their connections in the industries to place your stories in the channels with the customers that would be interested in your products.
They will write your stories in a way that are compelling and appropriate to several media like print and TV.
Have a blog
It�s 2018 and your company should have a website. If you don�t have a website already, have one developed as soon as possible. There are millions of people on the internet and for sure, your business would want to tap into this segment. A website gives your company an online presence and with a few content marketing strategies can even grow your brand and boost your sales.
Have a blog section on your company website where you handle FAQ, product review and write market-related articles. This is one way of connecting with your customers.
Press release
As the name suggests, a press release is a story or information about your company that is specifically targeted at the media. You can have your in-house team or the PR agency do the story.
If you have built a good brand online then you simply publish the story on your website and social media platforms and mainstream media will pick it up.
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