If you are a startup founder, you probably know that your company's image is one of the most important things about it. It helps determine what others think about you and your business, and can have a huge impact on how well you are able to sell products and services. This is why it is essential to have professional public relations (PR) done for you by professionals. Public relations can help project a favorable image to your target audience in order to make sales easier or even ensure they happen at all. So, how do you get the media to pay attention to you? Whether you decide to go in-house or hire out, here are some tips for getting your company in the press:
Get a Strong PR Team
No one wants to do grunt work, but when trying to grow a business and get press coverage for it, extra time is nonexistent. Journalists are constantly on the go and working hard to get stories written. So in order to be successful with getting your news out there and into their hands, a strong PR team is needed. Working together, they will be in charge of knowing which writers or editors should be covering what topics, where they could submit your article, how long it should be, how often you plan on sending them new information, and staying on top of deadlines.
Be Consistent
Trying to get free press attention on your own is like trying to win the lottery — you might do it, but it's not something you can count on. If you want to be in a position where you're getting regular coverage, you need to be consistent. The most effective marketing campaigns involve building a long-term relationship with your customers and building trust before trying to make a large sale or pitch anything to them. This is what you need to do when trying to secure media coverage for your business as well.
Network with Journalists
If you are a startup, or you are a solopreneur or freelancer, or if you are in any other business that isn't well-known yet, then you need to network with journalists if you want press coverage. PR isn't rocket science—it is just a matter of getting to know the right people and convincing them your story is worth telling. Trouble is, most people make the mistake of pitching journalists from a place of desperation, which always puts them at a disadvantage. To get ahead of your competition and get the attention of journalists who can help you promote your business, you have to be proactive instead of reactive.
Tailor Your Pitch
Getting media attention for your company can be tricky. You need a good hook and a compelling story to get the press' attention, and then you have to convince them that your story is worth covering. A press release should be tailored to the publication you are sending it to. The editor will decide in seconds whether the release is relevant and newsworthy, so make sure you have done your homework before sending it out. This doesn't mean you have to change the content of the release much — it just means tailoring it to each publication's particular style guidelines. You will also need to include contact information and any other important information such as patent numbers or links to images of your product. If you are looking for coverage outside of your local area, do some research first on similar inventions or businesses in that industry. What is different about yours? What makes yours newsworthy?
Be Available
It is no secret that journalists work on tight deadlines. They need to file their stories on time and adhere to the publication's style and tone. Sometimes, this means any additional information they are seeking must be provided within a few hours or even minutes. This doesn't mean that you should answer every phone call or respond to every email immediately. It does mean, however, that if you are asked to provide something for an article, it is for a reason — one which is important enough for the journalist to represent your company in the best possible light. You might feel like you are getting pulled in a million different directions, but PR professionals do their homework before contacting you. They rely on you as much as you rely on them, so being available when they need you can make all the difference.
Make PR a Priority
One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make when they want to get press is not making public relations a priority. Public relations is an important part of any business. If you want to get your products and services the attention they deserve, you need to work on gaining good PR. You cannot just hope that people will find out about your company and its offerings. Nor can you rely on marketing alone to do the job. Hiring an agency like our team at Crowned Marketing & Communications will allow you to leverage the best results.
The best PR combines a number of different elements — press releases, media outreach, and more. If done right, PR can generate media coverage that brings new customers your way, increases brand awareness, and drives sales. Reaching out to the media isn't always easy, though. If you don't know what you're doing, you could end up getting a reputation as someone who doesn't understand how to do business the right way. That's why PR is such an important skill for any small business owner.