Do You Really Understand PR?

March 27^th 2012 Sally Ormond marketing tips, PR, social media, social media marketing

When you think about PR, do you instantly picture overly-made-up women in expensive designer suits air kissing whilst handing out expensive glossy magazines? Or, perhaps it’s the excessively expensive inches in newspapers and trade magazines that first springs to mind.

Well, to be honest, PR isn’t really about either of those and it doesn’t have to break the bank. In truth, PR doesn’t even have to cost you a penny.

Want to know more?

It’s who you know

PR doesn’t have to be expensive and it can even be free. All you need to do is to get to know people and build a few relationships.

Dealing with the press first, in your industry there is bound to be a magazine or two that you can get in touch with. Chat with the editors, offer an article or two for their publication or e-newsletter. Both of these can be great sources of PR.

Find out what type of thing they’re looking for. If you have a great story tell them about it - if they like it, write it down and send it to them. If you do that, make sure it’s ready and polished, that way the editor will only have to cut and paste it, saving them a lot of work.

Be visible

Whether you like it or not, networking is a great form of PR.

Getting out there by having a stand at an exhibition (OK, that will cost you a bit), or giving a talk to a networking group (that won’t), or even sitting on a committee or two, will boost your exposure, increase your number of contacts and give you access to people who could be useful to you.

Be online

For those who don’t enjoy the face to face side of things, there’s always online networking.

Whether you social network through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ (or, ideally, all of them), a whole new world of contacts can be opened up to you. Get involved with forums and online conversations; blog and give advice; all this could lead to new opportunities for you to promote your business.

Be true to yourself

Virtually, everything you do can be used as a PR angle. If you do something for charity, tell people about it; if you’re launching a new website send out press releases; if you move premises, tell the world. Basically, anything you do can be newsworthy, so use it.

So, there you go. PR really doesn’t have to cost the earth. There’s lots of ways you can raise your own profile without making a huge dent in your bank account.

Tags: marketing tips, PR, social media, social media marketing

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