Some of my friends who work for public relations firms probably won't like this column too much. But in an era where small businesses need to look after every dime they spend, including the dimes they spend on marketing, being able to do some of your own PR work is important.
Marsha Friedman, a 20-year veteran of the public relations business, has some basic tips for businesses to generate their own PR.
Her first tip is for you to find your inner expert. "Think about your business or your profession and zero in on your expertise. Pick the area you know the most about, and focus on that. Do you have a ballpark idea of what that is?"
Next is to surf the Internet to find the pages of the news media outlets in which you'd like your business to be featured. Get the contact information and add it to your database.
Next, read the newspapers to find out if what you are doing is newsworthy or relevant. "If you want their attention, you need to figure out what currently interests them. Specifically look for news stories in your area of expertise or interest," Friedman said. Given the current state of the housing market, the press should be interested in a mortgage originator's message.
The next step is making contact with the media outlet of your choice. Friedman states the press release has "been on life support since 2005, when newspapers first realized that they weren't competing with television or radio as much as they were competing against Internet news portals. Dozens of newspapers and magazines have folded, and hundreds more have scaled back their staff and even their publication size."
If this is the case, what will make your PR effort stand out? Her answer is content. "Most publications are not seeking news, but rather, ready-made content that they can plug directly into their publications, Web sites or both. The key is ensuring that the content you offer is more than just a sales pitch for you or your project," Friedman said.
Her final piece of advice is that PR is a news project, not marketing or a promotional product.
"You want to take who you are, what you do and your primary message and marry it to something already in the news. Think like a news editor and not like an artist, and you'll find something between the lines that will resonate with the media as well as the audience," she declared.
