While advertising usually costs time and money, public relations, or PR, costs time and effort. By building relationships with the local community and journalists, business owners can get exposure for their business, products and services. PR for small businesses also helps build credibility and influences customers.
Aside from customers, any interaction with the public is considered public relations, including journalists, bloggers, local charities, celebrities, Twitterers and even vendors. Here are a few ways to use PR to promote a small business.
PR Prose: Writing Press Releases
Have a new product? Won an award? Those are great reasons to write a press release. A press release is a way to let journalists and reporters know about what's happening with a local business. Generally, press releases follow a template:
- Lead in (the who, what, when, where, how and why)
- Quote from someone (normally the business owner)
- More details about the event, product or item being highlighted
- Boilerplate (this is the one-minute elevator speech about the business producing the press release)
Do-It-Yourself PR: Hold a Media Event
Expanding the business? Opening a new facility? Testing out a new product? If there is something major happening that would benefit multiple members of the media, then a media event is in order. It's important to note that media events are seldom used and when they are, it's for a major announcement. For example, a new sports stadium was recently opened. To create buzz and newsworthiness, a rock band that would hold the first concert in the stadium, the owner of the stadium's home sports team and the person in charge of overseeing construction of the stadium were all present. The photo opportunities and free concert made the event one of a kind.
PR for Small Businesses: Pitch Local Media
By writing a pitch letter (essentially a letter introducing a potential news story to a journalist), business owners can get the town newspaper to write a story about their company. Another option is writing a press release or just calling a reporter and introducing the company, product or service being promoted. Helping reporters understand a business' service, product or mission is key. PR for small businesses is all about building relationships.
Get Involved with the Community
Sponsor the local baseball team, hold a fundraiser or join forces with other local companies for a good cause. Community events and charity work help give small businesses a way to give back. Plus, it shows another side to the business, a caring, giving side. Giving back to the community and local charities helps businesses connect to the community and their customers.
Social Media
From Twitter and Facebook to MySpace and Ning, there are hundreds of different social networks and ways to connect with the public. Learn a few tips to get started. Social media isn't difficult to understand, but it can be overwhelming since there are so many options. Get involved, learn and gradually progress with social media. It's a great way to gain exposure while also interacting with customers, journalists and other community members.
PR is a matter of building a network and leveraging that group to get exposure for a business. Getting started is easy. Just devote some time and energy to reap the rewards.
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