Bill Gates (supposedly) once said: “If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.”
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Publicity can help you reach a new audience of people and attract new leads for your business.
Ever wonder how companies land media placements on major publications, podcasts and television programs when they only have a limited amount of marketing dollars?
Happily, there are a myriad of ways you can get optimum publicity completely on your own…
Defining your purpose for the right placement
Before we pitch ourselves to The Today Show, we need to be clear on the reasons why we’re implementing a PR strategy for our business in the first place. Ask yourself the following questions:
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What are your overall goals for the next six months to a year?
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How do media placements support these goals?
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What do you want to accomplish by investing time into going after publicity?
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What products, services or programs are you looking to get more eyes on?
Answering these queries helps you hone in on why you would spend time sourcing media opportunities. If the reason isn’t in support of your strategy, it might not make sense to invest your time and energy into seeking publicity for your business.
Related: Is It Time to Hibernate or Accelerate Your PR Efforts?
Identify your key messaging
Messaging is key when it comes to implementing a plan.
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What are the topics that you are an expert on or can speak about?
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What makes your story newsworthy?
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Why should people care about what you’re pitching?
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How does your messaging relate to what’s currently happening in the world?
A well thought out plan keeps two things in mind at all times: relevance and timeliness.
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Your message needs to relate to the outlets you are pitching and they also need to be topical.
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Look to see what’s being reported by the media and the outlets you want to pursue. What are they talking about? What’s missing? How can you serve their audience with what you can talk about?
Find the right places to pitch
One of journalists’ top pet peeves is getting pitched content that is not relevant to their beat. You need to find the right places to pitch your message to.
Do some research on your target audience and see what podcasts they listen to, what publications they read and what shows they watch.
Knowledge is power and knowing exactly where your ideal audience spends their time will help you improve your success rate with outreach.
Related: 3 Reasons to Prioritize PR Over the Holiday Season
Put it into your calendar
All of the above is great but if you aren’t actually implementing the plan you won’t get anywhere.
Outreach to the media does take time but even just spending a couple of hours a week pitching yourself for opportunities, following up when you haven’t heard back (but not too much!), and building real relationships with reporters and producers will significantly help you in achieving a high success rate with your strategy.
Related: Why PR Is Fundamental in Scaling Your Business Rapidly
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