A good PR strategy can be critical to the success of your business. Unlike marketing, which is focused on the specific promotion of the company’s products or services, PR is primarily focused on direct communication with the public.
PR helps with the promotion of a business by communicating relevant information about its operations to the media. Above all, it creates a positive public image and establishes a relationship with targeted media outlets and audiences.
What you need to know about PR
PR is the art of persuasion. A PR team’s goal is to build mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their audience.
That’s not to say you always need a PR team behind you to gain coverage. Sometimes it might just take you, the plucky business owner, to submit a newsworthy pitch to a local media outlet instead. In this post, I’ll explore a few points to be aware of if you do so.
If you’ve got a compelling story, PR can provide major bang for your buck with earned media coverage rather than a big advertising spend. It also lends third-party credibility.
When Brian Scudamore started 1-800-GOT-JUNK? with a $700 investment in an old pickup truck in 1989, it was supposed to be a quick gig to help pay for college. That all changed when Brian got his first taste of free publicity.
Brian contacted the Vancouver Province, a local newspaper, and told them he was a 19-year-old high-school dropout who was revolutionizing and professionalizing the junk removal business. The next day, Brian’s story was published on the paper’s front page.
The subsequent number of calls he received made him realize there was an opportunity to grow quickly using the power of PR. It also resulted in Brian giving up his schooling to focus on his junk business full-time – he realized he was learning more running a business than studying business at school.
How to use PR in your business growth strategy
When you‘re marketing your new business, it’s important to include PR in your company’s growth strategy. PR helps you market your business in the following ways:
- It boosts awareness: PR creates general awareness for your product, service or brand and lets people know you exist. Plus, it can help increase your website’s rank in search engines so people can find your business readily.
- It attracts employees: By having media highlight your company’s values and talk about how you are an industry leader, you will appeal to qualified individuals who wish to be employed by a company that’s going places.
- It entices new customers: When your brand or service receives positive press coverage, your brand gains credibility among customers, influencing them to choose your products or services over your competitors’.
(flashback to 1991, CEO and Founder, Brian Scudamore talks to BCTV News about his new business in the garbage disposal and garbage collection industry)
How to create newsworthy stories for PR
Great stories stick. They’re not only easy for us to remember, but they can alter how we view the world. To make sure your story resonates with the public, it’s imperative you develop your angle.
Ask yourself: why are you different, special or interesting? Why should people care about your company?
Answering those questions is essential to a successful story or pitch.
When Brian landed his cover story on the Vancouver Province, it was because the reporter got hooked on the ‘high school dropout’ angle. If he hadn’t found a way to stand out from the crowd, the journalist probably would have sent Brian straight to the paid advertising department.
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