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Using Public Relations to Market Your Business Startup
by K. MacKillop
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Starting a Business

More Details about Starting a Business here.

Marketing a startup is one of the biggest struggles for any entrepreneur. You need to increase sales and grow your customer base, but effective advertising is expensive. While the internet provides significant opportunities for low-cost and no-cost marketing, many business owners overlook the value in establishing an in-house public relations system.

What is Public Relations?

Public relations encompass the work that needs to be done to get your company in the news. The efforts should include building relationships with appropriate news editors, writing effective press releases, and planning how to best use press relations to enhance your marketing plan. Of course, it is possible to hire a PR firm to do this work for you, but they can be expensive and do not have the same stake in seeing your venture succeed as you do. In addition, a PR firm will have to be taught about your company -- what you do, how you do it, what will be newsworthy, and who should be targeted. You will be charged for the hours it takes to get them up to speed. A better entrepreneurial option is to teach yourself all you can about effective public relations, then assign the tasks to your key employees as you grow.

Planning PR

The primary objective of public relations is to expose more potential customers to your company and product(s). You may have a secondary objective of exposing potential investors to your company, as well. Thus, your first step is to define what is and will be newsworthy about your business. Sending out sporadic press releases is far less effective than developing a steady stream of publicity. The editors who review hundreds of press releases per day are more likely to notice yours and hopefully become interested in your progress if they see your company name on a regular basis.

News events are fairly easy to come by with a startup. Consider planning press releases for:

- What your business will do

- Who will benefit from your product or service (consider seeking "testers")

- Securing investors or financing

- Business launch or grand opening

- New product releases

- New contracts awarded (with your client's permission, of course)

- Staff changes and additions

- Website content additions, especially freebies

- Events you sponsor or co-sponsor

Once your business is launched, every milestone that you noted in your business planning is an opportunity for a press release. Be creative and stay on top of the process. Interesting news is important, but consistency is critical.

Meet the Press

The best planned PR campaign is only as effective as who it reaches. Do your due diligence in finding the right news sources to reach your potential customers. Most newspapers and television stations have editors dedicated to business news. Find out who they are and make an effort to get to know them. Let them know that, as an expert in whatever it is you do, you are more than happy to provide information on your business, industry, target market, or whatever else they need. One great way to meet members of the press (local, anyway) is through networking events. If there is an important guest or popular speaker, chances are the beat reporter will be there. While everyone else is clamoring to make contact with the star, take that opportunity to get to know the reporter.

Building a good relationship with the right members of the press is invaluable. If they can count on you to provide informative and interesting quotes or sound bites, you will not only build your reputation as the expert in your field, but your company will garner free advertising every time you are used as a source.

Finding the right outlets, and knowing their editorial schedules, is critical. Don't just randomly send out press releases, but do your homework so you know they are going to the right person at the right publication. Most magazines have a three-month advance requirement, meaning articles they write today will not be published for three months. Local newspapers and magazines tend to have much shorter news cycles. Keep this in mind when setting up your public relations marketing plan. Select the media outlets that are likely to meet your objectives. Whatever your target market reads, that's where you want to be. Gather all the editorial information you can about these sources. Read the magazines (and subscribe), watch the TV shows. Pay attention to the details of how they present information. If a single, square, color photograph is standard with an article, be sure that is what you send. If articles are short, keep your press release short. Building these contacts takes time, but is well worth your effort. After a few distributions, you will establish a system for reaching your best opportunities and the time required will be significantly reduced.

Writing the Right Press Release

Press editors are flooded with press releases, often reviewing a hundred or more each day. The trick is to make your press releases stand out to the reviewer. Every news item you distribute should say "News Release" and your company name at the top. Avoid sending press releases on standard letterhead. The next line is your headline. Headlines can be the most difficult, yet most important line in the entire document. It needs to grab the editor's attention and urge them to read on. Reporters and journalists are looking for news items that are important to their readers. Spend some time on the headlines, they are your first obstacle to getting free press.

The body of your press release contains two parts -- the news item itself and a general company description. The news item should include complete answers to the classic questions -- who, what, when, where, why, and how. Use an active voice -- say what you do, not have done or will do. Include quotes from you or other key employees and be sure to make the information relevant and interesting to your target market.

The final paragraph of your press release should be "About the Company" -- a good description of what your business does. Include media contact information at the end, with at least your name, title, telephone number, and email address so that the contact can reach you for more information. Excellent samples of press releases from within your industry can be found at PRWeb by searching your keywords.

Get Your Public Relations Started

Wherever you are in the startup process, get to work on developing your company's public relations plan right away. Identify the media most relevant to you, and brainstorm newsworthy items that you plan to distribute. PR can be an effective marketing tool and it's free. Don't overlook the possibilities for your venture, get started today.

About the Author-K. MacKillop, a serial entrepreneur with a JD from Duke University, is founder of LaunchX and authors a small business startup blog. The LaunchX System helps entrepreneurs start a business quickly and efficiently. Visit LaunchX.com to learn more about marketing your business startup.

How to Promote Your Business in the Media using PR

February 20th, 2010 by Gina Pearce Leave a reply »

How can you shine a light on your business without spending vast sums of money on advertising? Well, a good way to build your brand awareness is through Public Relations, by getting free editorials on your business. The advantage of editorials is that they cost less and are more credible and engaging than adverts as they are under the by line of the journalist. 

There are some fantastic PR agencies that can get coverage for your brand, but if your budget will not stretch to an agency, then you can give it a go yourself! 

The Right Media

First, you need to find the right media that will target your market, so look at all your local publications.  What magazines and newspapers come free through your door? What are your local newspapers and magazines?   There are so many magazines, newspapers and even TV and radio, the list is endless. 

Right Articles

Then you need to look at what kind of articles and stories the media feature. Would an article on you or your business fit in that publication? Do you have a great event that they need to know about for the social pages? Do you have a good hook? Is it newsworthy?   

Right a Media Release

Then draft your media release or even an article, make sure it has a dynamic headline, include the, who, what, when, where and why and make sure it is professional with the most important information at the beginning of the release. Don’t forget correct grammar and no spelling mistakes. The release is presenting your business and you want to come across as a professional enterprise. Tailor the release for the section you want to target, for example if you own a restaurant, target the food supplement, beauty salons or day spas should target the beauty pages etc. 

Right Contact

Next, you need to find out who the right contact is.  In the magazine or newspaper there is always a section detailing the publishing house and contact details - it is normally at the front of the publication.  Look in this column and make a note of the publishing house telephone number and look for a suitable contact. Your contact needs to be the features editor or the journalist that writes the lifestyle section, failing that, the editor or just ask for the news desk. 

Prep & Pitch Your Story

Now that you know the publications and the journalist you want to contact, review the press release, and localise it for your market. You need to add local information.  Also, make sure you give all your details with your address, email, website and contact telephone numbers. 

Once you have the right contact and the press release or article, think about how you will ‘pitch’ your story (that is when you call the journalist), practice and then make that call. Tell the journalist that you have a great local business story; give them a brief overview of the story and offer to send them a press release to look at.  If they're interested they will then ask you to email the release and Volia!  You have ‘sold in’ your first media piece.  Make sure you get their correct email address and make sure you send the information immediately. You must send the release within one hour of speaking to them on the phone, that way your conversation will still be fresh in the journalists mind.  

Be Patient

Then be patient….. and hopefully within a few weeks you might get your first piece of publicity.  However, no matter how great your story is and how you have ‘pitched it’ there is no obligation for the journalist or publication to cover it.  Never call or pester a journalist to ask why they haven’t covered it or bug them about featuring it - this is the best way to NOT get your stories covered in the future.

Should I Hire a PR Agency?

Before you launch your PR campaign, figure out the answer to this important question.

Q: I have a small catering business and I'd like to drum up some publicity, but I'm not sure how to go about it. Can I do the PR myself? Should I hire a PR agency?

A: The most important step is realizing that PR should be done in the first place. PR is a very important, but frequently overlooked, approach to marketing. For many entrepreneurs, there is no budget available for hiring an agency or outsourcing the PR, but there are several ways to achieve free or very cost-effective publicity.

The time it takes to plan and execute this PR vs. the time you could be spending on what you do best in your business has to be evaluated. You should also consider how effective the do-it-yourselfer can be vs. the professional with all the contacts, efficiencies, methods and tools to spread the word effectively. Will you be able to contact the necessary editors, distribute your press materials and get your articles placed between now and the time of your event, or will you need someone else to spend their time doing it, especially with tight deadlines right around the corner? Lets look at the various PR components that will work, whether done by an agency or done by you, the entrepreneur:

• Press release
• Press release distribution
• Media interview
• Editorial contribution
• Guest columns
• Letters to the editor
• Feature articles
• Article placement
• Seminars
• Workshops
• Speaking engagements
• Press conference
• Market research
• Media relations
• Contact lists

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If doing it yourself would mean there's a risk that your campaign will be improperly composed, poorly pitched, over-commercialized (editors do not like promotion; they like news) and misdirected with no follow-up, then you would be better off hiring a professional. Here are some key considerations that will help you determine who can best handle your PR campaign:

• If you don't have the media contacts, hire someone who does. Most PR professionals have established contacts in the media that have been groomed and cultivated over several years, leading to a greater number of media placements in higher-profile places.
• Writing is key. Can you provide the catchy headline that every editor is looking for? Can you provide the newsworthiness angle to your event, announcement or information? Yes to these may suggest a do-it-yourself campaign, provided things like time and efficiencies are available.
• PR specialists/agencies generate publicity full time and know the ins and outs, shortcuts and secrets to getting the job done better and quicker. You could do your own auto mechanics, string your own telephone wire or rebuild your own computers, provided you had the right tools, the right amount of time, and of course the expertise to be efficient and cost-effective. If you could spend your time doing what you do best and get one more sale for your business, what is that worth to you vs. hiring a professional?

If you have the time, tools, talent and know-how to launch, maintain and follow up on your own campaign, then you should definitely do so. If not, there are plenty of public relations/publicity firms, specialists and services available. Only hire what you can afford. Remember to view this expenditure as an investment, and weigh that investment against what one more piece of business could be worth to you. Regardless of whether you do it yourself or hire someone, when it comes to launching a PR campaign, many businesses find they can't afford not to have one.

Alfred J. Lautenslager is an award-winning marketing and PR consultant, direct-mail promotion specialist, principle of marketing consulting firm Marketing Now, and president and owner of The Ink Well, a commercial printing and mailing company in Wheaton, Illinois. Visit his Web sites at http://www.market-for-profits.comand http://www.1-800-inkwell.com, or e-mail him at al@market-for-profits.com.

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How To Hire A Public Relations Firm

Robert Wynne,

Smart PR can deliver huge bang for your marketing buck--if you know what to look for.

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Recession-proof your business with PR

By David Culver

Many American businesses have already weighed in on whether or not we're in a recession through their actions—one of the surest signs of such a decline is corporate America's recent mass retreat from the marketing and communications strategies that fueled growth during healthier economic times. But contrary to these marketing cutbacks, there is plenty of evidence that says continuing to engage in marketing during an economic downturn can sustain business and provide a competitive advantage.

A number of studies that analyze past recessions have consistently shown that sales and profits have dropped off at companies that reduce their marketing efforts. During these downturns, advertising was the marketing communications strategy of choice. But today, another strategy has now triumphed as the most effective—and most efficient—tool to weather the storm: public relations (PR).

Here are six reasons why PR is the ideal marketing communications strategy, especially during a recessionary period.

1. PR-based communications are credible, which is key in a recession. During a slowdown in economic activity, the critical nature of many purchase, investment and business decisions is magnified. So, customers and potential business partners look for credible communications on which they can rely. Consumers increasingly do not trust marketing messages and are using technology—such as Tivo—to tune out messages they deem irrelevant. Instead, they rely on advice from friends and other contacts in their various communications "circles" or communities to make product decisions.

2. PR programs can incorporate a myriad of effective communications techniques, providing important flexibility during a downturn. Different key audiences—such as customers, prospects, employees, suppliers, investors, the local community and regulators—have unique information needs that require different communications strategies. Likewise, a company's array of business challenges can best be addressed by selecting from a variety of communications techniques. Utilizing public relations, important corporate messages can be communicated through numerous means: face-to-face meetings; news releases; media interviews and commentaries, letters to stakeholders; facility tours and other special events; newsletters; video or audio recorded messages; Webinars; podcasts; and blogs.

3. PR enables companies to do more with less. Many marketers initially turn to PR because it is less costly than advertising. But public relations messages also are credible, flexible and target-able. Public relations not only drives strong branding messages, but advantageously positions a company and its product or service in the market, providing the information prospects need in order to make a purchase decision.

4. PR professionals become more valuable to journalists during a recession. Over the past few years, the editorial staffs of hundreds of publications have been reduced. As a result, many editors are more open than ever to intelligent, targeted story pitches from public relations professionals. And during a recession, many publications' editorial focuses change. Wanting to provide valuable information to readers on how to survive tough economic times, they frequently focus on case studies that demonstrate ROI—for example, "How company X succeeded, and how you can too." More than ever, editors need substance, not fluff. A recession simply offers PR practitioners more opportunities to provide good content.

5. Personal connections and interactivity beat one-way communications when business activity slows. Digital communications and new media have opened up new distribution channels for PR. And in a recession, when consideration trumps awareness, the effectiveness and value of these channels grows. MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, blogs, discussion groups, e-newsletters, word-of-mouth and online surveys help keep a conversation going and encourage consideration—and purchase decisions.

6. PR is measurable—a must during a recession. While many marketers have long considered public relations to be unmeasurable, it is every bit as measurable as other marketing communications disciplines. In fact, a number of evaluative strategies can be used to measure the effects of a public relations program. "Outputs" has been a traditional measure of PR effectiveness and includes press coverage in the form of "clips," advertising equivalency, key message exposure, etc. But more and more, marketers are looking to measure outcomes—such as changes in perceptions, attitudes or behavior with common metrics including changes in sales, an increase in market share, attendance at an event and "opens" or "click throughs" on a company e-newsletter.

Increasingly, marketers are discovering the value of public relations as an integral part of their day-to-day marketing activities. But, as a strategy to reach key audiences during a recession, public relations may hold the key to an organization's ability to withstand the financial and competitive challenges of a down economy, enabling it to emerge intact—perhaps even healthier—when brighter economic times return.


David Culver (dculver@btcmarketing.com) is vice president of public relations at Boyd Tamney Cross, a full-service marketing and communications company in suburban Philadelphia. Culver has provided "leadership communications" strategies for marketers in business-to-business, financial services, hospitality and other business segments for more than 25 years. The company offers national and international marketers traditional fee-based as well as "pay-for-performance" programs.

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