Sometimes We Need a Little Help
Public relations is a very powerful tool to promote yourself or your small business, but if you don’t do it for a living, it can also be very daunting. Part of the reason people often buy costly advertising is for its simplicity; you pay and see immediate coverage. PR pros aim for ‘earned media’ vs. ‘paid media,’ and while it’s cheaper, it’s also much more elusive and can put people off from trying. Don’t let this turn you off from trying your own DIY PR marketing plan.
There are some instances in which a PR agency is necessary for marketing help. In some fields, PR can be a highly nuanced discipline that requires a lot of insight and dedication to execute well. In this regard PR is like running and writing: almost everyone can do it, but not everyone can do it at a highly professional level. However, just because it requires a little skill to get great results, creating a PR action plan isn’t as difficult as you may think.
If you can’t afford a good 3rd party to support you or want to try your hand at promoting your small business, below are 3 very simple steps to help you take control of your own PR marketing plan:
Marketing Help – Tip 1. Set Objectives
Any PR agency will tell you the first step of a strong DIY public relations action plan is setting your objectives. You may be hoping to gain awareness and draw attention to your small business or cause. You can also use a public relations to help support your sales. Public relations is a very powerful tool when it comes to changing the perception of your community. It can also be used to show off your credentials.
Determine what your objectives are and set clear goals to measure them. Understanding what you want and how you intend to measure it will help you set more realistic goals and align the appropriate amount of effort to the task. Creating an effective action plan by setting objectives is the first step to any successful DIY marketing plan.
Marketing Help – Tip 2. Understand Your Key Audience and Influencers
Thinking very carefully about the precise audience you are intending to influence will save you a vast amount of time in execution, especially if you don’t hire a PR agency. Ask yourself, “Is it your existing customers or your potential future customers you are trying to reach? Is it a local community or a city, a state or the whole country?” The key is to identify the simplest possible access point to your target audience. For example, if your small business is targeting moms, you could pitch the Oprah Winfrey Network, but it will probably be easier to post a story on one of the hundreds of mommy blogs, Facebook groups or Pinterest.
Marketing Help – Tip 3. Listen
Now that you’ve established your business’ objectives, identified your targets and created your action plan – it’s time to listen. If the mommy market is the target this means actually reading the hundreds of blogs and Pinterest articles, as well as joining the Facebook groups. It may mean subscribing to the publications that your target audience reads, following the influential members of that audience on Twitter, attending the conferences and Meet-Ups and noting the issues that interest them. This is the most time intensive part, and is usually the reason a PR agency will have more successful placements than a single person. It may take a lot of time but it will make your marketing plan 10 times more relevant, 100 times more powerful and 1,000 times more likely to support your overarching objective.
When it comes to PR, many inexperienced people think they have nothing to offer. While there are some times when a PR agency is necessary, there are many times when you can create and execute your own successful action plan. If you need public relations marketing help for your small business, Three Girls is here for you.
Special Offer: Complimentary Consultation
Three Girls Media & Marketing Inc. is a public relations and social media management agency with teams in Silicon Valley and the Seattle area. We love working with small and emerging companies across the nation to raise their brand awareness and name recognition. We offer a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation with our CEO and can answer your questions and discuss your specific marketing needs.
Call 408-871-0377 or Contact us today to arrange yours!
Image Credit: marc falardeau