“The real job of public relations is to make people feel good about their decision to do business with you.” Heidi Richards Mooney
Meet the Media
Good media relations communicate your message to prospects, customers, associates, and employees in an effective and impressive way. Especially when it comes to marketing your small business offline. Once you have established yourself as the “expert” by providing the media with information, these same journalists and e
ditors will be calling you and printing your story. The reader will remember your name when they need your type of product or service.
DISCOVER what editors and reporters are working on now and in the future . . .
● by obtaining editorial calendars… Editorial calendars list the theme or focus of each issue. These days most media (print, radio, tv, internet) list their editorial calendars online
● by offering timely information such as: why tulips are the most requested spring flowers. Include when they are available, where and how they grow. Or why stock prices are at an all-time high, what does your firm attribute to the increase?
DEVELOP new and interesting angles about your business that will evoke emotion from the reader; such as a special floral purchase made by a customer. Did someone recently purchase 200 tulips for someone they love because that’s what she carried in her bridal bouquet 50 years ago— “Dramatize!” Develop your niche. Do you offer free seminars on topics the reader needs to know about? Tell the story!
In fact, a media release is one of the primary ways you can communicate your news to the media. The write words don’t just tell about you, they “sell” you to the media. To sell yourself to the media, you need to learn how to talk their talk, and deliver your message to them in the manner to which they would respond. Media releases that use a “standard” format are more likely to get read and used. Your challenge is to write a release that makes the media want to know the rest of the story, and then tell it. With proper planning and placement, a good media release can be a powerful tool to generate publicity.
You can create an event. Restaurants do it all the time. Sometimes local personalities will be asked or hired to attend an opening or other newsworthy event promoting the restaurant. There may even be fundraising aspect associated with the celebrities’ favorite charities. The restauranteur can then get the media to respond to the promotion and get “coverage” because he is doing a good deed. In addition, he is exposing his business to the community. Perhaps you wish to contribute to a specific charity each time a customer refers your company— Publicize it! You are giving the community something to relate to and participate in. With a little foresight and imagination, the possibilities are endless! Want more information on creating an event? Visit www.WUNPublications.com and click on special reports. Check out the reports “One Great Event Leads to Another and Another…” and “How to Increase Your Odds of Media Success Writing Media Releases that Get Read and Published.”
Perhaps you are celebrating a significant anniversary in business? Write about it!
Follow these DETAILS to enhance the probability your article gets printed.
● Disseminate key information to the media in an easy-to- read, easy-to-write format.
● Keep it short. A maximum of two pages is sufficient.
● Send it to a specific person. Use her name. Don’t just address it to The Editor. Some communities publish a local media guide that may be available at a reasonable cost, often a good resource to the media. Check with your local Chamber of Commerce or Economic Development Board. It’s certainly a worthwhile investment. Make sure you contact the various media just to confirm the individual information. In today’s market, contact information changes with considerable frequency.
● Make sure it is a valid event and not disguised as self-serving advertising.
● Capture the reader’s attention. Attention-getting headlines seldom get passed over.
● Speak your mind. What’s your point of view? Tell it!
● Dramatize – but don’t exaggerate. Use visualization to make your point. Describe the beautiful, fragrant, long-stem, ruby red rose.
● Don’t give away the store. Tell just enough of the story to create interest.
Marketing Small business offline requires you use tried and true tactics including media releases, media campaigns and more. when you do, the media will pick up the phone and call you for “the rest of the story…
