One of the greatest and most costly investments you can make in your company is a public relations firm. It can be difficult to afford a third-party professional to handle these conversations when you’re just starting out or are operating on a shoestring. However, there are many ways to do PR for your company, to promote your brand without spending a lot of money.
1. Establish Yourself as an Industry Expert
Creating a blog for your business website can help you become an authority in your field in addition to increasing website traffic and search engine rankings. Marcus Sheridan witnessed firsthand how merely responding to inquiries on his blog resulted in favorable publicity and business expansion.
In 2009, during one of the greatest recessions, Sheridan, the owner of River Pools and Spas, was hocking a premium item. He revised his marketing strategy to concentrate on providing answers to the common queries his target audience would enter into a search engine. His blog posts were ranking naturally on search engines, demonstrating his authority in the pool and spa industry, increasing sales, and utilizing his media story by merely responding to his clients’ inquiries. His accomplishments were later the subject of numerous press articles in the New York Times.
Spend money writing about your industry’s opinions, distinctive trends, or intriguing findings. Not just peers but also the media frequently cite or quote these ideas. To establish your company or yourself as an authority in your field, make sure your content is consistent.
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2. Partner with Local Colleges for PR Help
Working with a local college or university could benefit small businesses as well as students. In order to obtain practical experience prior to entering the workforce, many students search for internships during their junior and senior years. Students who wish to work in public relations after graduation can support your PR efforts for a comparatively little financial outlay. Small businesses benefit from the distinct viewpoints that come from someone who may or may not be familiar with your industry, and students get a better understanding of what it’s like to work in their chosen field.
3. Get Quoted by the Media
Your company can benefit greatly from being cited as a thought leader or highlighted in a press article, but occasionally the media also needs sources to quote. Publicity seekers can be connected with qualified journalists and bloggers through services such as PR Newswire’s ProfNet. You can sign up to receive queries from writers or send queries for free.
Subject matter experts can also view upcoming conferences, workshops, and speaking engagements, as well as the most recent media queries and alerts from writers who are actively writing about your field.
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4. Share Customer Success Stories
If your small business is successful, you’re probably doing something right for your clients or customers. Leverage your success and share theirs. Inform your customers if your company’s tool or widget improved their productivity. Create a case study that highlights the client’s achievements and the distinctive features of your company that contributed to their success. After the case study is finished, both businesses can use it to contact the media and ask for new clients. Strong end-of-the-funnelsales material and outstanding press releases are the results of these collaborative efforts.
5. Do PR Using Surveys to Generate Media Insights
Short surveys give you a low-cost way to learn about your clients’ and customers’ concerns while also providing a press-worthy opportunity. The media is no exception to the general public’s love of statistics and numbers. Publishing the results of your survey along with some insights establishes your business as a reliable source of information and a thought leader, particularly in fields where statistical results are scarce or nonexistent.
