Does your business have a PR strategy?
From well-deserved media coverage to proven paid models, your business
needs to communicate frequently with its target audience.
Reputation management is essential regardless of the size of your business
or the industry in which it operates. Businesses can do this in a variety of ways,
including social media, marketing, earned media, branded content, blogging,
philanthropy, events and more. Basically, any form of communication your
business uses to connect with an audience can be considered PR.
These types of PR strategies can really help you build brand awareness,
affinity, trust, and loyalty with your audience.
So where do you start if you've never considered PR as a business strategy?
While it's important to think strategically about how you want to position your
business or brand, it doesn't necessarily require hiring a fancy (or expensive)
PR or marketing agency.
Earned media is not a given
Earned media coverage is what happens when your business is noticed
organically – for example, a local journalist writes a story about your brand,
you get a mention on the morning news, people speak positively about you
on social media , you get word of mouth referrals, etc. This is the gold
standard of successful public relations, but also the hardest to achieve.
Proprietary media is the coverage you create for your business through
your own channels, including blogs, your website, social media, and content
marketing.
The best way to increase earned media coverage is to be consistent, tell
your stories, and have a strategy for sharing those stories. Maybe it's by
creating press releases to share with the media, or maybe it's by sharing
thought leadership through proprietary or paid media.
A common mistake many companies and brands make is telling the wrong
stories. Just because you think it's great that your local business has been
serving the community for 10 years and getting high marks for customer
service doesn't mean it's a story people will read.
Here are some questions to ask yourself when trying to identify a
good story:
Why should this story matter to your audience? Why should they care?
What makes this story special?
Will this story appeal to a wide audience or a select few?
Is this information that the average person might find informative or useful?
Does it help your audience solve a problem?
If you're not sure, don't worry! Our branded content experts at Swift Local
Solutions can help you brainstorm ideas that will achieve those content goals.
Even the most cohesive communication strategies don't guarantee media
coverage, so your most tried and tested options will be the forms of
proprietary media mentioned above or paid media to help you control
content, management and distribution.
Identify the communication channels or media/contacts that will reach the
audience you want to target.
Assess the tools you already have
While a PR or marketing agency can certainly help you create a compre-
hensive communications plan and generate content, there are plenty of
accessible and affordable tools that can help you start small.
Swift Local Solutions' expert consultants can help you determine how local
media campaigns can help you achieve your immediate and long-term
communication and content goals. In addition to powerful local print and
online advertising in our newspapers and magazines, today we offer a
wide range of products and tactics, including:
Email Marketing - Your unique story in the inbox of your target customers that connects you
with those who are likely to buy from you.
Email Newsletters - Owned or paid content to share your latest news,
expertise, advice or thoughts with a targeted and highly engaged audience.
Native Advertising - Paid media content that resembles editorial content and shares leadership
with audiences through engaging and informative topics.
Blogs – Proprietary content that shares your expertise or opinions on topics
of interest to your target audience.
Social Media - Build an effective digital presence with a content strategy
that builds trust with your loyal customers and connects you with potential
new customers.
If you're worried you don't have a PR plan in place, let our marketing experts
help you create one. Using the methods above, we can identify the stories
waiting to be told and can help you measure performance to ensure your
PR is delivering the right message to your target audience.
For Further Information and Question Contact Here.
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