When you’re a small business, every penny and every minute counts. Often, you have a small team of folks managing all aspects of a business including design, production, manufacturing, customer service, sales and marketing. Understanding simple public relations strategies can help you execute cost-effective PR tactics that can support and help grow your business.
Tap Into Professional Support
Public relations professionals have been trained in strategic planning and possess tactical skills to lead successful campaigns. Although you may not need a full-time PR specialist onboard, be sure to tap into people who have professional training. This could include hiring a young PR professional who might be looking for experience and is willing to conduct administrative tasks as well. When you’re looking for PR in Las Vegas, you could contact a firm or agency that can provide a service package just right for your small business. Freelance professionals are also available on a project or hourly basis.
Focus on Storytelling
Every business has a unique story to tell, and by focusing your PR campaign on sharing those stories, you can be more successful. Did your business have an unusual beginning? Is your founder or president a charismatic professional that can offer a different viewpoint? Do you have a client who is willing to share their story about how you worked together to tackle a problem, increase sales or implement a system?
Create a Promotion or Event
Publicists are experts at continuously developing ideas that grab media and consumer attention. The best way to earn recognition is to constantly develop partnerships, create promotions, host events or create sales incentives that coincide with the next season or upcoming holiday. To celebrate that initiative, hold a media or consumer event that drives media coverage, foot traffic or increased sales.
Be a Resource for Key Journalists
Media relations has always involved PR professionals pitching stories to reporters and writers. Today, blog writers and other online resources have multiplied potential outlets a hundred-fold. Although approaching journalists and writers to share your story is an important component of a PR campaign, you’ll also want to encourage the conversation to go the other direction whenever possible. Spend some time getting to know your key publications and websites as well as the writers who cover your particular industry. Work to understand what types of stories those writers like to cover, and make your small business a helpful, responsive source that can be called on a deadline for a great quote or interesting perspective.
Be Relevant
When you embark on a campaign, work hard to be relevant. Be selective when considering what’s critical news or key information that your target audiences need to know. Don’t burn your PR capital by making lots of noise for the sake of making noise. In today’s cluttered news world, it’s easier than ever to ignore irrelevant information. In addition, you want to select appropriate media outlets to target as well. Think about which publications and social media outlets provide the most effective paths to your key audiences.
If you’d like to discuss a campaign, call GYC Vegas, a Las Vegas PR agency that’s worked with start-ups as well as major corporations. Our professionals can do everything from manage an entire campaign or provide counsel and resources to help you get started.