Is PR Just Press Releases?
by
Alfred Lautenslager
As you
have heard me say in the past, PR is extremely cost effective. In a
lot of cases the cost is zero, but PR is not limited to just sending
out press releases.
Your
visibility will increase with powerful publicity. Publicizing your
business, you or your services will help increase the value of each to
you and your whole target audience.
The
idea is that publicity will bring the news of your company to the
world, online or off, computer or no computer. The basic weapons that
can be used to do this are a press kit, a company background piece,
press releases, story ideas, and articles or columns about your firm,
as mentioned in the article section above. As you can see there are
many vehicles to distribute through the media, even though the most
important of all is the press release.
A press
kit can include the background piece, press releases, photos, story
ideas, reprints of previous articles about your business, a list of
customer references and anything else that the news media might find
newsy or just be a simple fact sheet on you and your company. If you
provide the media with news that will appeal to their readers, you
will gain instant credibility and have a very valuable promotional
relationship. This can be very powerful from a marketing point of
view.
There
are also a host of online magazines that might want to post your
story, article or information. (This is related to both press releases
and the article campaign mentioned above.)
A
publicity campaign should begin with a master plan. The more
newsworthy you make your company, the more coverage you'll get. And
publicity will earn credibility that advertising just can't buy. Your
goals should be uniqueness, timeliness and top-of-the-mind awareness.
With publicity and visibility, your company profile raises and your
client and prospect level rise as well. Market For Profits will put
this together and manage it on a consistent basis for you.
One
successful story about your company can result in free publicity is
advertising worth hundreds and thousands of dollars.
Part of
managing the total marketing campaign and especially the Public
Relations portion is supplying the media with a unique story
that will grasp their reader and viewer audiences. Press Releases also
have a dramatic impact on customers and your targeted prospects.
PR is
one of the most cost effective parts of marketing that an organization
can undertake. The cost is in the development of an organized campaign
and the writing and distribution of press releases. There is usually
no cost associated with printed pieces or placement into publications.
Because of this it is considered to be very cost effective. There is
definitely a knack to writing a "newsworthy" press release even though
sometimes the goal is awareness and promotion. Editors do not like
promotion so crafting a press release to appeal to an editor is key.
Now there is no guarantee that any press release will ever be
published but with a consistent professional newsworthy approach with
reputable editors of reputable publications, probability is good that
some press will be gained and awareness will increase. Press releases
are also great vehicles for communicating with clients and prospects.
Putting them on a website is a very effective means of promotion to
your captive markets. It also further substantiates your place in the
marketing and your credibility in your field.
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