Publicity can be quite elusive for many business owners, especially for small-business owners who are struggling to survive in a highly competitive market. However, nothing can be more instrumental for businesses that want to enjoy long-term success and recognition than publicity.
Have you ever wondered why anglers always take a few high-quality pictures with themselves proudly holding their catch? They do that do generate publicity and to prove their fans that what they hold in their hands is genuine. In other words, they are practically proving that they are the best in that field. The same goes for businesses.
The validation tools businesses can use are much more powerful than the angler’s pictures. These tools converge into a single, important tool - publicity. In addition to spreading the word about your company, third-party publicity provides validation of your business, backing up your claims and showing you as a reputable source of inspiration in your niche. Just like anglers do, you need to tempt bloggers and journalists to bite.
Here are the top 5 ways to generate publicity for your business.
Whenever you have some great news to share, start creating a compelling press release and distribute it through various online distribution services, such as PRWeb, PRLog or i-Newswire. While you might have heard that press release is dead, the truth is that press releases in a B2B environment are more alive than ever.
Properly designed press releases should always be created using strategic thinking. Every move you want to make should be backed up by a strong purpose and strategy. For instance, when you plan to visit a doctor, he doesn’t give you some random pills. He always runs a few tests, checks your vital organs and tries to determine your symptoms. The same goes for PR. You have to listen to your audience’s needs. Then you need to determine your trouble spots (or symptoms). Next, do your metrics (or tests). Finally, take everything into account to devise a proper treatment plan and strategy that targets your press releases and improves them.
When designing your PR, you should listen to what Oli Gardner, co-founder of Unbounce, has to say: “Your customer might not always be right. However, if you’re not listening to them, your service or product won’t be right either.”
When designing your PR, it is imperative to remember that press releases are about reaching as many people as you can with your message. To do that, you need to have a clearly defined message. For instance, Apple’s “Think different” is a great example of brand message which defines the company’s lifestyle and enables customers to interact with the brand.
You need to determine what kind of lifestyle your company has and you have to find a message that brings your lifestyle to your target audience. Develop a strong message that resonates with your prospects and you will be able to generate publicity beyond expectations.
Creating strong content is key to establishing your brand as a leader in your niche and as a source of inspiration for journalists. Whether it’s blogging, video publishing or tweeting, you need to create consistent content regularly. Update your social media platforms with compelling content that offer accurate information to your followers and fans. Journalists will get to a point where they will crave for your content and will consider it the most reliable source of information in the whole niche.
A great way to create highly-attractive content is to take advantage of the newsjack technique. Newsjacking is the unique art of inserting your own ideas into a trending topic. A great example of such is what the Waffle House did during the spectacular soccer game at the 2014 Brazil World Cup between USA and Belgium. Read here more of what they have done: https://firstwefeast.com/eat/waffle-house-starts-twitter-boycott-belgian-waffles-support-soccer-team/?elq=cd15bbc35da447b1a19b0b90967df521&elqCampaignId=2063.
Of course, they managed to spike a huge interest on Twitter and get over 1,000 followers in a matter of days. You can use the newsjack tactic to create awareness and buzz, but also to increase sales and boost conversion rates.
Another great method to generate publicity for your business is to not live according to the “I can do it on my own” mentality. An increasing number of businesses are morphing, creating joint-ventures and learning how to work together in order to reach the same goal. For instance, Taco Bell and Doritos teamed up for a perfect taste – Taco on the Inside, Doritos on the Outside. This idea works not just for big brands, but for small companies too. Look for win-win situations and learn how to get ahead of your competition by partnering up with those companies that can help you reach your goals.
Together, you can maintain strong relationships with journalists and other members of the media. You are also creating a unique story that will be picked up by journalists. There are thousands of journalists and bloggers eager to find out if these partnerships and joint ventures really work. They use HARO (Help a Reporter Out) services to find interesting news and sources of information in their niche. You and your partner should capitalize on the power of HARO to make a name for yourself in the media community (https://www.helpareporter.com/sources/).
Lastly, one of the simplest ways to generate publicity for your business and to spike interest for your business partners is to optimize your email signature. This is a ridiculously easy strategy to dramatically boost your brand’s exposure and to leverage the power of publicity, yet it is the most overlooked tip by small businesses.
Everyone working in your company should have the same signature. You can use Wise Stamp (https://www.wisestamp.com/) to design your own, unique email signature. By doing this, you are actually giving your brand a boost every single time you are sending an email.
The Bottom Line
Use the above strategies, mixing them together and adding new methods to generate publicity for your business and to take your brand to the next level.
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