A good reputation is something you cannot buy. It is something you have to earn. But with clever use of some simple but effective public relations exercises, even the smallest business can harness the power of publicity to boost sales.

PR

PR exercises can:

• Raise your profile.
  
• Improve your credibility.
  
• Establish your authority.
  
• Generate new customer prospects.
  
• Make it easier to convert prospects to customers.

Using the media

Harnessing the power of the media can be relatively easy. The press has a strong appetite for news, features and events. For the best chance of success, only target those publications that your customers and prospects are likely to read.

Here are six straightforward and effective ways to get your business’s name in the headlines.

1. Letters to the editor

   One simple way to start is to write a letter to the editor in your local paper or trade publication. These letters aren’t just for sounding off on big public concerns. You can use them just as effectively to raise interest in a new perspective on a local or industry issue. To do this, you need to find an angle and comment on it.

   So look at articles and think about how you agree, disagree or can add to what has been said.

   At the start of your letter, refer to the name and date of the article you are responding to. Present your comment using the formula: ‘As an expert on… I would like to defend/disagree/champion/applaud…’

   Editors will usually publish your contact details at the end. You have now positioned yourself as an expert and an authority on a topic.

2. Write expert articles

   Writing expert articles is another easy way to establish your authority and expertise on a topic. If you look in the trade press and general media, you will often spot these types of article because the expert and their business are usually clearly listed.

   Everyone has some specialist knowledge and editors are always looking out for people with an interesting angle. Just approach the relevant editor with a proposal. Popular titles begin with ‘How to…’ ‘The secrets of…’ ‘Ten ways to…’ ‘A beginner’s guide to…’

   When writing these articles, be careful not just to try and sell. Editors will not publish a sales pitch, so offer your advice unconditionally. Avoid mentioning your business in the article more than once. Instead, offer to write a piece in exchange for the editor publishing your contact details at the end, plus a line or two about what you do. A number of businesses do this very successfully.

   If you feel daunted by this, there are many independent PR consultants who can help you write and place such articles.

   Once your piece has been published, ask the editor’s permission to send copies to people on your contact list. This is a great, non-threatening way of keeping in touch with prospects and customers and ensuring your name stays at the top of people’s minds.

3. Surveys

   Surveys and statistics can be very popular with the media and can be another easy way to get your name in the public eye.

   If you don’t have statistics, conduct your own survey. For example, a dry-cleaner could ask people in the street how much they spend a week on dry-cleaning; a manufacturer could ask about stock levels in general, wastage or storage costs, or a restaurant owner could ask how much people spend on meals out or takeaways.

   By carrying out surveys and publishing the results, you can establish your credibility on a topic and raise your profile, especially if the article says, 'Research by XYZ shows that…'

   The surveys should be designed so that they do not take much time to complete so customers will normally be happy to participate, although you may wish to make the survey anonymous.

   Not only will the figures be useful market research, but also the media may pick up on some of the more unusual results to make a story.

4. Form strategic alliances

   Sometimes you can work in tandem with other organisations to raise your profile. It can often be beneficial to work with charities. For example, you can hold a show or fund-raising evening or offer prizes for a competition.

   It should be easy to attract publicity for this type of event, and charities often have their own contacts that they can call on to ensure the local press is aware of the event.

5. Offer a prize

   Prizes are another good way to raise your profile. For example, when one restaurant owner launched his pizza restaurant he approached his local radio station.

   In return for the DJs plugging the restaurant, he'd give away several meals as competition prizes. He also offered half-price pizzas to anyone who came into the pizzeria and sang the station's jingles.

   The station jumped at the idea – especially when the restaurant owner also invited the staff down for a free meal. Before the week was out, the restaurant was being mentioned on air ten times a day. The campaign ran for a month and a half. Business at the restaurant more than trebled.

6. Offer something free

   You can also use the power of loss-leaders and giveaways. These need not cost you a fortune. For example, one powerful way to raise your profile, establish yourself as an expert and to encourage new customers to come to you is to offer a free factsheet.

   One of the benefits of factsheets is that they can be produced in-house at little cost. They also give the press a reason to publish your contact details and readers a reason to contact you. Then, when you respond, you have a golden opportunity to put your sales literature, which you include with the factsheet, in front of a hot prospect.

   The fact that you have produced a useful factsheet on a topic also raises the general public's perception of you as an expert.

   For example, a human resources consultant produced a factsheet entitled ‘A quick guide for first-time employers’, which gained him lots of free publicity. It also attracted just the right prospects for his service, which is drafting employee contracts.

   Good titles for fact sheets begin: ‘How to…’, ‘10 ways to…’, ‘Trade secrets of…’, ‘The truth about…’, ‘The lowdown on…’, ‘Top tips for…’

Hitting the headlines

Having identified your story, you need to try to make sure your target media publish it. The best way to do this is by creating an effective press release.

Seven steps to putting out a press release

1. Create a list of relevant media and journalists in your local or trade press.
   
2. Write a press release yourself or employ a freelance journalist or PR expert to help you .
   
3. Get someone to check it, especially for interest level.
   
4. Print/copy it on to your headed paper, not forgetting a contact number at the bottom.
   
5. Mail or fax it to your media list.
   
6. Follow up quickly by phone to check the editor has received it.
   
7. Track the results carefully: who published what, when? What piece produced the most (relevant) responses?

Eight ingredients of a powerful press release

1. Attract attention with the headline – summarise your news in a few words. But remember, you want to be taken seriously, so don’t try to be too clever. Newspapers are unlikely to use your exact headline themselves, so don’t agonise too much over it.
   
2. Identify the main point in the first paragraph and get in what, who, when and where. If the story is about you, mention your geographical location. Then, even if your address is not published, at least people will know which town you are based in when contacting directory enquiries.
   
3. Write everything from the reader’s point of view, not yours – so write about yourself in the third person.
   
4. In paragraphs two and three, elaborate a little further. Explain the how and why of the story, the problem and the solution. Sub-editors may cut stories from the bottom up, so ensure the most crucial information is in the first couple of paragraphs.
   
5. You can also include a quote. This could be from you, but it need not be from anyone connected with your company. In fact, it can be better if it is not, because then a third party is seen to endorse you. Use quotes to do more than simply repeat the facts. Express an opinion, an idea or a claim.
   
6. Go on to include factual information such as data, price, delivery and opening hours.
   
7. Always give a name and a phone number where the press can contact you. Include your mobile number if you have one, as journalists on a deadline need the answers in a hurry. Also give a contact number for readers to respond to, and your website address, which may be printed at the end of a story.
   
8. Finally, put any background details as an appendix.

How to issue a press release

Only send your press release to publications and radio and TV stations that will really find it of interest, whether local, trade or national. Otherwise you just waste time, money and credibility.

Your local library will have a copy of media directories such as Willings Press Guide, which lists media and editors. Call and confirm the names of the relevant editors/producers – or use the internet – as these change frequently.

Post your release early enough to catch the editorial planning for the edition at least a week before anything time-critical. Always allow more time than you think you need. Many magazines, for instance, have lead times of several months. Most of the copy for local papers may be prepared a week in advance. If necessary, issue time-sensitive material under an ‘embargo’, to ensure that it is not published too early.

Next, follow up each editor on the phone to check your release has arrived and, even more importantly, to bring it to the forefront of their minds. If they have not received it, then offer to fax or email it again immediately.

If journalists do follow up your release, they are usually on a deadline. So when handling journalists who ask for more details, always ascertain when they need the information, and always follow up as soon as possible if you can’t respond there and then. Even if they say they don’t need the information until next week, provide it as soon as you can. Otherwise, new stories may come up, or the journalist may talk to someone else who might steal your limelight.

Plan your response

Getting your name in the headlines is only the first step. Make sure you have set up a system to handle the response to your story when it comes. It could be two enquiries. It could as easily be hundreds.

Make sure the phone is staffed or, at least, that the answer-machine is on. Brief your team properly or your people will sound clueless and ruin the whole exercise.

Conclusion

Successful PR is not just for big businesses. With a little imagination and good planning, there is no reason why smaller businesses shouldn’t make a real success of it too – and indeed many do!

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