Think you deserve more press? Of course, you do! So, what are you doing about it? What are you doing to promote yourself?
PR, press, publicity – whatever you call it – takes hard work and is a very niche specialty in the world of marketing. Few are really good at it because it takes time and focused attention.
Good press doesn’t just happen. Have you seen logos on company websites that say “As seen in Forbes Magazine?” Did you know you can actually pay to get articles in magazines like that? How about “Fastest Growing Internet Company of the year?” We were solicited for that particular “award” and if we had paid the fee, we too could’ve used the quaint little badge on our website and marketed the heck out of it.
If you want people to know who you are and what your company does, you can’t simply expect people to promote you. Sure it will happen in some industries, but mostly as a small businesses, it’s up to us to tell the world what we do and why we are so good at what we do.
One of the easiest ways to promote your small business is through posting events and news on local news sources. If you belong to a Chamber of Commerce they probably have an area of their website where you can post news, press releases and events.
Find local online newspapers which allow you to post events and news for free. If you’re in the Chicagoland area try The Patch.
For bigger news like grand openings, awards, and product launches write a press release and submit it to all of your local news sources. (Do a little research to identify the editor or necessary contact).
Take the time to evaluate the media exposure of your brand and if you aren’t happy with the exposure you’re receiving take a hard, honest look at your social media, your physical presence at influential events, sponsorship commitments, your activity in your Chamber of Commerce and participation in other local associations. Chances are you have plenty of things you can be doing to increase your visibility and the awareness about who you are.
Add a few of these tactical press opportunities to your marketing plan to increase your attention (and ultimately sales).