Ever wondered how to be the featured business in the next issue of the latest out and about town publication of your industry, or your local area or even in a national publication?
Well it all starts with public relations and that doesn’t have to spell or suggest you need big dollars to create a simple and effective public relations strategy.
By addressing a few key points you’re on your way to setting up your PR strategy and creating the credibility you seek for your business.
While advertising your product gives it exposure, public relations gives you credibility.
How can you begin an effective public relations program?
It all starts with your website
Your website is the public face of your business and services. If your website is good, instructive and provides a prospective client answers to the potential questions they might have, then you have overcome the first hurdle of engagement and being a source of knowledge
From your website you grow your digital footprint across social channels.
Which social media channel is going to work best for you? One thing that is key is using your website as the “source of truth” for your company, services and products.
If you present new content on your website across your news page or as many wish to call it nowadays – blog page, you then want this published as widely as possible across other channels.
Once you have uploaded your blog you want people to read what you’re saying. After all you want to be the go-to source for your industry or product offering, so choose the most differentiating and unique fact of what you have just posted on your website and use it as the content for your 30-60 word social media post.
Creating an image
Every information piece you want to promote about your company, products and services needs an image. The old adage, “a picture is worth 1000 words” is as true today in the digital publishing world as it was in the news print days … if not more so with so many people wanting instant information sources.
Beware though, when you create an image resist plastering words across it – Facebook especially penalises you for too much content across your image.
Linking blogs to social media posts
So you have your blog uploaded with the image. Next you’re going to refine the blog to the critical, eye-catching, and a heart-stopping 30-60 words that will grab your reader’s attention.
Choose which social media is best going to serve your company. Twitter and Linked In work exceptionally well for professional services companies.
Facebook and Instagram are fantastic for consumer products and sales, bringing the people with a strong social and consumer agenda to you.
Upload your post with a link to your website story … wham, bam, thank you ma’am, what you have just done is spread your message on social media and then brought that audience back to your website to discover more about your company, products and services … and it’s all because you shared some knowledgeable information as a “source of truth” on a topic.