Business Media Club blog: 7 reasons to unleash the power of PR

15 Mar Business Media Club blog: 7 reasons to unleash the power of PR

Want to put some pizzazz into your profile and reputation? Then aim to unleash the power of proactive PR.

Publicity is the crowning glory of so-called ‘earned’ marketing – the column inches and broadcast airtime has to be won via editorial judgement as opposed to ‘owned’ marketing which you do yourself or pay for via advertising.

For all the talk of so-called digital PR, appearing in the mainstream media offers a far bigger reach and credibility boost and, as ever, these things should work hand in glove, not be viewed through the lens of one or t’other.

So here are seven good reasons to give your business some PR appeal.

1 Profile

Being seen in the media raises your profile and lifts you above your competition. There are many different types of stories and campaigns you can run to keep the ball rolling. You can make it visual to bring your business to life to a mass audience too.

2 Reputation

To appear in the media, you have to appeal to the media. They aren’t your finite target audience (you need to focus on shaping stories that will appeal to your chosen audiences for that) but your story must have that touch of media va va voom – something that will appeal to their readers, listeners or viewers and will entice them to feature you.

3 Credibility

A curious thing happens when you raise your profile and reputation. You become attractive to all sorts of new people and create opportunities to win new business. Equally, the tyre-kickers of this world – those who will waste your time given half the chance or expect you to virtually give your services away or seek to beat you down on price – suddenly disappear. You are out of their league so off their radar. Phew.

4 Trust

Make a tryst with trustworthiness. Being worthy of trust is the most important factor in any business and nothing builds trust more than copper-bottom, reliable people who feature regularly in the media and appear to be at the forefront of latest news and innovation in their profession or industry.

5 Leading not lagging

The media are always seeking expert comment and insight. Being a thought leader is about more than merely writing blogs or speaking at network events. It is about developing a media profile and persona as someone they can turn to for comment on industry trends and developments. It is simple. Those who are good at it get asked back. Those who aren’t don’t. It may sound obvious to say take some media training (not least as that is a popular service we offer at CGM) but it works for people who are serious about developing their reputation.

6 All about the story

There are many media myths about what does or doesn’t make the news but one thing is for certain – the strength of the story matters most. The stronger you make your story the more publicity it will win (well, usually, you have to tell it and sell it in the right way so you’ll need a well written press release and have to get in the front of the right people).

Any decent PR and comms company worth its salt should be able to help. But check them out. Ask them about their media contacts and track record of working with journalists to turn ideas into articles and broadcast features. As former journalists – poachers turned gamekeepers if you like – we know how journalists think and what they want in a story and we work with them to generate articles and features. So too should you or the folks you choose to hire to do it for you.

7 Start spreading the news

Media coverage is the gift that keeps on giving so this is where your digital PR should kick in. It is amplification, not an alternative. Be wary of digital marketers who try to tell you traditional PR is dead. Not only can you share news of your media mentions via social media channels and elsewhere, but media websites attract huge numbers of readers and viewers to being featured frequently will send you whizzing up the search engine rankings to provide a massive SEO boost. Oh, and the stories stay there so what’s not to like about that either?

Va Va Voom Media Appeal is the theme of our CGM Business Media Club meetings on Friday, March 26 and Thursday, April 1.

To book and for further information visit our Business Media Club page.