5 steps to press release success – do’s and don’ts

Once you have carefully crafted your killer press release, follow these 5 tips to make sure its seen at the right time, by the people who count.

Distributing your news professionally will give you a greater chance of securing media coverage for your small business.

  1. Submit your press release when it’s timely – Avoid sending your pored-over press release on a Friday afternoon, in the evening or at the weekend – even if you can’t wait to hit the button. Aim to send it out fresh on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday morning – depending on the deadline for that particular publication.

14 ways PR can help communicate your brand values

If you’re weighing up where to spend your 2023/24 marketing budget and haven’t previously included PR as part of your strategy, the new financial year is a great opportunity to add it to the mix.

In an ideal world, your marketing activity should include a combination of promotional tools and techniques spanning a range of digital and print platforms.

In other words, don’t put all your eggs in one basket by relying solely on one platform (e.g. digital) or marketing method.

While social media is great (and relatively cheap, except for the drain on your time), not everyone is a fan – especially if you operate in a less instagrammable market.

Ideally, you want to cover all bases and plan your marketing activity across a range of mediums, to include elements of online and traditional advertising, content marketing (e.g blogging), social media promotion, special offers and PR.

The variables are endless but you should definitely include PR. Here are just a few of the reasons why…

What PR can do for your business:

  • Raise awareness of what you do
  • Build brand loyalty
  • Reinforce a customer’s decision to use your product or services as the right one
  • Give you extensive media coverage
  • Raise your company’s profile in the local area
  • Maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including your clients
  • Resolve issues quickly and with minimal damage to your business
  • Educate your publics (in other words, your audience) on local issues, best practice and the options available to them
  • Drum up support for a particular cause or campaign
  • Manage customer queries and complaints in a positive way
  • Communicate effectively with your stakeholders in the event of a crisis
  • Reach very large audiences easily and at minimal cost
  • Boost your company’s image over your competitors
  • Increase your online presence and search engine visibility

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg but PR is a very credible way to get your message across to multiple audiences at the same time and, of course, can span both print and digital platforms.

In short, a positive news story can speak volumes about what’s at the heart of your business in ways many other marketing methods can’t.

For more PR advice, please get in touch. E: hello@lyndahamiltonparker.link

How PR can help build your small business

PR – or to give it its Sunday name, Public Relations – might just be the best trick you can pull out of the hat when marketing your business.

By its very definition, PR is the key tool which can help you build a more personable rapport with your stakeholders – whether that’s clients, investors or the local media.

It’s all about relations, or relationships, after all.

It’s one thing that – aside from the price you pay in terms of time and research, or if you employ a consultancy to do it for you – can’t be bought.

Good PR is about engaging with your audience and spreading the good word about your business, no matter how large or small.

In short, PR is for everyone.

Unlike direct mail, email campaigns and advertising, PR can help you build your business’s image, maintain its good reputation and speak volumes about the values of your company.

It’s more personable than other forms of marketing as it’s not about the hard sell.

PR, essentially, helps you manage your firm’s reputation and can influence the way stakeholders perceive what you do.

PR is very much a steady, organic approach to growing your business and, while it won’t raise your bottom line immediately, its effects will last the test of time.

It’s, by far, a more clever approach than some of the more aggressive forms of marketing and works via a drip-by-drip effect to endorse your business.

Its benefits can’t be appreciated overnight but it’s certainly a tangible long-term tool to utilise if you want your business to grow organically into a future-proof brand.