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Nearly 2/3 of employees say their
company has not fully communicated what its brand
stands for. - Entrepreneur Magazine |
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The formal practice of what today
is called public relations is less than 100 years
old. - Public Relations Society of America
(PRSA) |
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The circulation of Sunday
newspapers in the U.S. is over 58 million. -
Newspaper Association of America |
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| Understanding
Public Relations and What it Can do for Your
Business, Part II |
| by NOELLE
BATES |
In last month's 'Marketing Tips
& Secrets', I wrote about public relations - what
public relations is, and specifically about the
component of public relations called media relations to
view this article, click here. As a refresher, media
relations is the arm of public relations that is
concentrated on dealing with the media - working with
the media to place stories, developing relationships
with reporters and journalists, and making sure that the
press understands and writes favorably about a company.
For a small business, putting together a media
relations strategy that will help it get press coverage,
and therefore third party credibility, it is crucial to
understand how to write a press release. A press release
is a statement prepared for distribution to the media.
The purpose of a press release is to give journalists
information that is useful, accurate and interesting.
But writing a press release is not the whole story -
you must actually get it in front of the right people.
This involves writing a press release that is
interesting, and then knowing how to get a reporter to
look at it.
Press releases are a fundamental of any small
company's media relations strategy. In this article, I
will focus on how to write a press release, and how to
get it in front of the right people based on the news
you are trying to share.
THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE WRITING YOUR PRESS
RELEASE
Press releases follow the Who,
What, Why, Where and How construct, but another element
that is important for the press release is what I call
the "So What?" component. Why should a reporter our
journalist care about your news? Reporters at larger
papers, on average, are sent anywhere from 25-100 press
releases a day, so there has to be something about your
news that makes it stand out enough to warrant coverage
(be sure to also read the second article in this
newsletter by Rhonda Abrams on 'Getting Publicity for
Your Business' for more tips on writing an effective
press release).
However, before you embark on putting your fingers on
the keyboard, know that your release needs to be concise
and well-written. A good way to ensure your press
release is tossed out is because it's too long and
includes poor spelling or grammar or illogical and
unsubstantiated claims (like saying your company sells
something cheaper than anyone else if you aren't
absolutely positive that it does). Read
on... |
| Getting Publicity
for Your Business |
| by RHONDA
ABRAMS |
Wouldn't it be nice if you could get
free publicity for your business? Imagine what it would
do for your business if newspapers, magazines, or TV or
radio stations ran stories praising your amazing
products or outstanding service. We'd all like good
publicity for our companies, but how do we get reporters
and editors to notice us?
The basic building block for any publicity effort is
the press release (also called a media release).
Of course, it takes a lot more than just sending out
a press release to get coverage, but writing a good
press release is a critical first step.
When designing your press release, remember most
people in the media are overworked. If you make your
story "easy" for them - in the sense that all the
details are there - the better your chances of getting
publicity.
Most importantly, you've got to have something the
readers, listeners, or viewers of a media outlet will
find interesting. Sure, you think it's important you've
promoted Ann Wong to vice president, but why would
others care? Is she the first woman/minority/disabled
person to reach this level? Is she only 17 years old?
It helps to know what are newsworthy items, or when
you should issue a press release. Here is a list of
announcements that are appropriate:
- A new product or service
- Launching a brand-new company
- New hire in the executive ranks
- Winning a large contract or client
- Becoming involved in a sponsorship deal
- Expanding or opening a new outlet
- Winning an industry award
- Holding a speaking event, panel event, round-
table discussion or debate
- Making a large donation to charity
- Conducting research in your arena that has
produced interesting statistics
Once you've
determined if your news item is warrants issuing a press
release, it's important to write your press release
correctly since press releases conform to an established
format.
Read
on... |
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| Company Name: |
| Mockingbird Public Relations |
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| Location: |
| Phoenix, Arizona |
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| President: |
| Sarah Hawley |
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| Tips
from Sarah: |
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Get results. And if you are struggling,
brainstorm and find new ways to go after results. |
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Be ethical. Don't overcharge, do stay
focused and remember that your clients aren't paying you
to be distracted. |
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Respond to potential business as if you
have already secured it. It'll showcase your ability and
professionalism and will help win new accounts. |
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Network and share business. Find trusted
colleagues within your industry to learn from and share
business with. It helps the market and helps
clients. |
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Learn how your client sells and makes
their money so you can make high impact suggestions and
better represent them to the press. |
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Is there anything you"d like
us to include in our next newsletter? As a dedicated
partner for your organization, let us know how we can
help you out.
Click here to send us a
note. | |
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