Have you ever opened up the paper or turned on the TV only to see your competitor being quoted as an expert?   Are there times when they are up there speaking to your target audience, when you think, “I know more than this person.  I should be up on that stage!”

Well you’re right.  If you are in fact exceptional at what you do, have a ton of experience or are sitting on a leading edge breakthrough it’s time to start adding some PR to the mix.

What exactly is Public Relations?

According to Wikipedia, it is “The practice of managing communication between an organization and its publics.  PR provides an organization or individual exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that provide a third-party endorsement and do not involve a direct payment.”

That’s right, public relations is when a third party endorses your public interest and news stories for FREE!  It differs from a referral which refers your products and services and differs from advertising because you don’t pay for it.  But it can be one of your strongest tactics for attracting and closing business.

Who are your Publics?

Typically a small business owner is trying to position themselves as an industry leader to:

• Customers
• Prospects
• Circles of Influence (Peers, Media, Strategic Partners, Industry leaders)
• The general public, and possibly
• Investors and/or employees

There are 4 key activities you can leverage to reach these publics.  Some or all of these may apply depending on your personality, speaking skills and level of expertise. They are:

1. Speaking online (webinars, videos) and offline (conferences, associations)
2. Writing online (blogs, online publications) and offline(magazines, newspapers, newsletters)
3. Working with the media
4. Social media engagement

Let’s have a look at each of these.

Speaking

Unless you are looking to become a professional speaker, speaking should be a way for you to capture leads (see Speak for Leads). Speaking allows an audience to not only get to know you, but to determine if they like what you have to say and if they think you really know your stuff. If you are worried about your speaking skills, look into public speaking courses through associations like Toastmasters. Chances are there are plenty of industry and special interest groups that can benefit from your wisdom and a lot of stressed out events people who will be relieved to have a great speaker for their audiences. Speaking can take many forms. It’s not only about being invited to speak to a group live.  It can also include recording yourself with a webcam or smartphone and posting it on YouTube, your site and other company’s sites. You can be a guest on a webinar, or blog radio show. The possibilities are endless and the other great bonus is, it provides you with new content you can use for our next section…..

Writing

You’re hearing it everywhere now, and I know I keep saying it over and over. Content is king. For service based companies this is how you SHOW your expertise. Even product based firms can benefit in sharing product specs, testing and demos. Start by creating your own articles for your own newsletters and posting those articles:

On your site
Via your social networks
On your blog
On article submission sites, and
Via strategic alliance channels (newsletters, sites)

Don’t shy away from approaching free magazines and publications (online and offline), to see if they might like to make you a regular contributor.

Working with the media

The first key step to working with the media is to identify exactly who you should be talking to. This means you need to start collecting the names of Newspaper reporters for relevant sections, TV and Radio Producers and editors of magazines and publications. Don’t forget those important thought leaders online as well!

Secondly start to listen and follow these media sources.  Set up RSS feeds for their name in Google News Alerts, follow their blogs, connect with them on social media sites and lastly subscribe to HARO.

The third step is to start communicating with them via their blogs, social media, online press releases and through pitching them your ideas. Share new trends, an interesting angle to a topical, major event, awards or recognitions or new innovations.

Once you get coverage, you can post this on your site and share it with your networks for even more credibility power. Don’t forget to also follow up and thank them for the coverage and measure your results.

Social Media and Online

While I’ve touched on this throughout the article, you should be looking for ways to increase your own star power via Social Media. A great place to measure where you are and where you need to go is through a site called KLOUT. Find influencers in your industry and look for ways to get more engaged online.  Many of today’s top experts are products of a strong online presence. It shouldn’t be an area you overlook.

Upping your PR may be adding some major to-do’s to your list or to the list of an already overworked employee, but these are important and effective actions every company should take. Assuming you are passionate about what your company does for a living, doesn’t it only seem right that you should be educating the public on the benefits you can offer to others and the problems your products or services can solve? Find a way to get it done!

As the year moves forward, many businesses and entrepreneurs continue to tweak marketing plans and budgets for the months ahead. When it comes to setting up your public relations/media exposure plan, WHEN you launch your campaign can be just as important as what and how you launch.

In the last 16 years of generating media exposure for our clients, my research shows that 41% of the media interest and exposure we generate in a year happens in the second quarter – that’s almost double the amount of any other quarter of the year:

• 1st  quarter = 18%
• 2nd quarter = 41%
• 3rd quarter =  21%
• 4th quarter  = 20%

So what does that mean? If you are planning to implement a  PR/media exposure campaign for your business or product in the coming weeks – congratulations. Your timing is ideal.

Frankly, you can get great media exposure at any time of the year given the right pitch and tending in the media market. But what many people don’t realize is that the Spring and early Summer months are when many of the media outlets look to run features on unique products and services: home & garden products; kitchen & food gadgets; auto accessories & car care; pet care and accessories; outdoor recreation products; travel products, and more.

Like all of us, many media people take vacations during the summer, so they like to be able to put together several product features in the second quarter that can run at any time while they are on vacation in the weeks and months ahead. But they won’t run them if they don’t know about your unique product or service. And that’s why making timely, quality media pitches now can be so mutually beneficial for you and your media contacts.

Also, believe it or not, the latter part of the second quarter is when many of the larger magazines and syndicated TV shows start planning what they call their “Holiday Book” – yes, they start working on their holiday gift guides that early. In fact, some of the bigger magazines are all but finished with their holiday book by August. (I realize that July and August aren’t in the second quarter – my point is that the early birds who get their releases and pitches in by May and June stand a better chance of being featured than those who wait until months later.)

Potential media exposure opportunities are directly dependent upon how quickly and efficiently you or your publicist/PR agency can help the media secure the placement. Media relations are crucial. Your job is to make the job of the reporter/editor/producer as easy and as effortless as possible – which will lead to quicker and more numerous placements for you.

What we are trying to do is continuously plant seeds in the editorial minds of media outlets over the next several weeks and months. Given the right tending, the seeds you plant now will indeed germinate, and you’ll benefit from great media exposure well into the next quarters of the year.

For those of you who recall this line from the cult classic, Carrie from the 70′s, there’s a modern-day parallel, it’s called:

“If we start using social media, people are going to say bad things about us.”

Let’s just get the obligatory responses out of the way:

1. “Gasp! You don’t say?!”
2. “They already are. What’s next?”

I’m left to wonder where all this intense paranoia comes from? Is this to say that companies weren’t concerned when people talked PRIVATELY amongst themselves about how horrible their products were? That was OK, but just don’t put it in writing! Oh, no!

I once had a completely rational person ask me, “Now that we’re using social media, what are we going to do when our rivals say bad things about us?”

She really used that word: rivals.

What is this, West Side Story? Grease? Saving Private Ryan? Gangs of New York? Lockup Raw?

A small thing to remember – everything that happens online is public. Any person or organization that’s going to “go on the attack” (she used that phrase, too) has to do so publicly. And, in order for them to do that, they’ll kinda make themselves look like a fool in the process, no? (Note: anonymous attacks hold virtually no weight.)

I could describe just how BADLY someone can make themselves look when they attack other people online, but sometimes it’s best to see it in action (strong language alert).

After reading the comments at that link, what is your opinion of the author? Exactly.

Point made? Great.

When you think of public relations or publicity, what comes to mind? For some people, (even some P.R. types) it may mean hounding or even badgering the media to get them to generate a story about you, your product or your business. Sometimes that works, often times it doesn’t. As a P.R. professional, I realize the media has very little need for P.R., in the traditional sense. What the media does need is their own meaning of P.R. — Perfect Resources.

MAKE THE MEDIA COME TO YOU!
Put together a brief bit of information highlighting your expertise for the media outlet’s easy reference. I have even gone so far as to compile information labels for clients, and simply attached them to the back of a business card or a Rolodex card that the media representatives can then put in their “future file.” Simply mention that you would be happy to share your expertise with them when a “newsworthy need” arises. And believe me, the need will arise sooner than you or the media think it will.

from Flickr user dmjarvey

Once you are established as a Perfect Resource in your area of expertise, media outlets will turn to you when a newsworthy issue that relates to your industry comes to light. For instance, when the stock market soars or tumbles, what do media outlets immediately do? As a former TV news reporter/producer and I know what we did. Reactively, we tried to dig up a Perfect Resource financial planner or stockbroker to get a reaction or to localize the story. The resources we used in the interviews were more than likely those who had done some proactive P.R. — Perfect Resource — homework. BINGO! Instant, FREE publicity and the relative consumer response. Once the interview was printed or aired, the source would invariably see an increase in business and/or calls.

This type of P.R. may not lead to immediate media interest or exposure. To generate some immediate response, spoon-feed those hungry media mongrels! Turn breaking news into your news. If a story that pertains to your area of expertise breaks or is about to break, whether it is local or national, make a quick phone call, email or fax that says, “I can help your readers/viewers/ listeners understand what this means and how to react.” Many reporters will interview you on the spot.

But, your expertise doesn’t have to be restricted to quips and quotes in your local newspaper or on the local airwaves. Start locally, and then move regionally, then nationally, and maybe even internationally, depending on your scope of expertise. If you truly have a product, information, research or expertise in a particular industry or medium, swim with the big fish. Consult with a P.R. professional who can help you research your applicable media market on a national scale. Compile a list of those media outlets that are not only able, but also very willing to give you a platform to share your expertise. Many of the national news programs on CNN, MSNBC, etc., are always on the lookout for articulate interview sources for their shows. But you have to know make yourself presentable to them. In the past few months, I have landed a number of clients on these types of shows and we used the P.R. — Perfect Resource — platform and created our own news.

Remember, these shows have to generate enough information to fill five shows a week. And as much as they hate to admit it, they secretly love us P.R. types…  especially those of us who can make that editor, reporter or producer’s job a lot easier with a little P.R. gift: you as the Perfect Resource. What will that gift mean for you? As one great ad slogan once chimed… “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Todd Brabender is the President of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc. His business specializes in generating widespread media exposure for innovative products, services and experts.
http://www.spreadthenewspr.com
todd@spreadthenewspr.com
(785) 842-8909

Words have meanings. Communication has the message, the message sent and the message received. We’re stuck with that. We don’t get to redefine words easily, for convenience. We need to respect the meaning in the other person’s head.

What am I talking about, you ask? (I know–it isn’t obvious.) I’m talking about . . .

• I worked with someone who said “public relations” when he meant what the rest of the world calls customer service. That made business discussions hard, sometimes, because we didn’t share the same definition for that phrase.
• Many people use the accounting term “goodwill” as if it were the ordinary, non-jargon English phrase “good will.” Goodwill in finance and accounting is the difference between the book value of a business and the amount paid by a business to buy that business.
• Many people have trouble distinguishing “assets” as an exact concept in accounting and finance from the general idea of assets as things that are good to have. So, for example, when they pay programmers to develop a website they want to think of that website as an asset. In general terms, it is; but in accounting terms, it isn’t. Website programming was an expense, and it doesn’t generate an asset on the books. That can be very confusing.
• And then there’s the whole problem of “value” and what things are worth. For accounting and finance, an asset is worth purchase price less depreciation. It isn’t worth what you’d sell it for or what you think people would pay for it. It isn’t even worth what it would cost to replace it. It’s worth what you paid for it, less depreciation. Period.

That bothers some people. Particularly in the business plan setting where they’re writing a plan to present the business to others, like a plan for investors, or to back a bank loan. They want to show the value of their website or the software, which has no value in the books (because development is an expense, not a purchase of assets). They want to show that the land and buildings are worth way more than what they paid for them.

In that case, what you need is patience. The extra value comes through to the books when you sell that land and those buildings, when you sell the software you developed, when you sell the website or, better yet, make sales of other stuff because the website is good. There’s a lot of value that goes into the text of the plan, but not the formal numbers, because it hasn’t been realized yet.

This problem of definitions drives some people crazy, and it makes me very uncomfortable. It’s not just trying to make trouble on my part. I seem old-fashioned and inflexible when I fall back on the more established, standard definitions of the words and phrases some people want to give their own special meaning to.

My mom joined Facebook a couple of weeks ago. She joined because I told her that people were contacting me asking about her and my dad. I should say that my parents have been in boarding school (Academy and University level) careers since the 60′s. The grandchildren of kids they watched over way back then are now attending the college they work at now. It’s weird for them, but also really satisfying in a way.

So she joined Facebook. In a matter of days she was in touch with kids she’d once mentored, she was talking with old students who were once again seeking her guidance and opinions. She became instantly networked into a vast group of people spread all around the country. And all she did was sign up for a free Facebook account.

What does this have to do with business?

Just this. If you had the opportunity to network into the market you’re selling to, would you hesitate?  Do you have 15 minutes a day to do a Google search on your brand or company name and see what people are talking about? Are they talking about you or worse, are they NOT talking about you? What can you do to join or start that conversation? It might not be a fit, but how will you know if you don’t try it out?

There are people searching the internet looking for your business.

Are you making it easy for them?

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software

Our next guest post is from Todd Brabender,  President of Spread The News Public Relations, Inc and a long time friend of Palo Alto Software. You can read more of Todd’s articles by going to bplans.com articles. His business specializes in generating media exposure and publicity for innovative products, businesses, experts and inventions.

The call came into my office and the voice on the other end was very energetic, almost giddy: “I have finalized my marketing budget and need your help launching an advertising campaign for my new product,” he breathed. “Congratulations,” I replied, “but before you implement an ad campaign, I want to make sure you have explored potential publicity & PR opportunities that could generate some cost-efficient media exposure first.” Then, silence. “I never thought about that,” he sighed. “Frankly, I don’t know much about it.”

It’s a common conversation. Although many entrepreneurs or business people know a bit about publicity or media exposure, the majority simply don’t understand the full benefits of media exposure or how to go about generating features successfully. Media exposure has always been a cost-efficient way to market a product or business and generate clients or customers, but because of lack of knowledge or a misunderstanding of what media exposure is and does, many entrepreneurs don’t take full advantage of these publicity opportunities — and that can lead to missed marketing chances.

I recently surveyed a few dozen business owners and entrepreneurs in some newsgroups and business chat rooms about their knowledge of media exposure and publicity. I found out that only 37% knew that a simple “product profile” in a magazine was generated as a result of publicity or public relations efforts. Most thought the company had paid the media outlet to run the feature, much like an ad. And of that 37%, less than half of them knew HOW to generate a similar placement.

Another interesting fact, because of the recent slowdown in the economy, expensive advertising budgets have been slashed. As a result, many businesses are turning to media exposure/PR campaigns as a more affordable means of marketing to compete with other companies. Here are some ways to use media exposure and publicity placements to help your business:

Feature Placements/Media Notification
What some entrepreneurs might not realize is that we see feature placements from publicity efforts everyday in the media: product profiles, feature articles and contributed by-lined articles in magazines, newspapers, trade industry newsletters or on TV/radio/cable newscasts & shows. This is not advertising, this is what I call a “FEATURE Placement” or “Media Notification” of a product, business or industry expert. That is accomplished by notifying the appropriate media that your newsworthy product is on the market or your business is offering a unique new service. The targeted media will then run a feature placement that will spread that message to your consumer market. These placements can detail your product or business very effectively, giving consumers some objective, pertinent information that may well entice them to become future customers.

These placements are looked upon much more credibly than ad placements. That is not a slam on advertising. Paying for advertising placements is indeed an effective way to market your product. But the fact is, a positive feature placement such as a product profile in a magazine or a newspaper can be much more persuasive than a glossy, over-hyped advertisement – and a fraction of the cost. My point is that feature placements are an often time overlooked marketing vehicle for a business, and that entrepreneurs should understand the full benefits of these placements to make the most of their marketing efforts.

Feature placements are a wonderfully reciprocal way for you and the media to work together for the betterment of your business. The media needs to fill its pages and airtime with interesting information — and you need to get the word out to your market. Research the media market to find those media outlets and editorial contacts with which you can forge that mutually beneficial relationship. But you have to do your part and do it right – or the media will forge that relationship with your competitor. Make sure your media message is solid, contains newsworthy angles and isn’t disguised as overly commercialized ad copy. Have high-quality photos and media samples available and do all you can to make the media’s job of featuring your product as simple as possible. It also helps to have some sort of clipping service in place to track your placements and get you copies so you can use them in your secondary marketing programs.

Expert Branding
This type of publicity placement generating takes advantage of the expert knowledge within a particular business. It is an effective tool for entrepreneurs whose businesses are more service related, like consultants or specialists. Expert branding basically treats the expert like a product. Alert the media as to your expertise on a specific topic and avail yourself to serve as an expert interview resource for future articles or news feature segments. Additionally, the expert should write a few brief articles on a specialized topic and make them available to editors for review and possible publication. The challenge of this type of publicity placement is the tedious task of finding out which outlets accept “expert editorial contributions” or contributed by-lined articles in their publications. Again, it comes down to meticulously researching your media market to find those media outlets that may be in need of the editorial content that you can provide them.

With some creativity, expert branding can be effective for product-based businesses as well. One client of mine ran a fresh wild salmon distribution business and was looking to increase consumer awareness of his products. Based on his more than 20 years of experience in the wild salmon harvesting business, we expert branded him as a viable interview resource to health/food editors for features detailing the differences and benefits of wild salmon over farm-raised fish, as well as other related topics. In this case, my client (the expert) is identified and quoted in features and the name of the business and even a link to a website are often included for consumers to check out. This is great credibility building exposure at little or no cost.

Overall, when using the media to help market your product or business, take advantage of as many media exposure opportunities as you can. If you lack the expertise or time, a PR agency, media exposure specialist or publicist can generate these editorial placements for you. But the fee you pay them is a FRACTION of what it would cost you to buy similar sized ad placements. And those publicity placements typically lead to a much better consumer response right out of the gate – which is just what you need to boost your business to the next level.

Todd Brabender
http://www.spreadthenewspr.com
todd@spreadthenewspr.com
(785) 842-8909

I love podcasts. I can load them into my iPod and listen to them in the car when I’m going to and from work or even doing lunch. There are a few that I listen to on a regular basis and a few that I listen to only occasionally.

Last week the podcast “For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report” had a live panel discussion on the value of PR for startup businesses.

From Neville Hobson’s website: The live call-in episode on BlogTalk Radio. Panel discussion addressed the value public relations professionals bring to startups. The topic was a response to several posts dismissing PR’s worth, suggesting startup CEOs can handle their own public relations (the post by Jason Calacanis served as the focal point of the discussion).

Panelists included Rob Lane, CEO, Overlay TV; Katie Paine, president, K.D. Paine & Partners; Todd Defren, partner, Shift Communications; Sherrilynne Starkie, from Strive Public Relations; and Michael O’Connor Clarke, from ThornleyFallis Public Relations.

I found this to be a fascinating episode to listen to and helpful for companies who are wondering if they should continue their public relations contracts.

While the focus for this podcast was to encourage companies/startups to continue to work with PR professionals, there is quite a lot of information for the business owners who believes they can go it alone in the PR world, not only in this podcast but in several of the same focused articles and podcasts.

There are certainly contacts and opportunities that you as a business owner won’t have, not being a PR professional, but when times are tough, every bit counts. And if you can get by for a few months by complimenting your toned down traditional PR and marketing efforts with doing a portion of it yourself, then that can have some potentially business strengthening results.

Also check out the podcasts from Vocus.com.  I’ve really enjoyed their recent series of episodes.

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager
Palo Alto Software