Public relations can't be just a bunch of hot air shouted at random. It must be strategic, targeted, and designed for results.
If you’re just buying ads and sending out brochures and postcards, you might be spending too much money to reach too few people.
- Paid media (ads) is expensive and increasingly ineffective.
- Earned media (news coverage) can’t be bought — you just have to sell your story to reporters and editors; and if it works, the value of a news story is much greater than an ad.
Today, the internet has made it possible for any company or group to get PR, either from traditional news media outlets or online through social media.
To qualify, you need smarts and a bit of sweat equity. Above all, you need a great story. Why is what you do newsworthy? Are you the first, the fastest growing, or the most unique?
Take a risk and tell your story
Is there some tension in your story? There’s nothing reporters and editors hate more than a boring PR pitch about “excellent people doing excellent things excellently.” Dullsville.
If you want the media to notice you, you need to take some risks, and make your story, well, a bit spicy. For example, every good story has a hero and a villain, even if that villain is not a person, but rather an issue or a conundrum, like the lack of arts classes for middle schools or eyewear that’s too expensive. You become the hero who helps raise money to pay for art and music teachers. You’re the hero who provides eyeglass frames at a reasonable price with unusually great service.
From our experience helping clients get into such media as the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and on local radio and TV and on Facebook, Twitter, and on blogs, we offer a full suite of media outreach services:
- Media list development
- Creation of news releases, media alerts, and media kits
- Media spokesperson training and services
- Ghostwriting and creating content for websites, blogs, and social media