PR and how to get press coverage for your businessLynda Willis

What is PR?

“Public relations is concerned with the management of relationships between organisations and their publics.”

Bruning and Ledingham

Publics – more than one?

Publics

General

Financial

The Media

Internal

Authority

Commercial

How are we going to manage these relationships?

Press relations - press releases, press conferences, press briefings

Events – social events, AGM, factory tours

Publications – annual report, magazines, DVDs, brochures, books, website

Corporate identityInternal – staff magazines, staff

conferences, staff DVDs

PR is different to advertising

Advertising PR

Credibility Low High

Cost High Low

Control Medium Low

With PR, a company does not pay the newspapers and TV channels for the media exposure it secures. It's this third-party endorsement that gives PR its power and credibility

Advertorials ....

Types of media available

Broadcast - TV & Radio Print - Newspapers

(national, regional and local) & Magazines

Online – www.responsesource.com www.prweb.com

Average Newspaper Circulations Jan – Jun 2011 (year-on-year change)Belfast Telegraph : 59,319 ; -11.9% Irish News : 43,647 ; -4.1% Sunday Life : 55,067 ; -14.1% News Letter : 23,492 ; -3.5%

Banbridge Chronicle : 4,354 ; -12.7% Lurgan Mail : 7,045 ; -5.8% Mid Ulster Mail : 8,360 ; -5.5% Newry Reporter : 11,877 ; -7.1% Portadown Times : 9,210 ; -4.8% Ulster Star : 7,774 ; -6.8%

Audit Bureau of Circulation – Aug 2011

NB Newspaper website traffic is increasing! Readership = circulation x 3

Who do you want to read your press release?

Male/female Age Socio-economic group Geographical location Interests

What could you write a press release about?

Become a guru – free advice article solving current problems.

New or unusual Controversial Insight on a hot media topic Won a major contract Community involvement Anniversary eg first year in business New personnel New/renovated premises Awards Spoken at an event eg seminar

Turning a disaster into a news story

Rachel Brown (Need a Cake, Reading) launched an offer via Groupon – 12 cupcakes for £6.50, which normally cost £26.

8,500 deals sold. Lost £3 per batch as she

had to hire in extra staff. She hit the national

papers (Daily Telegraph) plus blogs

Writing a Press ReleaseFor immediate release: date Or Embargoed until:

dateHeadline – attention-grabbing1. Summarise the story who, what, where, when and

why. Key information in this paragraph2. More details to flesh out the story3. Quote from someone in your company 4. Quote from someone else eg a happy customer or

industry expert5. End with a call to action – date of event,

website/phone number for more detailsNotes to Editor – brief notes about the companyContact Details – email address and telephone numberPhotograph – relevant and interesting image (with caption)

How do we read a newspaper story?

First the picture. Then the caption. Then the headline. Finally the start of the

story. If the introduction is poor, we move on!

Pictures are the hook – words and pictures are needed to maximise chances of story being used!

PR is really expensive ...

It doesn’t have to be You can do a lot yourself PR experts – some large Belfast

agencies or freelancers

How would PR help my business?

News Letter

16/05/1120/06/11

Belfast Telegraph – 16th May 2011

Belfast Telegraph – 30/6/11

Monetary Value of PR

Belfast Telegraph (half page) – £600 x2

News Letter - £125 x2 Portadown Times (half page) - £459

Total Value = £1909

Other benefits of PR to Paul McAlister Architects

Created awareness with potential new customers

Maintained visibility with existing customers

Promoted a positive image

EvaluationTelephone enquiries Increased traffic to website

Top PR Tips

1. Know your target audience2. Pick your media – national press,

regional press, local press, trade press, radio, TV, magazines, online

3. Pick your journalist4. Build a relationship with the journalist5. Keep your press release short and to the

point6. Send your press release in the body of

an email

More Top PR Tips

7. Follow up your release8. Pick your time to ring journalists

– think about their deadlines9. If the journalist isn’t interested

in your story, ask why10.Don’t be put off11.Interesting photos may

generate more media interest12.If the story is used, thank the

journalist

Thank you for listening

Lynda Willis028 9265 1525/07773 423675lynda@customersensetraining.co.uk