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1 PR 101 for Small Businesses Michelle Garrett Garrett Public Relations www.michellegarrett.com Twitter: @PRisUs

PR 101 For Small Businesses

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A presentation geared toward small businesses that reviews how to do your own PR.

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Page 1: PR 101 For Small Businesses

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PR 101 for Small Businesses

Michelle Garrett

Garrett Public Relations

www.michellegarrett.com

Twitter: @PRisUs

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Today’s Agenda

• What is public relations?• PR vs. advertising • Where to start: News items and press lists • Content: Press releases and press kits• Partner public relations• More PR opportunities: Editorial calendars,

awards, speaking gigs, contributed articles• Publicizing your PR• Resources• Wrap up/Q&A

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What is Public Relations?

BuildingMaintainingPromoting

Reputation or Image

CompanyProduct

PersonalityOrganization/Association

Cause

Impact

•Favorable Image/Reputation•Awareness/Visibility•Interest•Support•Alter Behavior•Influence Public Opinion

the

of a

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PR vs. Advertising(Hint: They’re not the same!)

PR Advertising

Indirect marketing tool to influence target audience

Direct marketing tool to influence target audience

Pitch/place articles Buy advertising space

Public perceives news stories as credible sources of information

Public perceives ads as biased towards the advertiser

Easier on marketing budget

More expensive to implement

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So where do I start?

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One way to get started is to think about what makes your company newsworthy? • New location• New product or service• New hires• Upcoming event—e.g. open house, charity

event, sponsorship of an event, speaking engagement

• New partnership

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Now, what about content?

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Once you choose/prioritize your newsworthy items, what’s the best vehicle to use to get the news out? •Press release•Blog post•Social media updates•Customer success story/case study•Contributed article

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What’s next?

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• Develop a list of your key press—think about what your potential customers are reading

• It could include: • Local press (e.g. Business First, Columbus Dispatch)• Trade press (e.g. Inc., Popular Mechanics, Woman’s

Day, Health, InformationWeek)• Business press (e.g. Wall Street Journal, USA Today)• Broadcast media (WCMH, NBC, radio)

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What about social media?

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This could be an entire topic on its own!

But it could include:FacebookTwitterLinkedInPinterest Many, many others….

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Writing a good press release

• The steps: collect information; conduct interviews if needed

• Include any research, facts or figures: if you don’t have your own, cite some from an article

• Begin drafting the release—write, then rewrite; walk away, then review and rewrite until it’s solid

• Style of a release—follow news style (inverted pyramid)—who/what/when/why/how up in the first paragraph

• Format: Headline/sub-head/paragraph/paragraph/quote/paragraph/pricing and availability/closing boilerplate

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How to issue the news

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• Wire services: free and paid• Send it directly to the reporter(s)--they look to PR

practitioners to make their jobs easier• When working with reporters: adopt a service-

oriented attitude toward the media• What reporters need from you: timely responses,

honesty, a helpful attitude--a willingness to go the extra mile to help them do their job

• Don’t promise if you can’t deliver; follow up; know what they cover

• Other channels we discussed previously, including a news area on your site, social media and so on

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Preparing for media interviews

• If you’ve never done interviews, practice! • Choose the best spokesperson(s) depending upon the

subject matter• Go over some basic media training tips at the minimum;

you can hire a pro to do in-depth training and taping, if needed

• Do your homework on reporters and publications—look at some stories they’ve written to get a feel for how they write

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Press kits

• So, what goes in a good press kit? • Include the basics that would help a journalist

write about your company: press releases, company profile, company fact sheet, executive bios, logos, marketing brochure, business card/contact information

• Include the same items in your online press kit

• You can customize the content, depending on what event it is

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Partner Public Relations

• Opportunities sometimes arise to work with a partner company on promoting an alliance, event or other initiative

• Decide on the strategy • Work with the partner to “divide and

conquer” the PR responsibilities• Leverage the partner’s resources, if

possible, to help get the work done

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Editorial calendars

• What is an editorial calendar?• Check your target publications’ editorial

calendars online• Compile all data in a format that works

for you, such as an Excel spreadsheet• Contact the editors; prioritize based on

topic and deadline date

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Awards

• Awards can help bring visibility and credibility to a company

• Research awards that are available in your industry and through publications

• Keep track of submission deadlines• Enter appropriate awards programs• No guarantees• Once you have the content, it can be

repurposed

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Speaking Opportunities

• Decide on venues—research and choose appropriate opportunities

• Write a speaking abstract • Submit the abstract and any other

requested information per the requirements

• Prepare your spokesperson for the talk; Rehearse!

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Contributed articles

• Many publications accept contributed articles• Research publications in which placing a

contributed article might help raise the visibility of your company

• Develop an abstract of a topic to suggest—try to avoid a product or company-focused topic

• Trends make good topics for contributed articles

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How to Publicize Your PR

• Once the article appears, push it out using appropriate channels—web site, social media, and so on

• Once you secure a speaking engagement, promote it

• Once you win an award, publicize that news

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Realities of Public Relations

• It takes time! PR is a process…

• Don’t expect to make the front page of the Wall Street Journal overnight

• Your idea/activity MUST be newsworthy to receive coverage. Ask yourself, “why should they care?”

• Remember, with PR, there’s no guarantee what will be reported or how it will be stated

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Tools and Resources

• Wire services: Businesswire, PR Newswire, PRWeb

• Media databases: MyMediaInfo, Cision, Vocus

• Clipping services: BurrellesLuce.com, Vocus• Organizations: Public Relations Society of

America (PRSA), Social Media Club

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So what if I decide I don’t want to do it myself?

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• Hire a “coach”—someone to help answer questions

• Hire a freelance consultant to do some of the work on an ongoing or project basis

• What about agencies?

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Wrap-up

• Questions…..?

• Thank you!

Michelle Garrett

Garrett Public Relations

www.michellegarrett.com

[email protected]