PR: the basics
By John Hicks M.IDM
Managing Director of Headline Promotions, Press & PR
Recently, I had the pleasure of giving a lecture to some business studies students to introduce them to public relations for small businesses. Here is my handout:
There is an old saying: “There’s no such thing as bad publicity. All publicity is god publicity”. I am sorry to disabuse people but that just isn’t true!
PR, public relations that is, is about getting people to talk and think about your business in a positive way. It can be a vital weapon in your business' armoury.
It's a way to get good publicity without advertising. And if there's ever a problem facing your business it helps you to deal with it effectively.
You can use PR to attract and impress key partners such as customers, suppliers, distributors, banks and other lenders, potential employees and possible business partners.
And PR isn't just for big companies using national newspapers or television. Even the smallest business can use publicity opportunities to catch the eye of its local audience.
My guide will help you generate positive media coverage and identify the media you should target. I will also tell you how you can go about writing a press release and give you tips for dealing with bad publicity.
Identifying your target media
The first step to getting media coverage for your business is to decide on your target outlets. Ask yourself who will be interested in your story:
· your local paid-for newspaper
· your local free paper
· your local council newspaper
· the free county magazine
· local radio and television
· trade, technical and professional magazines covering your business or expertise
· national newspapers
· consumer and lifestyle magazines
· national radio and television - but usually your local station will feed your story to the network if it's good enough
Get details of publications in directories such as BRAD, Willings Press Guide or Hollis Press & Public Relations Annual - have a look in your local reference library.
How to get media coverage
You could send out press releases on the same story to a number of outlets. But you'll need to tailor each release to the audience.
For example, a marine charity plans a protest outside the Japanese Embassy. The press release for the environmental and marine media highlights the campaign and asks other organisations for support. The press release for the local papers and regional radio stations talks more emotively about the issues and asks the public to travel to London to make their voice heard.
There are many natural PR opportunities:
· a new product launch
· new premises
· new members of staff
· an important new order
· involvement with a charity
· significant anniversaries, eg your 1,000th customer
· business partnerships
And you can create publicity opportunities:
· submit articles for publication
· commission a survey on serious or fun issues and send the results to the press
· suggest a newspaper competition with your product as the prize
· give expert opinions and volunteer quotes
· send letters to the editor on business topics using your business address
Building contacts with the media
News editors decide on the news stories written by their reporters. Contact the news editor with a story, particularly if you don't know any of the reporters.
The features editor decides on the longer analytical or background articles. The press release is one of the key points of contact with news and features editors.
Introduce yourself to editors of local papers and trade magazines - perhaps at a reception or an organisation's annual dinner.
Put journalists on your mailing list for background information they may find interesting, such as your business' newsletter.
Note that journalists work to tight deadlines - find out the deadline and supply your story well in advance. If a journalist is trying to get hold of you - respond quickly before their deadline.
Journalists' news agendas are different from yours. Provide what's interesting to them and their audience, not to you. But they're always looking to fill space. Putting facts down in writing - including quotes from you - helps before a conversation with them. Emails are good for cutting and pasting.
Dealing with bad publicity
Disgruntled employees and customers, crises and accidents can all generate negative news stories.
Make sure employees know who to refer journalists' enquiries to and ensure that only employees who are authorised to do so respond to enquiries.
If a journalist contacts you, check their deadline, carefully construct a written statement, and respond in time. It doesn't look good if you refuse to comment.
Show you've done everything you reasonably could to correct any problems.
If there's a tricky follow-up question, take time to put your case forward and restate it by written communication if possible.
It's not a good idea to go off the record when there's bad news. Answer truthfully the questions put to you. But it's not your job to volunteer every detail.
Be aware that any response you give may carry legal implications. In the worst case scenarios it might be worth seeking legal advice before making any response or making statements for the media through your legal representatives.
For a more detailed discussion, please see the links below.
Writing an effective press release
What's important to you may not grab the media. They may be less interested in the product than the fact that it brings environmental benefits, for instance.
News is typically:
· controversial, new or surprising
· amusing or funny
· directly important to the audience
· confidential or secret - until now
· linked with famous people or places
· linked with conflict, romance or mystery
You can write a press release yourself and seek to distribute it. If you would like advice, see the links below.
Alternatively, why not try a Press Release Writing Service such as the Press Release Writing Service (http://www.pressreleasewritingservice.co.uk/) which offers a fixed price service!
Distribution of your press release
Once you've written your press release, your aim is to get it covered by your target media organisations.
Find out their copy deadlines. Send the release to the editor, news and features editors and possibly the reporter who might write the piece.
Journalists are lazy (I know, I was one!). We love to have press releases e-mailed to us so that we can cut and paste it to save time and effort.
Check the release has been received and if further information is needed.
Photographs (such as the one I used with my marine protest - see above) can boost your chances of getting your story covered. If appropriate, try to include at least a head-and-shoulders shot of the person quoted in the press release. Or get an agency to take a picture of the person at its premises. If you're lucky, a publication might send along a photographer.
Non-media PR
Don't see your PR as just something that's directly targeted at the media. You can influence and impress people - including the media - in many ways, not just by getting a mention in a news story.
Try out some of these ideas for raising awareness of your business in your locality or your industry sector using non-media and activity-based PR. For example, you could try:
· giving talks on business and other subjects to organisations, schools and colleges
· joining an organisation and become a figurehead, their publicity gives you publicity
· sponsoring events such as a school fête or exhibition
· sponsoring a local sports team
· organising competitions, initiatives & surveys, possibly working with a newspaper
· meeting and talking to other business people, just being seen around
· helping with, or donating products to, charity
· teaming up with suppliers or customers to work on attracting joint publicity
Useful resources:
Get details of local radio stations at the radio-now website
http://www.radio-now.co.uk/main.htm
Find details of newspapers in your area from the Newspaper Society website
http://www.newspapersoc.org.uk/Default.aspx?page=3
Read about handling bad publicity at my blog
http://headlinepromotions.blogspot.com/2006/05/pr-crisis-management.html
http://headlinepromotions.blogspot.com/2006/05/pr-crisis-management-how-to-ensure.html
Read advice on organising a successful business event
http://headlinepromotions.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-plan-for-successful-business.html
Read a PR glossary of terms
http://headlinepromotions.blogspot.com/2006/04/pr-glossary.html
