Running a small business is no easy feat, especially when your team members can be counted on one hand. When resources are limited, it’s important to have a targeted and effective marketing plan to ensure you’re making the best use of your limited time and budget.
PR is one of the most consistent ways to build credibility for your business and spread the word in a cost-efficient way. By getting your company consistently mentioned in the news, you can generate leads for your business in an impactful way.
I recently posted a Facebook request for small business owners to ask their most pressing PR questions. Below are three frequently asked questions that small business owners have about PR, as well as my insights on how you can get started with PR to support the growth of your small business.
"Why is PR important for small businesses?"
PR is important for small business owners because it’s generally free, which allows you to get exposure for your business without spending marketing dollars. What’s even better is that having other people talk about you is more impactful to your potential customers, so you can get more value from your PR efforts than you would with paid advertising.
"What is the best way to use PR to build brand awareness of a product line?"
For those with products to promote, PR can be an incredible resource. Start by looking for journalists who focus on product reviews in your industry. It’s important to start local, so take advantage of publications and TV shows that like to showcase products in their “buy local” features.
You can also reach out to your local TV news directors to tell them about your product and ask them to keep you in mind for their next local product segment. It’s important to watch the station regularly so that you’re aware of the types of segments they do. This way you can speak directly to the types of features they’ve done in the past and how your product would fit well into their show style.
I once sat down with a TV news director and asked her how she prefers people to communicate with her to get on one of the shows on her network. Her response was, “Send me an email asking for five minutes of my time to tell me about your business.” She went on to add that her email is often filled with hundreds of requests daily, so following up a few weeks later is important.
"How can small business owners get journalists to publish their news?"
One of the easiest ways to get your news updates published is to reply to relevant journalists using HARO (Help a Reporter Out). Updates come in three times per day and you’re able to hear from journalists who are looking for quotes for stories they’re already working on. If you can find opportunities to make your updates fit into their story, you’ll increase your chances of getting featured.
For example, there are often journalists on HARO looking for products to feature during the holidays. This would be a perfect time to share your product with them, along with a little bit about what your product offers to customers and any updates you have on the product that may be interesting for them to share.
Another way to get published is to write a simple overview of your news and share it directly with your local newspaper and TV stations. You can connect with them by pulling up the website and looking for the contact page. There is usually a general contact such as news@thenewspaper.com; you can utilize that general mailbox to share your news with editors and producers for consideration. You may also find email addresses for individual reporters, but you should only contact them if you’ve fully researched their work and understand the kinds of stories they generally cover.
Lastly, many journalists are online building relationships with their sources on social media. By having quality exchanges with a targeted group of journalists over a period of time, you can build the kinds of relationships that put you on their radar to be their first contact when they need a source in your industry.
Tips For Contacting Journalists
- Be simple. Explain what you want in 4-5 sentences max. Journalists are busy, so they don’t have time to read long emails from strangers. Be as concise as possible when describing your potential story with a maximum length of 4-5 sentences. If they’re interested in your story, they’ll ask for the details they want from you.
- They get hundreds of emails. Don’t get upset if they ignore yours. I’m not a journalist, but I do have a platform. That means I get emails from people who want me to cover their stories. There are those who will send me 6-10 follow-up emails that get progressively nasty (read: angry face gifs and exclamation points). If a journalist is not interested in covering your story, they likely won’t respond to you. In that case, leave them alone after a couple of tries. Perhaps keep watching their work to find another idea to run by them.
- Include your credentials unless your reputation precedes you. Unless you’re Tony Robbins or Oprah, you likely need to explain to the journalist why you’re uniquely qualified to serve as an expert in your industry. A short footnote at the end of each email is perfect -- no need to send a full-page bio.
Getting PR on your own is very possible, but it can take time to build relationships with members of the press. Committing to 30-60 minutes of PR work each week for a period of six months will give you a good start to achieving regular mentions in the news.
