A small business news feature can bring in sales leads
There are so many choices when it comes to marketing channels these days that it can be difficult for small business owners to choose the best way forward. Tactics from targeted social media posts to event sponsorships can help make the phones ring, depending upon your business and marketing goals, but the one channel that is often overlooked is PR: Public Relations.
PR = Earned Media
PR, also known as “earned media,” is a powerful marketing tool that can give a small business instant credibility and increase customer interest. Why? Because when you write a press release about your company—and you write it well and get it in the right hands—odds are it will be picked up by print and online media and be featured in prominent locations. Suddenly, you have eyeballs on your business—thousands of them. For free.
Many people shy away from PR because they don’t know how to reach the media, they don’t know what might be considered “newsworthy,” and they don’t trust that what they have to say could be of interest. Truth is, newspapers and online news services are always looking for good content that will appeal to their readers.
Topics of interest to editors include the focus and location of your new company; your new service or location, a new employee, a promotion, or an award you or your organization received.
When your news runs as editorial in the paper, it is perceived very differently than running an ad. Your company is presented as newsworthy and of value, which immediately lends credibility to your company and piques interest. Because your news is appearing on a third-party channel, not on your website or in your enewsletter, it also provides objectivity, which further lends credibility.
Case in point
A Common Capital client with a new business was recently featured in the Springfield Republican. Not only did the owner’s phone ring off the hook for a few days after the piece ran in the paper, but several months later, one of her top business referral prospects called her with the article in her hand saying, “I hadn’t heard of your company before this article. I would love to refer my patients to you, so please come by and drop off your sales materials so I can display them in our offices!”
That’s what I call, The Power of PR. And I can help you achieve it.