The importance of a solid PR message
One of the most exciting moments of your business is the launch and the impact your company makes in the market. Essential to launch is formulating your companies main message and selling that message to the media for the first time. With a new company the last thing you want is a subtle entry, when you launch you want to take the market by storm, no, scratch that, hurricane - quick, powerful and widespread. Whether you have a million dollar marketing budget or none, a solid PR plan is essential to sending your message to the largest population of people, a PR plan is also the most cost-effective. PR generates buzz and interest, media coverage and an unbiased opinion.
When developing a company message, think of your appeal and impact you are going to make in the market. How will your service or product exceed that of your competition? What will you offer that is not currently on the market? Those are solid questions that you need to establish in your main company message, if you can't clearly identify such benefits, why should customers seek out you rather than competitors? When you clearly state your competitive advantage and benefit to society, exploit the hell out of it, your best asset and chances of success will rely heavily on that message.
New companies aren't identified by image
When a new company starts, nobody will identify that company by their name, logo, or image, you need to connect all of your marketing to your PR plan. Market your message and your name, people's association with your image will follow, sometimes that will take months, other times, years. Believe it or not, McDonalds was not instantly recognized by it's logo. It provided fast, cheap and "quality" burgers and marketed that. Now when you see that logo, you immediately associate their message with what they offer, fast and cheap.
A PR message doesn't and often times shouldn't be established only for your business a whole. Whenever your introduce a new product, that same message should be established and like your business people will associate it's image with the product itself.
So how do you establish that PR and give it to the public?
Advertise your message on everything your company
While the topics covered barely tear the skin into PR as a whole, you can clearly see its importance and ease of implementation. By following the simple tasks on the road to quality PR, you can quickly see the momentum your company will gain.
When developing a company message, think of your appeal and impact you are going to make in the market. How will your service or product exceed that of your competition? What will you offer that is not currently on the market? Those are solid questions that you need to establish in your main company message, if you can't clearly identify such benefits, why should customers seek out you rather than competitors? When you clearly state your competitive advantage and benefit to society, exploit the hell out of it, your best asset and chances of success will rely heavily on that message.
New companies aren't identified by image
When a new company starts, nobody will identify that company by their name, logo, or image, you need to connect all of your marketing to your PR plan. Market your message and your name, people's association with your image will follow, sometimes that will take months, other times, years. Believe it or not, McDonalds was not instantly recognized by it's logo. It provided fast, cheap and "quality" burgers and marketed that. Now when you see that logo, you immediately associate their message with what they offer, fast and cheap.
A PR message doesn't and often times shouldn't be established only for your business a whole. Whenever your introduce a new product, that same message should be established and like your business people will associate it's image with the product itself.
So how do you establish that PR and give it to the public?
Advertise your message on everything your company
- Websites, when such a hefty portion of people will see and investigate what you have to offer is found on your website, it is very important to get that message across clearly.
- Business cards, also be used to distribute your message and can be quite effective. When you are networking with other individuals, you never know when the next "big thing" will hit.
- Blogs, blogs are very powerful tools that can create instant responses from the online going public. Every day cover a topic of your service/product/industry, create hype, direct other bloggers to your own and see the buzz spread like wildfire.
- Distribute press releases, if you are a good writer you can write your own but it is often recommended to hire a qualified PR writer. The press release should cover all aspects of your message and remain detailed, but rather brief. Most press releases will be around 1 to 2 pages in length. There are several websites in existence who take your press release and can distribute them to thousands of viewers. A couple of these sites offer to host your press release for free however the best results are seen with a paid service ranging from $100-700.
- Go local, never underestimate the power of your local audience. The power they hold is extreme while they are generally very easy to connect to. Depending on the nature of your business, contact your local paper to cover a story of your business and soon after you can attract larger publishers.
While the topics covered barely tear the skin into PR as a whole, you can clearly see its importance and ease of implementation. By following the simple tasks on the road to quality PR, you can quickly see the momentum your company will gain.
Labels: PR, public relations
