MAKE PUBLIC RELATIONS WORK FOR YOU

You’ve made it so far. You’re an entrepreneur and you’re proud of your product. Now you want to sell it. Why not? It’s what you’re in business for!

But what’s the most cost effective way of going about it?

The choices can be daunting and your budget is probably limited.

Do you blow it on an all singing, all dancing, in your face advertising campaign?

If so, on what scale? Local, regional, national, global?

And what medium do you choose? Print? Radio? TV? Internet? Direct mail…?

In a sense, it doesn’t matter since everyone knows an advert is paid for, wherever it appears, gives your opinion only and therefore, unless they are extremely gullible, most consumers will take it with a pinch of salt!

So what you need before you start paying megabucks for column inches or airtime, is credibility.

That means independent, third party endorsement of your product - and the best way to get this is to court journalists.

You need to introduce them to your product, let them play around with it if they can and, hopefully write you up in the manner to which you’d like to be accustomed!

Enter your friendly Public Relations expert!

PR persons know the right media to talk to, the journalists who would be most interested in what you have to offer and the right time to break your news.

Their main aim is to soften the public up to your product, separate you from competitors and make it easy for you to, later, if you choose, advertise to a receptive, rather than cold, market.

Friendly journalists can achieve this for you – though they definitely would not put this down as their number one priority!

PR professionals are trained to approach the media on your behalf on their terms.

There are many ways of interesting the media. A punchy press release is essential but so is direct contact with editors/news desks to see if what you have on offer is really newsworthy. Newsrooms are inundated with press releases which normally end up in the bin!

You don’t want that, so a quick phone call or email to a journalist outlining what you will be selling, to ‘test the water’, never goes amiss.

An event, or special product launch, provided it is not too complicated and in danger of turning into a fiasco, is also a way of announcing your product. Let media professionals know well in advance, make sure they are properly taken care of on the day and, journalistic ethics permitting, you should get some pretty favourable press.

Always remember though that journalists are trained to report ‘warts and all’, so don’t expect perfect press unless your product is perfect!

Generally speaking, if you hire a reputable PR outfit, they will guide you through all the pitfalls and make sure you make the best possible impression on the market you are aiming at.

Don’t forget, every one thinks their ‘baby’ is the ‘bees knees’ and things don’t automatically sell themselves because you believe in them!

A good PR person will be honest and help put things in perspective in the most positive way for you – not just pass on propaganda to the public and media.

So, expect some differences of opinion about what should and should not be said about your company, product or service. Generally speaking a true PR professional will have a more focused view than you.

OK, let’s say you’ve taken all this on board, your product has aroused interest and you are now important enough to be interviewed on radio and TV?

Scary?

Of course not. You have a tame PR representative, right?

And that PR expert will make sure you have proper ‘live’ media training.

You will be coached on responses, body language, brevity and sincerity. It’s all part of the PR service.

As your company develops, if your product is suitable, you may well be interested in sponsorship deals. Again a switched on PR team should be able to arrange advantageous and profitable deals for you.

And, believe it or not, your PR person may be able to give you key advice on where and when to advertise when you decide that this is what you want to do.

A wise PR will have a wide knowledge of up-coming articles, features and media projects and will be able to advise when and where to best spend your money to maximum effect.

This might include advertorial – a paid for space/time where you control content – or space-for-space deals in pertinent magazines where you buy, for instance, a half page ad and get a half page editorial to tell your story.

There are lots of profitable combinations and a reputable PR company should steer you in the right direction.

Because, by nature, PR agents are media minded, they are also invaluable if your area of interest has any controversy surrounding it.

Good PR people will find ways of rallying local support, de-fusing issues and lobbying on your behalf at local and national governmental levels via press or committees.

To sum up, be proud of your product, obviously, but seek sensible help to promote it.

Public relations companies, if they are worth their salt, will find all kinds of ‘free’ ways to push your product. To complement their efforts they will suggest the most effective ways to use advertising and negotiate the best prices to do it.

They will have spokespersons to field any flak while you concentrate on your core tasks.

They will sift and sort the many overtures from advertising reps that you will inevitably get – and deal with any questions from public or press.

You, in the meantime, can count your profits.



To learn more about this author, visit Gwynne Chipperfield's Website.

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