I know the feeling well. Sentient has started its own PR strategy to increase its chances of tendering and winning new business.
For any size business, a PR campaign is a good marketing strategy. Compared with its budget-guzzling sibling - advertising - it's accessible and can offer credible, consistent support to a new business effort. But, while PR is a cheaper option to taking out a full-page advert in [insert relevant trade publication here], it's not free.
I strongly believe that it's preferable to start imperfectly than completely give up and miss the opportunity to get some of the benefits of PR. Rather than wait for a budget of R20 000+ to drop from the sky, begin with targeted tactics and the R5000 per month available to you.
No. It won't be with an agency.
Yes. You will have to manage it yourself.
No. You won't have to do it alone. There are a number of excellent, passionate and informed freelancers out there who can support you.
I have been sharing a number of ideas with some of the companies that call me that don't have the budget to retain an agency, but can at least get their foot in the door. These include:
The next big decision is about what you are going to put out about your company, and to whom. This is probably the area where a PR agency can add the most value. What is important to you may not be newsworthy or interesting to the media and their audience. PR consultants worth their retainers know this, and develop angles that link what you need to say with what people actually want to read.
I heard a great example on Friday. A client needs to raise awareness of healthy eating and provided many, many detailed statistics around food, fat content, heart attacks, etc that it wanted to get into the press. The PR consultant I know took the info, worked out some angles, and produced a piece called ‘Is your office making you fat?' Now tell me - who wouldn't want to read that? (I even thought of Googling it to read it, but then thought... do I really want to know?)
Sometimes a creative, catchy headline is not enough because the story just does not have inherent newsworthiness (- yes! It's a word!). So you have to make a plan.
In the computer technology industry, Microsoft certification is very, very important... to that specific tech company. Its clients tend to just expect it, and everyone else is wholly uninterested. Making an announcement about this topic that will attract attention is exceptionally hard (and trying to get a quote out of a Microsoft channel person even harder).
So how do you make sure the info gets out there?
Press offices are great for this kind of news because unless your company has won the Platinum-encrusted-diamond-fabulousness award for being partner of the decade, it's nigh impossible to get media to run an article about your new gold partner accreditation in business intelligence software. But, an article prepared for the press office can be turned into marketing collateral and referenced in your monthly newsletter or sent out as an e-shot to your client base and suddenly it's not just a boring announcement you're trying to foist on reluctant media. It's an authentic message, it's published and out there, and they all know it!
If you don't have the luxury of a PR consultancy, then make sure your freelance writer is able to offer some guidance. You can also ask the manager of the online press office you select to give you advice. There is no point in putting effort into writing a piece that no one clicks on.
So what am I saying? Essentially - one activity per month is better than no activity at all, and even if you do a little, do it again and again, and you will start to give your brand some awareness. And make sure you work with professionals who can help you make the most of the press offices and the press releases to make your limited budget go further.
[Disclaimer - working with a good PR agency will deliver considerably more results for your business: an agency does more than write press releases and issue them. And a good agency delivers more than just press-release-driven coverage. There are interviews on radio, television inserts, internal communications strategies, crisis communication, bylined articles** that position you as the leader in your specific area of expertise, case studies, blogs***, social media press releases and lots of communications strategy that make sure it all hangs together perfectly.]
*There's also Bizcommunity Retail, Bizcommunity Medical and Bizcommunity Africa Marketing.
**Bizcommunity.com is always looking for exclusive bylined thought-leadership opinion pieces. Email with your contributions.
***Bizcommunity.com loves having guest bloggers reporting from industry events. Email to set it up.
