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DIY Public Relations Tips for Entrepreneurs

Here are four outbound PR activities that every small business can master to increase brand awareness and prompt press coverage.

Last Update: April 28, 2015

Developing a consistent voice and unique message is essential to garnering press hits. Here are four outbound PR activities that every small business can master to increase brand awareness and prompt press coverage.

 

1. Announce, Major Announcements

Does your company have a major announcement to make? A newsworthy trend you’ve uncovered, something that is beneficial to your customers and a larger subset of people? Or possibly revealing lessons learned from a new client case study?

If so, develop a well-written, and relevant press release and distribute it. The key is to ensure that it is in fact newsworthy, relevant, well-written and targeted. The quickest way to become blacklisted from a blog, online magazine, newspaper, radio station, etc. is to continue to send spam press releases — information that is completely irrelevant to their target demo.

 

2. Pitch Trend Press Releases Regularly

Does your company or certain company officials have the inside scoop on what’s “hot” and “right now?” If so, don’t be shy. Publish trend releases that pertain to your industry. For example, if you own a trendy restaurant that is known for its great atmosphere, publish a Top 10 Restaurants to Hold a Client Meeting, trend release and include your establishment. But make sure that your company lives up to the hype.

 

3. Become an Industry Source

The news media community will always produce stories. To round out a story, journalists will always welcome a third-party point of view — a source. So, why not become a trusted source on industry-related news?

Start by regularly publishing statements associated with industry news on your company blog. Also, you can localize national stories by using the same statement surrounding a larger news story and developing a press release to pitch to local news outlets. But if you aren’t familiar with how to correctly pitch news outlets, leave it to the pros and hire a reputable publicist or PR firm that specializes in small business public relations.

 

4. Ride Relevant News Stories

Similar to becoming an industry source, entrepreneurs can quickly and effectively gain press hits by riding news stories. This simply means that when a topic that is relevant to your company or industry becomes news, issue a brief statement to local and or national outlets and confirm your availability for an interview.

 

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