Public Relations
Creating a Buzz
Media relations (otherwise know as PR) is best described as the next best thing to a word-of-mouth-recommendation, except that you are getting through to potentially thousands of people, rather than just one or two.
PR is important to your business because :-
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It raises awareness of your new brand in the market place
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Journalists are validating your product or service.
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It is a cost effective way to profile your brand.
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It strengthens your relationships with existing clients and contacts
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It highlights your company’s strengths, setting you apart from competitors
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It can attract new business or investment
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It will help you to break into new markets
Need any help?
Our PR and Social Media coach can help you:-
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Identify your media savvy stories
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Write press releases for online and offline
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Understand how to utilise social media
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Understand ways to engage journalists
To enquire about PR or Social Media coaching email coaching@stridingout.co.uk
Our coaching and training is provided on a chargeable basis, but we can access funding to provide free business support to certain groups of entrepreneurs who meet the eligibility of the funding provider. Please enquire to find out more.
Client Casestudy
Ali Clabborn, Founder of Liftshare
liftshare is a social enterprise that helps people to travel more sustainably by sharing their journey.
Useful Articles
Making Room for PR
So, I am going to with share you a little exercise I do every year and find to be really valuable.
Design and Deliver a PR Campaign
Why bother doing a PR Campaign
Editorial coverage is free - advertising costs thousands of pounds
The rate for a colour ad on the first full page in the news section of the Sunday Times is around £93,000. A full page ad in the Bristol Evening post will set you back about £4,000.
Editorial coverage gives you credibility and helps build your brand
Despite the bad publicity that the media has had (ironically, reported by the media itself!) surveys show that people still trust magazines, newspapers, broadcast media and increasingly the internet to help them take the right decisions about what to buy and what choices to make. Positive media coverage is far more powerful than most advertisements in getting people to pay attention to your message. How many of us open a magazine and straight away tip the advertising inserts into the recycling?
Media coverage is also really good for your wider brand. It gives employees a boost to see positive coverage of your organisation and it makes customers feel good to be associated with someone who's had a positive mention in the press. It can do wonders for your supply chain too - everyone likes basking in reflected glory
Back To Basics - Your Press List
You are only as good as your press list. You can put together the most fantastic press release, but if the wrong people see it, it's worthless.
Putting together a press list is something my clients struggle with because..well..it's boring. But it has to be done, so my suggestion is to get on with it, or delegate it to an assistant, confident teenager or intern.
Here are some suggestions from Paula Gardner that might make it easier.
Creating a corporate video
Creating a Corporate Video
The use of corporate videos is increasingly seen an important part of a marketing and PR strategy to profile the values, activities and impact of a business.
Some of the best advantages of producing a corporate video include:
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Video is a widely used and easily recognised medium, demonstrated by websites like YouTube who are engaging millions of user a day.
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A recent survey has shown that video has a retention rate of up to 50% - the highest compared to the written word or radio.
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A good video can help customers get a feeling for who you are and what you represent very quickly.
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It is a great way to build trust, with clips such as testimonies and video highlights
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Finally, an easy and effective way to communicate, inspire and motivate potential clients and members of staff.
If you are interested in creating a corporate video, Concrete Films proposes the following plan of action to help you create the video you want.....
PR Tips
If you want your own copy, you can nab one here
E is For ETIQUETTE
PR Etiquette that is. Believe it or not, but there is an acceptable way to approach the press. A lot of it just boils down to old-fashioned good manners, just like any other form of communication, but it's worth just going over the basics.