For a small business, working with any sort of PR agency or agent can significantly increase your media presence. Of course, many small businesses jump into the PR boat without any clear idea of what to expect.
The great thing about a PR agent is that they will fill you in on all that you need to know. And in the course of those discussions, there are a few errors and mistakes they may warn you about in terms of getting exposure. Among the most common are:
Stay Consistent: Don’t just send a press release out here or there. Don’t just work on the radio ad because it seemed like the popular thing at the time. It often takes some time to gain public recognition. Sporadic press releases and an occasional print ad here or there isn’t going to cut it. Remain consistent in getting your name out there if you expect to see any kind of result.
Bloggers are People Too: Don’t discount smaller blogs or websites. Any sort of traffic is great for you, no matter how small; you never know when a link will get tweeted or hit Reddit and then explode. Reach out to those you see as the “little guy” for exposure. You may be surprised with the results.
Look into Niche Media Outlets: While it is perfectly fine to try to land an advertisement in one of the larger papers, magazines or websites, don’t let that becomes your driving force. Not oly are you going to have a harder time landing this sort of real estate (even with a PR guy on your side), you’re also overlooking niche markets. The internet has everything on it. Everything. Poke around for a while and look for sites and sources that tie in nicely with your business. Contact them and find out how they might be able to help you. Remember…in a time when social media rules all, even the smallest of publications seems to get its moment in the sun before too long.
All of these essentially boil down to not being picky and being sure not to get in your own way. If you can manage to keep your mind and ears open to what your PR guy has to say, you’ll find that they are right 99.9% of the time.
