Small Business Marketing Simplified

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Small Business Marketing Simpliﬁed How to get Customers to Find and Choose You! An e-Book in 12 parts by Steven D. Strauss Powered by USA TODAY Senior Small Business Columnist Author, The Small Business Bible, 3rd ed. President, TheSelfEmployed.com

• Powerful strategies for becoming more ﬁndable • Getting customers to choose you • Marketing on a shoestring • Demystifying social media, and more! Small Business Marketing Simpliﬁed How to get Customers to Find and Choose You!

Chapter 4 – Public Relations

“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” — Oscar Wilde

Why PR is so important Marketing, boiled down, is the combination of all your efforts to get people to remember your business. It includes everything—from how you answer the phone to how you design your website, signs, logos, letterhead, videos, promotions – the whole enchilada. Marketing, more than anything else, is what builds your brand, and an identiﬁable brand is the hook that gets people to remember your business. And if they remember you, they will likely buy from you. That is why marketing and branding are so important. 26 That then brings us to one of the most powerful of all marketing tools and the one that, almost to the exclusion of all others, really gets people to remember you. And that is, namely, public relations, PR, press, publicity – whatever you call it, it can make a huge difference. A newspaper, magazine, or online article about your business, or a radio or television segment can do more than almost anything to market and build your brand. If you want to know how small businesses become big businesses, here is a trait they all have in common: at a critical moment in the growth of the company, the business invests in public relations and gets a lot of publicity. That publicity is then parlayed into additional business and more publicity, and a boom is born. But even if growing large is not your goal, you should not bypass the opportunities that await by getting some timely publicity. That article or story is independent veriﬁcation of what a great business you have created. For starters, the people who see the story will be tempted to patronize your business and check it out for themselves. Even better, however, is that you can tape or copy the show or article and use it forever on your website, with your social media, and in your marketing materials.

CHAPTER 4 | Public Relations Powered by Example: Say that you own a chain of flower shops, and you get your local TV station to do a story about your business. Maybe the hook is Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day—it does not matter. What matters is that they did a story about you. Thereafter and forever more, that video is marketing gold. It can be posted on your website and mentioned in all your shops. A quote can be pulled and used in subsequent advertising: “Beautiful stores with a great selection,” says the Chronicle. To top it off, getting publicity is quite cost-effective. What would it cost to get on the front page of the business section, even if you could? What would it cost to get a 3-minute segment during the local news or to get on the homepage of some major website? Now compare that with the cost of hiring a public relations firm, or even just doing it yourself, and you begin to see the bargain that is publicity. 27 Think like an editor Editors, bloggers, writers, and producers have to come up with new stories every day. There is no reason why you or your business should not help them feed the hungry monster that is their daily story requirement. But the thing to remember is that they are not in the business of giving you free publicity, rather, their job is to find and report the news. So your job then is to become newsworthy.

“Janice, remind Lois that she’s a reporter, not a social worker!” — Perry White of the Daily Planet

The way to do so is to give them a news hook. Again, they do not care whether your business gets publicity or not. If you are going to succeed in getting on the air, you need to couch your desires as news. You must give them an angle and get their attention.

CHAPTER 4 | Public Relations Powered by How do you do that? First, think like an editor. That is, consider things from their perspective. Like most of us today, they are busy, too busy. So you must craft a pitch that is quick, simple, and which has a unique hook or angle. Personally, for me, I ﬁnd that an informal pitch via e-mail is the way to go. Yes, we are taught to draft a who- what-where-when-and-why press release, but mostly I think those get ignored these days—too wordy, too formal, too old school. An e-mail addressed to the writer in question which clearly indicates that you know the person’s writing and beat is what works best. There are several ways to intrigue your reporter with your news hook: • Indicate that you are doing something in the public interest (e.g., sponsoring a beach cleanup day) • Pitch an innovative product or service that can help the readers or viewers • Have something signiﬁcant to say or share • Create a newsworthy event. GM gave Oprah audience members a new Pontiac. 28

Tip: Here’s another idea: Retweet or re-post a reporter’s, columnist’s, or blogger’s content on a fairly consistent basis. They have egos too (or especially!) and in this social media age, one way to get a media person to notice you is to notice them ﬁrst.

So the essential steps are these: Research and locate the right reporter who covers stories like the one you want to pitch. Craft a hook and pitch that is newsworthy. Send the writer a personal, short, snappy e-mail. Be friendly and accessible. Follow up, but don’t be a pest.

Lessons in the right way, and wrong, to get publicity

Not long ago, I received the following email: Steve – One of our goals is to get some publicity next year. We have a great business and a solid story to share, but so far, none of the reporters have responded to the press releases I have

CHAPTER 4 | Public Relations Powered by faxed them this year. What can I do to get some attention? Can you guess what the writer is doing wrong? Let me suggest it is a few things: 1. “A solid story to share”: As indicated, reporters, columnists, pundits like me, editors, and producers are not interested in your solid story. We want information and content that is interesting, compelling, and newsworthy. Dog bites man is not a story. Man bites dog is. You have to grab our attention by coming up with an angle that is different and unique and which ﬁts the beat of the writer/reporter/editor/producer you are trying to impress. Tweak your solid story into that mold and you are on the way.

2. “None of the reporters have responded to the press release I have faxed over”: Well, people don’t communicate by fax much any more, and additionally, press releases are not how to get press attention these days. No, today, if you want to catch the attention of the media, ditch the press release, kill the fax machine, and communicate how we all communicate now – via email.

3. No mention of social media: I know that when I look to write about a business, one of the ﬁrst things I do now is check out their social media platform. There I can ﬁgure out who they are and what they are about. So let’s add this to the 29 list of reasons why small business needs to be engaged in and have an active social media presence.

4. Be friendly: Finally, make it personal. Let the reporter know that you know who they are and what they do. Mention an article of theirs that you particularly liked. Be friendly. Offer a compliment.

PR Tip: Become a “thought leader” Are there other ways to get publicity? Of course, there are many. You could do some publicity stunt, or say something controversial for instance. Yes, those may work, but they also may not get you the type of PR you want. Instead, let’s consider the wise words of a PR pro.

“Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” — The Dixie Chicks, regarding George W. Bush

CHAPTER 4 | Public Relations Powered by One of the top PR firms in the country is Emanate, with offices in L.A., New York, and Europe. The CEO is the smart and savvy Kim Sample. According to Sample, one thing that small businesses should really consider when aiming to get publicity is the idea of “thought leadership.” That is, by positioning yourself with the media to be the go-to person on a given issue, by becoming a top thought leader in your field, you can set yourself apart from the competition. According to Sample, doing so is a 6-step process: 1. Analyze how being a thought leader can benefit you and your business 2. Look at the media options in that area 3. Figure out where you and your business fit in to that media landscape 4. Figure out what you have to say that is unique and valuable 5. Contact the media with your message. Be consistent, stay on message, and follow up 6. Once you have some success, use your social media and other online assets to multiply your effectiveness, output, and reach Sample also suggests that it is important for the small business to know when they can do their own PR and when it is time to hire an agency. The questions 30 you need to answer are: Do you like to promote your business and are you good at it? There are times when hiring a professional can make a huge difference, especially if PR is not your forte. When hiring a firm, “Make sure you explain what PR success will look like to you so the agency understands what you expect them to accomplish,” she says. When choosing a PR agency, Sample suggests that it is often smarter for a small business to go with a smaller agency as opposed to a big one, so that you won’t be a small fish in a big pond. Finally, if you do decide to do it yourself sans agency, Sample suggests the following: • Shoot to get coverage in trade journals and local media – they are easier to get • Create relationships with local reporters, editors, and producers. You may even suggest meeting them at some community event • Remember, it takes time to get results, so stay committed Bottom line: PR is a great way to grow your business and get found. Do it right, and you are on your way.