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We're looking for a reasonably priced PR firm that can help us get some publicity for SavvySME. More specifically, we're looking for someone with good contacts with journalists in business...
1.64K views
Matt Corke, Marketing Manager at Kiss and Tell Lingerie
I highly recommend Ailish and the other agents at Agent99. I have worked with them across two different organisations and have always been extremely satisfied with their outcomes!
Do you have any tips when it comes to writing a press release cover letter that will impress journalists and editors?
19 views
Hatty Bell, Community Manager at SavvySME
Would be great to get your thoughts here too @Tom Valcanis
It's easy to get in the news if you announce funding, a new product, etc. But what are some great PR techniques to keep a high profile over a period of time?
433 views
Beau Ushay, Owned Media & Marketing Specialist at Ushay Consulting Group
Have something to say that's of interest to your audience.
Not something which you want to say, but something which will genuinely give them value or spark interest. Have a really good understanding of what your customers care about and make absolutely everything about that.
Many founders and SME's focus too much on what they want to say, which just gets ignored as white noise.
Hatty Bell , Community Manager at SavvySME
Great insight, I guess knowing who your audience is and where they are is an important aspect of this too
Beau Ushay , Owned Media & Marketing Specialist at Ushay Consulting Group
It's the key to everything. And just because you're not paying for it, doesn't mean it isn't costing you.. (time, attention, other resources).
Don't force stories when there's nothing to say, but instead make PR one part of your mix to ensure you're always visible to the right type of customers. Mix it up so your momentum is consistent, with including other levers which are more reliable.
What do you think PR is and where does it fit into your Marketing Strategy as a SME?
527 views
Jef Lippiatt, Owner at Startup Chucktown
Thanks for tagging me to this @Hatty Bell I may have missed this question with that.
I think that the answers given by @Lisa Creffield and @Erik Bigalk get to the heart of what I would call a traditional answer that is still relevant and meaningful to many businesses.
However, my perspective on this is not as traditional. Department names often carry baggage with them. I’ve also experienced professionals from Marketing and PR that unfortunately don’t speak well of one another.
I believe a realignment corporately is necessary for this to ever really change, because only changing the name doesn’t fix the underlying problems and trust issues. That said, I believe several roles should fall under the group name of “Communications Strategy”. It is often necessary for PR, Marketing and Advertising to all work together. I think at direct consumer business (B2C) this is even more apparent. But, I also think that Customer Service (CS), Customer Experience (CX) and User Experience (UX) are also part of the Communications Strategy team.
Marketing, PR and Advertising are typically a one-way communication channel. CS, CX and UX are typically either two-way communication channels or at least funneling the customers’ communication back into Marketing, PR and Advertising.
Unless a company is really trying to send waves through their industry newsletters and magazines or to position themselves for awards, I don’t think traditional PR plays as big a role as it previously did. This is especially true for remote all internet based ventures and retailers.
However, as the others have stated, when reaching out to media (publishers, tv, radio, etc.) sometimes they are put off by the sales-y marketing department style. They typically want the facts and then they determine their own angle based on those inputs.
Additionally, I think PR still needs to make an adjustment because often times by consumers they are only thought of as the “spin-team” that tries to walk back bad actions or events that have happened. I think a healthy dose of transparency, honesty, and authenticity would go much further (especially with the younger generations that are more immune to BS and ads because they are constantly bombarded with them).
I also tend to think of the marketing role as focused on the Product or Service reputations, and PR focused on the business reputation. This also gets muddied for a business that has one product and the product is essentially the whole business.
Hatty Bell , Community Manager at SavvySME
Hi @Jef Lippiatt . Really interesting input here, and great to see another perspective on PR and marketing. It seems that PR and marketing are different for each company and each industry. I have worked in teams where PR, marketing, customer service and even web development are all lumped together, others where PR is running completely separately
There is an explosion happening right now in affordable, easy-to-use tools for communications professionals in social media and beyond. What are some of your favourite PR tools?
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Jane Jones, Manager at SavvySME
@Maggie Tomkins - I use Hootsuite for social scheduling.
I'm looking for places to submit our SavvySME press release to. Does anyone have any suggestions for free press release submission sites? It would also be great to get some tips on effective press...
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Celia Harding, Director at PR Shed
Hi guys,
I have worked in the PR industry for over 15 years and personally would avoid listing your media release on many of these wires (with the exception of Medianet), for a couple of reasons:
1. A lot of these sites are considered spam by Google and can actually negatively impact your SEO rating
2. Newsrooms are under-resourced (now more than ever), if you think journalists are glued to these wires looking for great content, you are mistaken. Most of these media releases posted on these sites aren't newsworthy (except to the person who has published them). You are going to get far better results by reaching out to journalists directly with a personalised pitch explaining what the story is and what's in it for their audience.
While it would be great to be able to simply post a media release on these wires and get a heap of top-notch media coverage - more work is required to get results.
If you are looking for media opportunities for your business, Sourcebottle is a great resource as is Qwoted and searching #journorequest on Twitter.
Can anyone recommend some of the most effective PR strategies for a coaching business?
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Gisele Boulay, Founder at Gisele Boulay Communications
Hi Andrew: Would that be business coaching? For effective PR, you'd need to position yourself as an expert. There are a few ways you can go about this. Tactic A - Media Relations. Journos are always looking for experts with interesting stories/points of view. Identify a fresh and interesting angle in your area and craft a concise media pitch. Identify publications that your market segment would be reading - then research/identify appropriate journo(s) in those pubs you should approach. Tactic B- Content Development. Same objective - raising your profile. Develop quality and high-value content targeted to your potential clients. Examples, blog posts (for your site and/or a contributed piece for an appropriate publication), SlideShares, eBooks. Look for guest blog opportunities, speaking gigs. The thing here is to be a little different from the rest. Too often pieces from "thought leaders" regurgitate the same info over and over. Hope this helps.
In what ways do you think startups and small businesses can benefit from PR?
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Kate Yeng at Assignment Help
PR is important for the Small businesses to expand their reach and promote their services to the large pool of audience, for example if you are looking to serve customers beyond numerous cities, release a press to promote as you are not doing a common thing, i just post a press release explore it here http://bizpr.co/2016/09/28/get-trending-statistical-techniques-data-collection/
Tania Willett , Owner and PR Consultant at TJW Public Relations
Yes, absolutely. Positive PR strengthens your business credibility and reputation. For start-ups and small businesses, having that added business credibility can be the extra boost needed that sets them apart from their competitors. If you go down the "DIY PR" path, you can achieve free publicity, unlike say, spending thousands of dollars on advertising. Feel free to take a look at my website where I regularly publish tips and advice on how small businesses can do their own PR.
Founder and CEO at Smart Solutions PR
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Director at Enever Consulting Pty Ltd
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