Create Press Releases As Part of Your Business Marketing Strategy

July 2nd, 2009

You sit down with your cup of coffee to skim through your favourite newspaper when your eye spies something that attracts your attention. It’s a short article with an appealing photo that depicts a local business celebrating their grand opening. The photo caught your eye making you stop for a moment and then the headline compelled you to read more.

That’s what it was designed to do, grab your attention.

You’ve become another victim of a successfully placed press release. This is a good thing though. At least it is from the perspective of the business as well as the newspaper management.

“And It Was Free!”

Throughout the world newspaper editors look for short pieces of copy - and photos - that can suit their filler needs. Fillers are those items that appear on a newspaper page at the last moment, usually, when after all the planned copy and images laid out for that page are used but, occasionally, there’s still some space left.

Public relations experts know this and an entire industry penning info pieces about everything from the newest diet technique to the hottest car on the planet invade both the snail and email addresses of newspapers everywhere. Don’t get me wrong, they are most welcome, especially from your local small town paper.

“Get To Know The Tricks To Successful Press Releases”

Unlike their large urban brothers and sisters, your local community newspaper lacks the resources to assign an expert reporter for every field of interest. Most small operations depend upon community submissions to publish local business news. The knowing business entrepreneur will learn how to create an effective press release and periodically send these to the paper. You see them on the pages all the time. Most readers don’t give it a second thought whether it’s a news it Read the rest of this entry »

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Why PR Remains the Most Important Marketing Tool

July 1st, 2009

The world of marketing and public relations is rapidly changing. We are going through some seismic shifts and it’s important to keep up with the changes and yet not be overwhelmed.

Still, with all the changes, there are still some constants. PR remains the only form of marketing that reaches your target market and offers you validation and credibility. For example, let’s say you read an ad for an attorney in your local newspaper. The ad tells you how wonderful the attorney is, what she specializes in, what services she offers, and how to contact her. Now let’s say you read an article about that same attorney. The article profiles her and tells you about a case she just won and the impact that case had. Both pieces you read are in the newspaper. Both have to do with the same attorney, but which one would impress you the most, which would you pay more attention to, the ad or the article? My bet is the article.

The same holds true for you, if you’re featured in a news paper or magazine feature story or interviewed on a TV news segment, you are suddenly the news. You are an expert being interviewed about your field. Unlike an ad or a commercial, a news story is a third person account. It has been vetted by a writer and an editor. That doesn’t necessarily make the article more factually accurate than the ad, but it is perceived differently. The media’s job is to tell a story and to give the reader information, whereas the ad is meant to sell.

For that reason media coverage offers you more validation and credibility. People tend to trust an expert who has been featured in the media more than one they see in an ad or a commercial. In a nutshell it’s the ability to offer that credibility to give the reader that sense of trust that makes PR is the most effective form of marketing and branding available.

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Starting a Public Relations Campaign

June 30th, 2009

The first few months of a campaign can be difficult, particularly for a PR novice. But this can be the most important time as well. This is the time to prime the pump, the time to brainstorm, to broaden your scope and think outside of the box.

During the first two months of a public relations campaign, you are basically priming the pump. As to the bottom line, expect the first month to be a wash as far as media placement is concerned. During that time, you will be writing your releases, sending out the initial pitches, and basically introducing yourself to the media. Be calm, be patient, and don’t panic. As time goes by, you’ll start to see results. Media begets media. Once you appear on a talk show or in a magazine, utilize your press to garner yourself more media. This is where the payoff starts.

Your most important tasks during this time are developing compelling media stories, writing informative, captivating, one-page press releases and creating an up-to-date targeted media list.

The first few months of a campaign can be difficult, particularly for a PR novice. It is often the hurry-up-and-wait time of the campaign. But this can be the most important time as well. This is the time for brainstorming, for figuring out which stories will work with which media outlets, to broaden your scope and think outside of the box. Use this time wisely. Study the media. If you’re working with a public relations firm, make this the time to give them all of the information and tools that they can utilize to successfully launch the campaign for you.

Anthony Mora began his media career as a journalist and magazine editor. In 1990, Anthony formed Anthony Mora Communications, Inc., a Los Angeles-based public relations company that has pl Read the rest of this entry »

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