While working with a public relations firm can be beneficial in many ways, it may not be practical for your company to utilize their services due to costs or other constraints. There are some ways you can try to do your own PR, but know that there are times (now and in the future) when you will need guidance, assistance, and advice that a PR firm can provide.

When working as a company or business, your efforts ought to be spent on what you do best: business. Conversely, you knowing what you do best means that you are the best person to do your company’s PR because of that knowledge. So, how do you create a plan that works if each extreme seems to be the best option? Compromise, and create a plan that fits the current stage your company is in. In the early stages of your company’s life, know that some things will need to be done in-house to save on expenses. If that is the case, hire someone who knows what they are doing and can focus on that alone so you can focus on the rest of the business’ ventures. When you are able and can afford to do so, make hiring a PR firm a top priority as they may be able to save you future costs and do what needs to be done correctly.

PR firms and boutiques have a wealth of information they have worked hard to acquire. That information includes tools they utilize like their media contacts, their employees, and the tactics they’re discovered that work and do not work. These things are hard to acquire on your own if you are busy developing your business, product, or services. PR should not be seen as an alternative to advertising but rather a complimentary tactic that may be more beneficial to a company, especially in its early development and life cycle. As such, PR should be a tool you use in the very beginning of your business development. Advertising is meant to keep your company in the minds of consumers after publicity has helped to build your brand. (For more on why PR should be used first, click here.) In the beginning, advertising won’t do much good for your brand.

Until your company needs advertising and until you can afford a professional PR firm, here are some ways to create your own publicity:

1. Write. Hire an employee that writes well and get their assistance in creating exceptional copy that you can be proud to submit to the web, send to media contacts, or to send to your buyers/target markets. This can include writing copy for your website, blog, or press releases. To get your content included elsewhere online as well, be sure to write about other things concerning the entire industry your company is in. This can help you to get quoted in other blogs, business editorials, etc. Additionally, read what others have to say, where they have made mistakes, and where they were successful.
2. Contact the media. I recently conducted an interview with Liza Anderson of Anderson Group Public Relations. She mentioned that really knocking down the door is a great way to ensure your story is heard. Moreover, she recommended that you make your pitches concise, succinct, and complete. Also, remember that you don’t have to contact them just when you have a story to pitch; contact them about an article they wrote, connect with them online, or contact them after they write about your company to thank them or ask them to correct a mistake.
3. Host events. This can be a fundraiser, sampling of your products, etc. Just be sure to do the steps above to let the world know about the event. Be sure to invite media, especially those that are interested in your company or industry.
4. Give. This doesn’t have to be monetary gifts, but they do have to be things of value, which can be informational content. Buyers don’t want something for free that they won’t utilize; the effects of a useless free item are the same as not getting anything at all. Instead of wasting your time and energy in giving away something that customers won’t find valuable, share your knowledge. Give away advice and talk about your experiences.
5. Do research and share it. This can go hand in hand with the above point as something valuable, especially to people interested in your industry. Do a study and publish your findings; it’s also a good way to get mentioned in other publications, blogs, etc., and you may make some of your target market remember you.
6. Get involved in social media. This is a somewhat old tip, but some companies still have yet to get involved. This is an effective way to talk about your industry and company with other businesses and customers, so utilize this free tool to do just that. Also, be sure to monitor what others are saying about you on these platforms so you can respond and perhaps start a conversation.

What are some ways you create publicity without the help of a PR firm? Should companies ever do their own PR?

At any size, public relations is essential for a company’s success. As a small company, PR can seem daunting and a luxury for larger companies who can afford it, are already experiencing some WOM (word-of-mouth) or buzz, and who are already making profits. While it may be easier to perform PR tasks with larger budgets to play with, public relations is something small businesses should definitely partake in.

PR may seem like an expensive, unreliable source of advertising, but it very different; PR is not advertising at all, nor should it be seen as an alternative to advertising tactics. Public relations is what its name entails: relations with the public. It is a more honest and sincere interaction with buyers and the media. It can be a place for you to share another side of your company outside of the self-promoting advertisements you may use, which can cost much more than PR efforts.

The key to PR is to really convey yourself and your brand to someone else who will in turn talk about you to another person. It may seem like you are trying to convince them to like you (which may be the case), but it comes from their own interpretations and understandings of who you are that they begin to talk about you. Similar to high school gossip, which can be good and bad, real life companies, the media, and buyers will talk about you in both a good and bad light. Your task is to ensure you respond to what is said, encourage the good to be shared over the bad, and to be mature about it. Like the high school gossip that got a rumor started, your reaction can greatly influence its lifespan, believability, and overall ‘success’ as a rumor. (By success, I mean the impact it has on your reputation, its reach, and success in terms of expected results.)

As a small business, it is your responsibility to encourage the generation of publicity around your company. Media and potential buyers can’t really know much about you unless you help encourage the spread of your company’s buzz. This can be done by including a few things that are cost effective:

1. Press releases. Though press releases are cost effective and often times free to distribute, the main thing to remember is that there is much more to PR than just the press release. A press release can help your SEO (search engine optimization) efforts on your website and on other online press distribution sites, but that’s about as far as it will go. To get media attention and further coverage of your story, you need to connect with the media, referencing the press release that you sent them.
2. Your blog and website. Websites and blogs can be a great place to share information with buyers. This can also be the place where you can list your press releases that have been optimized for the Internet, further increasing your keyword traffic. Moreover, a blog can be a place where you can begin the relationship building process with your buyers by offering them something of value (which is key), encouraging them to participate in the blog, and also helping them to better understand your position. Unlike bigger companies who may not take advantage of this free resource, you can further advance your brand and image by being a personified company with something to offer to buyers and other bloggers. This is a great tool to get connected with others in the industry who blog as well, and can help you build your network as a company or business professional.
3. Social media tools. Along with blogs, these are great tools to use to grow your network. Use these free resources to get connected with others in your industry and with buyers alike. This can be another place for you to offer things of value to your followers, such as tips, resources, and relevant offers from your company. There is a fine line here that defines advertising and PR; many followers of companies online are not looking to be advertised to, but to offer something of value to someone who follows you, such as an offer or sale, can be beneficial if implemented correctly. Use these tools to give your company and brand a face and personality.
4. Customer service. This means paying attention to your buyers online who are responding to your content, sharing your content, or ignoring your content. There are lessons to be learned from each of those situations. Did someone share your content because they were mentioned in it, or did they share it because there was something great and of value there that they wanted others to experience? Take note of that and further improve your efforts in the future. Customer service also means taking responsibility and being a responsive company.

   As publicity grows around your company, it becomes ever more important to monitor what your buyers or potential buyers are saying about your company. This allows you to respond and potentially diffuse a bad situation and potential crisis. Moreover, offering great customer service for buyers who purchase your goods or services (or even return your goods and services) can help to encourage positive WOM that can further enhance your company brand and image. A little bit of attention can go a long way, and customers will share their experiences with others.

5. Media alerts and other invitations to cover. These, like press releases, are only as successful as you want them to be. If you send a media alert out, be sure to follow up with them to remind media about your event and to ensure that you get some sort of a response. The important thing here is to get a reply, even if it is a declination. This can help you plan for your event and to incorporate the media that will be present. Use these alerts to, well, alert the media of your event. This can be an invitation to the media to attend and cover your event with the hopes of further generating some publicity.

Overall, remember to listen to your customers, monitor your online brand, and utilize some of the free resources available to you as a small company. The above tasks are first steps in helping your company’s PR efforts to begin. There is much more you can do, and much more to the aforementioned steps than simply creating a blog or writing a press release; it takes persistent efforts and time to ensure your strategies work and to help ensure success.

As an employee of a small business, this blog has greatly helped to encourage people in my industry to get in touch with me, reach out, and to share my content with others. I made it easy for the content to be shared with the social media buttons, and I also made sure that my content is valuable and of a high quality by sharing what I know and what I’ve learned.

Are you a small business? Have your PR efforts proven to be successful?

So you’ve written that press release, now what? You could do a mass email send to every reporter or blogger you’ve heard of, but I would highly suggest that you don’t. Instead, do some homework. It may take a little longer to do some research ahead of time, but in the long run more blogger, reporters, and journalists may post your press release because you took the time to research what they are interested in. With the large amount of press releases that reporters and bloggers receive, try to make yours stand out.

Public Relations can be a scary thing to take on if you’ve never done any. Whether you are an experienced PR pro, or if you’ve just begun getting your feet wet, these following tips can help you do public relations yourself, instead of hiring a PR firm/agency.