Many people don’t hire in Public Relations because they don’t understand what it is, what it can do for their business, or most importantly…what it is capable of. PR is one of the most cost-effective strategies to raise brand awareness, authority and credibility for your business, which indirectly increases sales. Cha-ching! PR complements direct marketing and advertising efforts, and helps increase your website’s rank in Google so people can more readily find your business (read: great SEO)
In case you didn’t catch it earlier, here is a blog post explaining what PR is, and how it is different than marketing.
PR is a top of the funnel activity that helps you grow your business. PR creates vast awareness that brings potential leads in. Leads = customers, customers = revenue and revenue = growth.
PR, like marketing, has channels. Depending on your PR objective, you implement different channels. A few examples are:
Media relations
Content creation (thought leadership)
Social media
Speaking Opportunities
Awards
In another post I can explain what each of those are and why they are important. In this post, I’m going to explain how content creation and Media Relations can help you grow your business, through two real life examples.
Christian was a Digital Marketer who wanted to drive more leads to his online course he was selling. He was doing the traditional marketing methods: Google PPC, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn messaging. However, he wasn’t getting the most qualified leads and he wanted more. He began to explore PR as an option for himself, and learned about the power of content. Writing good content and getting it published in the right place can lead to authority and credibility, which builds trust. When people trust you, they listen to you and ultimately buy from you. Christian started writing about what he knew: tips on digital marketing, how to make the sale, how to start a business. He was vulnerable and put out content that educated people not only on the subject matter, but about the industry. He spoke to his customers through his own stories. Over the course of a few months: with consistent, relevant content in the right places, he quickly became established as the “go-to” for Digital Marketing Courses. In the first week alone, he added more than 100 leads to his business.
Pretty powerful stuff. Here’s another.
MovPak was a Brazillian startup trying to raise $50,000 for their Crowdfunding campaign, so they could start manufacturing their new urban skateboard backpack. They got set up on Kickstarter and used all the existing channels offered to begin getting their name out there, but decided to also employ a PR campaign where they would target specific journalists and relevant publications with the story of the MovPak. They focused on the story of MovPak — NOT the fact that they were raising money. They focused on what it was, how cool it was, how people could use it, the story of why they needed this, accompanied with some awesome video and photos. At the time, the Crowdfunding campaign was their landing page. After people read it, they wanted more! They clicked through to the Crowdfunding page to realize they had to get in line — and MovPak had to reach a certain goal before they could get one themselves. The story was so powerful and the company received so much press; they exceeded their goal by 6X and raised $300,000! This is the power of storytelling and connecting with your audience, versus putting out the information with a simple call to action.
PR can be a slow burn. A dance of brand awareness and conversions. But ultimately, it will provide you the hottest and most qualified leads out of any marketing channel there is.
If you’re serious about having a trusted and respected reputation over time, your business will reap the rewards of great PR for years to come.