Being your own PR Person is nice. Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or a veteran small and medium business owner, you likely aim to get your message across to a specific target audience. Whether they are clients, potential clients, or partners, there is a target group that you want to participate in.
But you probably aren’t ready to hire an expensive creative agency – maybe it wasn’t within your budget or had bad experiences in the past. Whatever the case, there are tools and strategies you can use as an SME owner to build your social and PR game plan. This does not include a monthly retainer.
Your personal branding is not what you put on your website, post it online, or distribute it to swag. Your brand begins with you. It is the energy that you bring into the room and the “echo” that you leave behind. This is your essence. Do a real inventory or self-assessment to determine who you want to be in the world. Then sell it. Without knowing who you are and what you want, it will be a tough sell.
How to become your own PR Person
Public relations go hand in hand with marketing yourself and your brand. Public relations are about the public’s perception of you and the conversations they have about you. As such, you want conversations to be constantly updated with what you do, why it’s unique, and why you should be interested. You want to show yourself as an up and coming brand that will completely change the industry. However, this is easier said than done. In order to run a successful PR campaign, you need a story, which means you need to know yourself and your brand. In addition, you must be ready to show yourself who will be covering your story and talk about what you are selling.
You should consider doing your own publicity first and becoming your own PR Person. You will be the best spokesperson for your product or service. Also, if you try to do your own publicity, even for a few days, it will give you a much clearer view of the process and you will be in a much better position to understand what to look for and how to work with an outside PR firm. However, if you are too busy or uncomfortable about certain aspects of dealing with your PR, you can hire an independent PR specialist or PR firm.
Public relations firms usually charge an hourly or monthly wage. And they will not guarantee success, no matter how many hours they pay you! Some PR firms have extensive client lists, and if you’re not a big account, this isn’t a priority. Find out how important the customer you will be. It can make or break your advertising efforts.
Do you want to get more coverage for your personal and / or business brand but not in the financial position yet to hire an advertiser? These five tips will help you to successfully become your own PR.
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Ways to become your own pr.person
· Know your audience
Whether you are writing an email, developing new software, or entering a review, you need to understand who you are talking to. This is called an audience-centered approach to communication. An effective business message focuses on its audience. You may speak for yourself, but you need to communicate in a meaningful and respectful way to your audience.
· Create your brand guidelines
Every business interaction point you participate in is an opportunity to promote your personal brands in a positive way (however subtle). Every email thread, every personal conversation, every visit to your website – it all adds up, contributes to your overall branding. This is why it is imperative that you ensure consistency in how you present your brand.
The best way to do this is to create a set of branding guidelines that include everything from your business logo to the color scheme you use, and then follow that set of instructions for each piece of business material you create. If you choose blue and gold for your colors, use them across your website, branded merchandise, and email footer.
If you do, then when someone engages with you on multiple occasions, they will add to their impression of your brand. It will accentuate these unique elements and make them more likely to remember you. If you can come up with an unforgettable slogan, that’s much better: you can then use it for marketing campaigns, including whatever PPC does or content does.
· Create your own content and share it across your channels using relevant hashtags
Another aspect of becoming a thought leader is creating original content that benefits your target audience. Blog posts, white papers, case studies, and webinars are great ways to establish your credibility and expertise. Better yet, it’s easy to share these assets via email and via social media, ensuring maximum visibility.
The best way to learn marketing is snooping! How do others in your field do this? How do people outside your industry do this? What will your audience find useful and where are they most likely to spend time on the Internet? If it’s in their email inbox, maybe your newsletter should be your focus.
In the digital world, we refer to “content creation” – for marketing and branding purposes – as content marketing. While this is not technically a new practice (even John Deere did it in the late 1800s), it is a practice that has replaced many of the old SEO methods. Today, this is how you are found on the Internet. The better and more useful the content you create, the more likely it is to spread.
· Guest blog on trusted sites
Blogging remains hugely powerful, and one of the best ways to become a more popular part of your chosen niche is to experience guest blogging on sites you value most. If you can demonstrate that you have useful points that you must clarify, you can build a steadily larger audience of people who visit those sites, as well as build beneficial professional relationships with the website owners.
As for what you should be blogging about, think carefully about what people in your field would like to read more about. What practical advice can you provide that suits the blog format? What were you wanting to read when you were just starting out? Plus, when promoting website addresses, be mindful of the content you actually offer – if you can suggest something that complements that choice, you will likely get better reception.
Helpful, if you do this consistently on reputable websites, you can create a great resource for guest bloggers for your website. Simply ask the people you write to if they want to contribute something to your blog – if they like what you write for them, they will likely take the opportunity to showcase their content elsewhere. This way, you can embody your website (making your branding look better) while reinforcing those links.
· Connect with influencers, posts, events, and more
You should be prepared to set aside some hours to communicate with the important people. In order to get your brand name out there, it has to be part of something bigger. Attending events, networking whenever possible and publishing interviews is critical to any successful PR campaign.
This is where social media can help you a lot. Connect with others you may already know within the industry. Try to make connections with other influencers etc. You never know when you’ll just meet the right person who wants to interview you and tell your story or who will invite you to an event so you can share your brand with the world. Put yourself outside and connect with people you know or want to know.
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