It starts with strategy. You must have a plan to shape your business communication to a specific market. How you reach the target includes signage, branding logo, social media, advertising, and more. But, you can’t optimize these tools without a strategic plan.
Having identified that market, it’s time to put the plan in motion with 5 attention-grabbing Public Relations tactics:
1. Put your story first
Al Lautenslager, writing for Entrepreneur, say, “What the public wants to hear is a good story. Good PR is the telling of a good story. The better the story, the better the acceptance by the public and the better the public relations.”
Stories are particularly flexible ways of communication. You can use print, video, radio, television, and more to tell your business story. Stories grab attention; only good stories retain the attention.
2. Keep it fresh
Your PR strategy must include calendars and timelines putting something new in front of the audience frequently. Any presence on social media must add information daily.
Blogs, articles, white papers, and market leads should appear on your website. SEO structured content will attract new interest and sustain loyal followers.
3. Leave your box
You should build a network of users and influencers. It’s one advantage of social media and dynamic websites. You can leverage that network to appear on other websites and social media platforms. If you can secure an “appearance” on their pages, you can build your credibility and influence.
Conversely, you can strengthen the network by inviting others to contribute to your media. You might visit VioletPR.com to see how they make this happen.
4. Stay aware
Things change rapidly. Politics, economics, global competition, even the weather affect business and the audience you want to reach and expand. You PR must reflect and integrate what is going on. The business does not exist in a vacuum, so any image it wants to send must show awareness of the world in which it happens.
A news release, for instance, is not the only news of the day so it should show awareness of its context. Businesses are regularly found insensitive when their public image does not suit the times. Staying current will also improve the story you tell making it relevant to readers, viewers, and browsers.
5. Make the story pay off
Any communication—from image to content to offers—must put the audience in the story. They must understand repeatedly what’s in it for them. The audience can be exacting so the only way to keep up with them is to get ahead of their needs and wants.
Ken Makovsky, a contributor to Forbes, writes, “Public relations is not an option. We all relate to the public in some way. We will either have good relations or bad relations. But we have public relations – whether we want it or not.”
One final tip on attention-grabbing public relations tactics
It’s not enough to grab attention; it must be secured and retained. PR is time intensive and not for amateurs. As soon as your business can afford the services of a PR agency to package a startup approach with growth in mind, you should make the investment.
