Not all businesses have big budgets to promote their products and services. In fact, it is probably truer to say that most companies don’t. Often it’s down to money. Often it’s down to resource. And more often than not, it’s both.

Money and resource is most commonly being spent on events, telemarketing, direct marketing and maybe some advertising. Yet one of the most cost effective ways of getting noticed is overlooked. And when it’s not being overlooked, it’s not being done properly. We are talking PR.

Public Relations, or more precisely, media relations, is about influencing journalists to write about your business. A lot of companies will think nothing of spending several thousand pounds a month marketing activity when there are a huge number of free PR opportunities right under their noses.

“We have sent out the occasional press release when we find the time, but to be honest we don’t get much out of it because events soon overtake us. As a small business, the daily demands of servicing customers have to take priority. We could outsource, but I would imagine that would be expensive,” said one managing director.

And there lies the problem. PR is expensive when it’s not getting results. But when it does get results, the payback can be outstanding. Of course, there is a lot you can do in-house. But a well briefed PR agency who you embrace as part of your own team is well worth the investment. It is vital not to expect results overnight or that one press release will do the trick.

Once you have worked out which magazines and online media are read by your customers and prospects you have to settle into a regular pattern of communication. PR, like any form of marketing, must be consistent to have the desired effect.

Don’t fall into the trap that believing the press will print anything. Newspapers do not make their money by publishing good news so you should expect them to print it. Try to think like they do. Try to picture what it must be like to be a journalist and what makes a story interesting? What do you like to read?

Here are some tips for getting right.

Be negative

By far the biggest mistake that SMEs make is to assume that journalists want a positively worded press release about their latest product launch or customer. Editors refer to this practice as ‘PR Puff’ and such press releases are most likely to find their way into the recycling bin. The answer is to turn the story on its head. A quick glance at the daily press would show you that bad news is the trend. Editors have long realised that sales go up when they feature a controversial or negative headline on their cover. So remember: every invention on the planet was created to solve a problem – it wouldn’t sell otherwise. The same principle applies to your product launch. Lead on a business issue or problem that people can relate to and your product suddenly becomes interesting. Write about the problem your product solves.

Focus on people

We have all seen the stories about the super-bright child, the youngest grandmother, the unlikely entrepreneur and the hero dad. These are what the media call human interest stories. If you take a good look at your company, you will find a rich source of material. Another way is to think about how your product or service can help shape the lives of the people who buy from you. For example, if you have a product saves people money, then find a willing customer on whom you can base your story.

Keep it topical

Is your story topical? Timing can be very important to a story. The company that launched a tool to help children with their homework would do well to issue the story near the end of the summer holidays. Think about what is topical in your industry sector? Remember to take into account publications deadlines – for example, articles about Valentine’s Day are written many months in advance, particularly in monthly magazines.

Ground breaking news

Having said that good news doesn’t sell newspapers, it’s not all doom and gloom. By definition, “new” is something that didn’t exist before. So that can mean your product is appealing to the media because it is. Some stories are truly groundbreaking in their nature. Innovation is something that we are all interested in but many companies tend to bury the important part of their story at the bottom of their press release. Your first sentence is the most important of all – it should contain the news angle, the most compelling part of the story.

Celebrity sells

Clearly you are going stand a better chance of getting the media to cover the opening of your new office if a big personality cuts the ribbon. Politicians, corporations and charities have long used celebrities to help them reach a wider audience. But if your budget doesn’t extend to hiring David Beckham, then think about associating your company with big brand customers or even comparing your company with a larger well known competitor. The media love against-the-odds stories.

Our Survey says...

Surveys are big favourites of the media. Flick through the pages of national newspapers and you will see countless stories that draw on opinion polls to create the headline. You can create your own surveys without having to spend vast sums of money with market research organisations. You can use your website to run polls or you can use visitors to your shop, or callers to your call centre – your customers and prospects are a ready source of opinion that many editors are crying out for.

And finally...

Any of these six tips are going to help you win valuable press coverage for your business. But the real trick is in combining two, three or more into the same story. Many of our clients turn to Berkeley PR because we have been hugely successful over many years by the creative and proactive way in which we use these techniques to get our clients noticed. If you would like to learn more about how we can help your business prosper from PR, then

contact us at any of our offices.

For further information visit www.berkeleypr.co.uk