Your main objective when you have products and services in the market is to sell them. This means you need publicity to garner visibility for your products in the market to enhance sales for the products. You can achieve publicity for your business through media as well as hiring public relations professionals. Though media is instrumental in passing the word to the customers through newspapers, television, print magazines and so forth it can be costly.
On the flipside, hiring public relations professionals also calls for some financial outlay. Even though these strategies can help create a buzz about your products and attract sales, if you are operating on a tight budget they might not be practical. Gaining great exposure for your business with a shoestring budget can be an uphill task. However, with creativity and innovative approaches you achieve this with little or no cost.
Discussed below are some public relations strategies to employ in order to position your business for superb exposure to even compete with corporate entities that have deep pockets and thousands of dollars to spend on PR agencies and expensive adverts on media.
Research media venues
You can start in your backyard and scout for media venues that will get your brand noticed by the target market. Take time and do thorough market surveys of what your customers like to watch, listen and read either on magazines or newspapers. Once you establish the figures and facts from the customers search online for information that is pertinent to them.
Analyze what media venues will work best for you and pursue them. Pay a visit to your local media stations and have a word with the reporters about your field specialization. Be clear and concise about what you want and what you can bring on the table.
Develop story lines
After paying a visit to your local media stations, sit down and ask yourself why these reporters should write about your brand and not about other businesses. Develop story lines that will capture the latest trends in the market in your line of business. You can also inculcate the recent research as well reviews to your story line.
It is paramount that you do a good rehearsal about what you are going to say if given the opportunity. Your thoughts should be passed across clearly and enthusiastically. They should be well thought of points that will reflect an expert opinion in your line of business.
Distribute compelling press releases
Send press releases to the media people you are dealing with through email or fax whichever is appropriate. The press releases should be as candid as possible with information pertinent to your target market. Make sure that there are no errors in your press releases and your story ideas should be well constructed and credible. Have unique value and selling proposition for your products and services.
It is a noble thing to call the media personnel to ensure they received your release. This is they receive loads and loads of pitches from different people and you want to be sure about the position of your press release. It pays to be persistent.
Be proactive
You should be proactive in your quest to generate visibility for your products. You can do this by attending trade shows, Chamber of Commerce meetings, council meetings and so forth. Utilize any opportunity available to let people know about your products and services. This way you can build relationships with media people and other prominent businessmen.
You can also attend social events in your locality as well as club meetings and look for an opportunity to speak briefly on your area of expertise. This can significantly improve sales for your products and services.
Social Networking platforms
Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google + are the latest frontier for businessmen. It is a superb way to sell your brand to a wide audience at no cost. They are effective ways of drumming up visibility for your products and services as long as you observe the rules of etiquette in your usage.
It is a blueprint to greater sales. Blitz your way through the internet using impactful interactions with your customers and prospects. Always engage people and offer them valuable and helpful information in your field of expertise. This way you will sell your brand to tons of potential clients without spending a single penny.
Do not stop
When you set the balling rolling to promote your business do not stop until you achieve your goal. It should be a long term endeavor to get great results. Do all you can to help your business thrive to greater heights of success?
It is crystal clear from the above points that you can develop public relation strategies on a lean budget.
