I know this might sound a little weird coming from the CEO of a public relations company, but not everyone should be doing PR. 🤷
It can be a costly proposition, so you have to make sure that you have all the foundations in place before you decide to invest in it.
Certainly, PR can create a lot of new opportunities for your business. However, if you lack the core elements, your results are going to be limited.
So, what are these “foundational pieces” and how can they make the difference for you? 👀
Online Press Kit 📑
Ken Honda’s Online Press Kit
First of all, you want to have a place for the media to get information about you, and the best way to do that is through an online press kit.
No matter what media you’re dealing with, journalists are busy people, they’re human and looking for ways to make their jobs and lives easier. When you think like a journalist, it’s clear why you’d want an online press kit.
Everything they need is at their fingertips and it’s strategically organized. 📂
Your brand’s online press kit should include:
Company and product information
Bios of your spokespeople
High-res images
Previous media coverage
Suggested interview questions
Media contact information
Print and broadcast one-pagers (snapshots of your press materials)
5 to 10 news and story angles
So when you have all of these in place, then it really allows them to go as deep as they want and find out what about you is going to truly make a difference for their audience. 👥
Social Media 📲
Dr. Sam Adeyemi’s Twitter (X) Profile
The second must-have is a notable social media presence. The media finds you and they want to know if you are credible. Do people actually care about what you have to say?
The first thing they check is your social media, because it gives them a snapshot of how many people resonate with your message.
Also, it shows them how much value will you deliver to their audience if they were to interview you. 🗣
Your social media needs:
Compelling content
- Active followers
An engagement strategy
Brand identity alignment
Post frequency
PR can land you in the traditional media, but your target audience then wants to connect with you on all the social media channels they love most. 💬
If you aren’t making yourself available for meaningful connection on these platforms, you are derailing the credibility that PR-generated media coverage has planted for you.
People connect and share with each other online all day, every day. If you’re not part of the conversation, PR can’t work the way you want it to. ‼️
Website 🌐
Dr. Ellen Cutler’s Website
And number three, is a place where you can send people to where you can continue building the relationship with them. 🤝
For example, after an interview, they are intrigued about you and your message and they want to go deeper.
Now, if there’s no place for you to send them, then it’s kind of a lost opportunity.
On the other hand, if you forward them to a place where it’s effective, you will know that you had this great interview and you are able to leverage that media’s audience and get the results that you want whether it be to sign up for your email list, buy your book or any of your products. 📦
Your site should have:
A professional, updated design
High-quality images
Lead-nurturing and capture strategies
A clear, aligned brand identity
A powerful call to action
This allows you to nurture the relationships that come your way through both PR and advertising channels. 👍
It takes more energy to close a deal with today’s customers because we are bombarded with information overload and we usually have more options than we can handle.
If your site doesn’t stand out — in a good way, not for its 90s nostalgic charm — then you are losing any credibility that PR may otherwise have generated for you. 🤭
In short, these are the 3 key components to have in place if you’re going to invest in PR:
- You want to have a place for the media to get information about you.
- You want a place where you can demonstrate to the media that you really have the gravitas, that you have credibility.
- You want to have a place for you that you can send people to where you can continue to nurture that relationship with them so you can ultimately have a strong impact and make the difference that you’re committed to making.
You may have more questions about this. If you do, I’m happy to hop on the phone with you to make sure you’ve got the foundation in place before you launch your PR campaign.
