If you're starting with your small business, getting your brand noticed and growing your company can be challenging, especially with many businesses competing for customers.
But with a thoughtful plan and proper public relations (PR) strategies, you can get more people talking about your company and drive more customers.
These seven PR strategies, curated by a reputable public relations firm, will keep your company in front of potential customers and ensure you're always top of mind when they need your services again.
Table of Contents
Small Business Public Relations: Definition
Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and the public.
This process entails executing effective communications to gain visibility, awareness, credibility, and trust while influencing attitudes and behaviors.
The central purpose of public relations is to inform and persuade others about your organization or cause by consistently sharing information about it.
What does this mean for small businesses?
PR helps you get the word out about your products or services by developing relationships with journalists and other writers who can write about you in their publications or websites.
It's important to understand that PR isn't just about getting your name mentioned.
It's also about establishing credibility among targeted audiences so they will see you as an expert on whatever topic you cover.
A successful PR strategy will help you build credibility with your target audience and drive actionable results for your small business.
When Do Small Businesses Need PR?
A good PR campaign can help small businesses get the word out about their products, services, and locations.
Consider using PR when:
- You have a new product or service for sale
- You're opening a new location
- Launching a new campaign or initiative
- In crisis mode (for example, if there's been an accident at one of your facilities)
- Expanding into new markets or launching an entirely new business venture
Small businesses may have an inherent disadvantage in marketing and PR.
Larger companies can throw money at a problem, hire team members with connections and buy advertising spots. These are some things small businesses don’t have access to.
But thankfully, being smaller and agile means, you can respond faster to new opportunities. Small businesses are dynamic beasts, ready to exploit any opportunity.
PR is a perfect way to help a small business stand out from the crowd and generate buzz about your brand.
You begin thinking like a savvy small business owner when you think of PR as a quick-win opportunity rather than what feels like pandering.
7 Best PR Tactics To Grow Your Business
If you’ve read articles on marketing or business recently, you will probably have heard the phrase “growth hacking”.
While that might sound like only computer scientists understand, it simply means developing creative ways to increase your business growth.
The best thing about PR is that it doesn't cost much. There are many ways to implement these strategies without spending a fortune.
Discover the most effective ways to grow your small business with these seven PR techniques:
- Get your business in front of the right people
- Get the word out about your products/services on social media
- Reach out directly to influencers and bloggers
- Use video marketing as a promotional tool
- Use your website for marketing purposes
- Master the press release
- Give back to your community
1. Get your business in front of the right people
Newsletters are one of the most efficient public relations tools to get your business in front of relevant people, organizations, and companies.
81% of b2b marketers say it's their most used content marketing tool.
It’s a fantastic way to keep people informed about what's new at your company, promote products and services, promote your company, and much more.
Newsletters can:
- Keep customers informed about what's happening in your business, from new services to changes in hours or location. Their email inboxes will be full of helpful information about what’s relevant to them.
- Promote products or services you want them to know about– like a sale or an upcoming event (like an open house).
- Promote yourself as an expert in your field. Do this by sharing articles you've written, case studies that other people have done on their businesses, or interviews with industry leaders who have come through the doors of small business owners.
2. Get the word out about your products/services on social media
Sometimes it might be hard for potential clients to find out about a new product or service.
The power of social media can help. Utilize social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to get your product/service out there and generate small business leads.
93% of marketers and entrepreneurs worldwide use social media for their businesses.
Social media is an excellent way to reach out and connect with potential customers. It’s a great place to share insightful content that will help you establish yourself as a trustworthy business leader in your industry.
It's relatively inexpensive, requires very little time, and can be done anywhere with just your phone or computer.
If you don't have the time or desire to manage social media accounts yourself, plenty of reasonably priced tools can help you automate some aspects of this process.
The best part about using social media for PR is that there are many ways you can use it:
- To make announcements about new products or services
- To provide tips related to specific topics
- As part of customer service efforts
- To answer frequently asked questions
3. Reach out directly to influencers and bloggers
Influencers and bloggers can help boost your business growth. You can find these people through search engines, social media platforms, directories, or simply by asking friends for recommendations.
4. Use video marketing as a promotional tool
You can use YouTube as a promotional tool to reach more potential customers through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
It's one of the most popular video-sharing platforms today for videos related to marketing and businesses.
You can use this platform to reach out to potential customers and create videos that will attract them and help them to purchase your product or service.
5. Use your website for marketing purposes
Most people do not have enough time to create a website for their business, so you need to find a way to make your website more appealing.
A professional website design company like 3D Weave can help make your website attractive and attractive for potential clients.
A user-friendly website helps create an engaging customer experience that is different from other websites on the market today.
6. Master the press release
What is a press release?
A press release is an announcement sent to the media to generate publicity and attention for your business or organization.
Press releases typically contain information about new products, services, events and other relevant, newsworthy items you want the public to know about.
Why is it important?
Press releases effectively reach many potential customers and influential people who can help spread the word about your company or cause via word-of-mouth marketing campaigns (e.g., social media).
These also allow businesses to position themselves as thought leaders in their respective fields.
Furthermore, it enables you to attract more media attention than you would otherwise receive through traditional advertising methods like print ads or television commercials alone.
Should you write your PR or hire agencies?
As a small business, you have to be proactive. This means putting yourself out there to write your PR, making mistakes, learning from them, and then moving forward again.
Most small businesses tend to hire PR agencies or freelancers who produce generic newsworthy stories about the company in question.
However, if you go this route, ensure that they follow a format that is easy for journalists to use later when writing articles or creating videos based on those same announcements.
It ensures that all of your promotional efforts are coordinated in one direction—and that direction should always be toward positive outcomes.
7. Give back to your community
It can be as simple as volunteering your time, money, or giving back to a charity.
If you're unsure how to get started, look for local events meant for businesses and become an active member of your community.
Consider donating goods or services to your local business community if you want something more hands-on.
For instance, you could offer free marketing consulting sessions for other small businesses.
Whatever you do, make it sustainable, so you can continue in the long run without burning yourself out.
Common PR Mistakes To Avoid
A press release is an essential tool in the public relations arsenal, but there are some mistakes that you should avoid when writing one:
- Sending a press release without a press kit (or other supporting material)
- Sending a press release with only a call to action
- Sending a press release with no hook or story behind it or lacking in any other way that makes it worth reading
- Not including newsworthy information in your message
- Not having any contact information for readers (name/title, email address)
Small Business Public Relations Takeaways
Small businesses are the backbone of any economy. While big corporations tend to get all the attention, small businesses drive innovation and create jobs.
There’s no denying that starting a business is challenging, but with the right mix of grit, determination, ingenuity, and PR tactics, you can help your business thrive.
The best public relations campaigns combine a number of these strategies, and you should be creative in choosing the ones that work for you.
A digital marketing agency for small business is a good partner that can help you with your efforts in this regard.
