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Raise your profile with good publicity

Reputation is everything! Well, maybe not ‘everything’, but it can be a lot. Building a solid and reliable reputation for your products and services raises your profile and builds your credibility. Even having a very active buzz about your products or services can be very good way to generate additional interest and new business activity. If people are talking about you, others are bound to listen.

Think about the last time you went to purchase a new product or service. Did you opt for a trusted brand with a solid reputation or did you choose a product or service that people were talking about positively? Either way, most customers are influenced by the opinions of people whom they respect or recognise as industry experts or they are influenced by the proliferation of positive impressions from active and vociferous consumers.

Imagine you’re the company that is trying to build a solid and reliable reputation. How do you establish a reputation quickly enough to meet your desired sales targets? How do you raise your profile enough to get people talking in a positive and supportive way about you? How do you get potential customers to look your way rather than somewhere else?

One way to build your reputation and raise your business’s (and even your own) profile is through good publicity. You need to create as many positive impressions as quickly as you can, you need to generate a healthy and active buzz about your products and services and get people talking. When potential customers hear what’s being said and see the extent of the activity surrounding your business, they will be more interested in you than they are your competitors.

The effects of good publicity are exponential - when you consider how much greater your sphere of influence and activity can extend through various media sources. You are no longer limited to one person telling another, but one person telling hundreds or thousands. And if you consider the impact that online media and social networking sites can have - this can generate dramatic results.

Before you consider having someone else orchestrate your publicity and communications programme, you should begin taking a few simple steps yourself to set the ball in motion - you may even begin to notice some results very early on!

Make yourself newsworthy

Consider those things that will likely be of interest to your ideal customer, things which may influence their decision to buy, things which may strengthen your credibility. Also consider the issues and topics which may be of interest in your industry, items which are in the news or being discussed now - how can you contribute or get involved. Have you made any changes to your products or services? Have you been especially innovative somehow? Have you taken on more staff, moved to larger premises or signed any big deals?

Get to know editors and publications and what they want

Build reliable and mutually beneficial relationships with editors of several publications - this alone can be incredibly valuable to your publicity efforts. We all know editors need to fill space in their publications with material that is of interest to their readers. If the editor trusts you, likes what you send over (because you have learned what they like to receive) and asks you to contribute expert opinion or commentary, you’re more than halfway there. They help you and you help them.

Research the editorial calendar for your chosen media

Requesting features lists and editorial calendars enables you to anticipate when certain relevant features will be covered in future issues, allowing you time to prepare stories and plan other promotional strategies. Being informed ahead of time enables you to maximise as many opportunities to produce relevant and well-constructed material. You will also gain a reputation with the publication as a reliable source of well-written and relevant material.

Prepare a press release

There is a proper format for press releases to follow, and each publication has its own individual requirements. It is always a good idea to check ahead of time to ensure that you are sending material in the proper format. Most press releases stand a better chance of being used if they are accompanied with a visually interesting photo - this does not mean the standard ‘head and shoulders’ shot. Make sure the release is well-written, free of grammatical and spelling mistakes and has all the necessary elements of a press release. You should include additional notes to the editor as well.

Get your news out in a timely manner

Don’t miss the boat with your news. News should be current, as should your commentary on events as they happen. If you are announcing your own news, be prepared in advance and have several stories pre-prepared. You should have stories to lead and follow the event. Be prepared and think ahead about how you expect to respond to certain issues or events within your industry. Always be looking to the next likely storey or chance to comment. Know what your position will be and what you will say - prepare several positions for each likely outcome in advance and submit them as quickly as possible.

Follow up the most important releases you sent

One press release on its own may not be enough - and it could even be overlooked or lost in the shuffle. However, if you are able to submit several releases which are all current, newsworthy and related, you have the chance to build continuity and recognition. You show that you aren’t just in the news as a one off, but rather you have a lasting permanence within the sector and are a news maker in your own right. The more people see you in the news, the more they expect there is to see.

Make the most of any opportunity to be interviewed or quoted

Providing regular expert opinion or relevant and informed commentary will greatly aid your credibility. People expect that anyone who has been approached to comment or provide an opinion is either an expert or someone who is a credible and legitimate presence within the industry, whether national or local. It also gives you the chance to communicate the message you most want your customers to hear from you; you have the chance to really show something of yourself and your company.