You can do your own P.R. for free!
This is what I keep hearing. I’ve run into several marketing “consultants” of late that have bee pushing the idea that, with the current state of the internet being what it is with social media and blogging, you can do your own public relations and social networking for free. And, when it comes to traditional P.R., the same goes for that as well.
I’m here to tell you that , YES, YOU CAN!! Absolutely, you can do it for no cost out of your pocket.
That is, of course, as long as you consider time to be free when running your own company.
It takes nothing but time to write a press release and send it out via the internet, or to a publication via e-mail. And, it takes nothing but time to call each publication individually and make sure they received it. Of course, since they don’t know you, they will not take your call or return it. So, you’ll have to call them several times in order to get ahold of them.
This is what my friend Gregg at Quantum Leaders likes to call the “Mechanistic Approach”.
I, of course, prefer an approach that will actually get results.
People who are good at P.R. have spent years developing their relationships with publications. The best ones know all the editors and reporters personally and have met them at various functions, sat with them at dinners, and most likely, even worked with them as they were once journalists themselves. Sometimes, they even went to school together. So, when one of them calls the other, or e-mails, they are very likely to get a response.
Further, they are very familiar with how to write a press release in order to give the editors what they want; and, they know what will spark their interest as news and not just fluff that will never get printed.
The same goes for social networking on line. The best people have developed relationships with other social networkers and know how to push your blog or story to the top of the list on the most important web sites. Even they meet and network in person.
So, sure, you can do your own P.R. I can even teach you how if you want. But, just as I know I don’t understand the tax code and am better off hiring a CPA to save me money in the long run, I don’t think forgoing an expert for your marketing is the best solution.
Tags: Business, Marketing, PR, Public Relations, small business
October 9, 2008 at 11:29 am
The best results I’ve gotten from a PR firm, were those that 1) had on staff people who had been a journalist before and 2) had close relationships with the press.
In most cases, doing it yourself will give you some SEO enhancement generally, but to fully maximize your investment you need someone who has the both the knowledge and relationships.
October 9, 2008 at 11:46 am
That is SO on the money, and refreshing to hear someone say it like that. We live in a world where the mystery of stuff is open for all to see, so folk think they can do stuff, and save money.
I was chatting to a client of mine, who owns an IT Support company. His engineers work out at an hourly rate of £100 an hour, and he lost a client to a one-man-band company offering IT support at £25 per hour.
One month later he won the client back. It was taking this one-man-band a whole day to sort stuff out, with all the hassles involved of an IT man on site for a day, whereas the professional company (my client) would generally fix stuff in an hour or two!!!!
Its a no brainer… get the experts in every time.