Too often, the term “public relations” comes up after a disaster has happened. Tiger Woods is caught having multiple affairs? “What a PR disaster!” we exclaim.
The truth is, public relations or PR is an important aspect of running a business and one that entrepreneurs should regulary use — not only to avert branding and image disasters.
It should be a regular part of building your brand, establishing your credibility, attracting prospects, and converting leads into buyers.
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What Is PR?
Public relations is the process of building awareness and credibility for your company, product or service among your target market.
The process involves working with key influencers – traditionally journalists but now also including bloggers and other content producers.
Key influencers are those who regularly reach your target market, are trusted by them, and are known to provide accurate and reliable information. They are an objective third party, not paid by you.
Because this awareness comes from a trustworthy source, your credibility increases. Notice the effect of a product review published by a magazine because the reporter genuinely believed in the product.
Compare that to a paid advertisement for the same product. Which one will have more impact on a prospect?
The reporter’s review will have more weight, because readers know it’s her honest opinion, one that wasn’t influenced by the promise of monetary reward.
How Can PR Help Your Business?
Aside from achieving credibility, you can reach potential partners, investors, and of course, customers, through PR.
Online publicity, for example, will enhance the search engine rankings of your site and bring more organic, targeted traffic.
An increase in sales and profits is the ultimate benefit of effective PR.
So You Wanna Do Your Own PR ?
Big companies either have in-house PR staff or hire PR agencies or consultants to the tune of thousands of dollars
every month. This is out of reach for the average small business entrepreneur.
However, this doesn’t mean that effective PR should be out of your reach as well. As a matter of fact, most entrepreneurs can manage their own publicity needs – if they have the basic PR skills and mindset.
Short of browsing hundreds of websites a bout PR or enrolling in a PR course at the nearest university, you can learn the basics of PR at your own pace and in the comfort of your home.
One course I recommend is “How to Do Your Own PR” by Elena Verlee, a sought-after PR consultant, serial entrepreneur and certified business coach. It’s an audio course you can load into your mp3 player to listen to while you drive around.
Or, if you’d rather read, full transcripts are available as well.
Aside from knowing PR inside and out, Verlee is an excellent teacher who’s able to simplify PR concepts and explain them in layman’s terms. Just try and fail at this course.
If you’re interested, here’s the link to “How to Do Your Own PR” again. Check it out:
