2017 is here. As the New Year begins, resolutions are being made. That includes resolutions for your small business.
But, what if you don’t believe in making resolutions? And even if you do, for some of us, they simply don’t work.
That’s OK. How about we just focus on getting it done this year? If you’ve been thinking about doing some public relations for your small business or startup, there are some simple ways to get the ball rolling.
Here are five ways you can make it happen for your small business when it comes to PR:
- Neglected to reach out to media? Not sure how to start? Tackle it head on by first deciding what type of media coverage would be most beneficial. Is it local coverage? Coverage in trade publications? Print or broadcast coverage? Then, put together a list. It doesn’t have to include hundreds of media outlets. Focus on five or 10 to start. Even selecting one target to pursue can be a beginning, then you can build from there.
- If you’ve been putting off that press release, now is the time to write it. You can get a lot of mileage from press releases because there are so many ways you can leverage them. Here are a few examples in my piece on Ragan’s PR Daily, 5 Ways to Make Use of a Press Release.
- Try a contributed article. This can be a great vehicle to build thought leadership. Get your expertise out there by sharing it with an audience who will appreciate it. And, these can also be repurposed in a number of ways (blog posts, social media, etc.). If you enjoy writing, you can do this on your own. If not—and if you don’t have a marketing or communications team–find someone in your company who likes to write. Or, hire someone to interview you and do the writing.
- Want to build your credibility as an expert in your field AND bring visibility to your small business? Try speaking! If you’re just starting out, look for local opportunities to present at Chambers of Commerce, Rotary groups and libraries. If you have the budget to travel to industry events like conferences, many of those accept speaking proposals. If you’re not comfortable flying solo, you can propose participating in a panel discussion with some of your industry peers.
- If you haven’t tried to garner any awards, now is the time. Awards are handed out by local publications and organizations, and then there are industry awards and even national awards programs. As always, where you start depends on who you’re trying to get in front of. Once you determine that, you can research appropriate awards programs, deadlines and fees and develop some baseline materials to use to submit to these programs.
These are a few ideas to get you started. There’s no time like now to embark on PR for your business. What are you waiting for?
