More Effective Public Relations

Here's a few thoughts on how to make your public relations efforts more effective, this is particularly for those that can't afford to outsource their PR.

1.  PR is about more then press - Most people think PR is just about getting your story in the local TV or newspaper.  It can be much more then that if you want it to be.  PR is about having good relationships with anyone who can help spread the word about what you are doing, that can be a blogger with a following just as much as a newspaper critic.

2.  Concentrate your efforts - You probably don't have a lot of time to invest in PR, but that's ok.  Before starting your PR campaign you should think of the top 4-5 people that you want to have cover your work, then spend your efforts getting to know them.  Yes, that may mean that you are leaving a lot of good potential PR sources behind, but if you are doing it yourself that may be your only option.

3.  Get to know your PR sources - Before pitching an idea to the media you have to know if it fits that person's interest.  I know some media folks and nothing upsets them more then having someone pitch them a story that has exactly 0% chance of running becase it either:

• Isn't news
• Doesn't fit that reports interest
• Is happening too soon for the reporter to cover

Comments

[Rachel Todd]

Great post. I currently work for a company 2 days a week therefore it is hard to keep up the momentum without doing it in a concentrated effort as you suggest. Although it is hard to explain this to people who think any coverage is good coverage.

[Adam]

Rachel,

One way you could try to tackle the "any coverage" problem is to change the equation.

It's not "any coverage is good coverage". It's "any coverage" OR "good coverage."

What good coverage means is different for every organization but for my job, a large theatre in Chicago, good coverage could be define as any coverage that makes the case why people should see our show versus the 200 other theatre options they have.

Like I said, the definition of good coverage for your client may vary.

You could explain to them that good coverage is what sells product. Any coverage just reminds them that the product exists.

So if they want to sell, then they should consider allowing you to focus your effots.