I’ve been in the Public Relations field for over 7 years now, starting out as a PR/Marketing Assistant for a New York City publisher of financial lifestyle publications catering to Wall Street traders, hedge fund managers and M&A executives – Trader Monthly and Dealmaker magazines. It’s been 7 years and a lot has changed since then – the financial bubble burst, Trader Monthly & Dealmaker magazines folded post recession, and along the way, I’ve honed my writing and communication skills, beefed up my pitching tactics, and added hundreds of journalists, online bloggers and broadcast producers to my PR rolodex.
Public relations is becoming a more recognizable, cost-effective way for businesses, government organizations, nonprofits, and even people to raise their public profile and visibility, garner respect and build long-term business. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more than 7,000 public relations firms in the United States. And the PR community gets even bigger when you add In-House public relations roles at corporations, government bodies, health care institutions, military branches, recruitment firms, nonprofit organizations, and a host of other entities. While some might debate the value of Public Relations to an organization, I’m here to talk about something completely different: Becoming a PR whisperer for your small business.
It’s the age-old PR industry debate – Agency vs. In-House. While I see benefits to both sides of the PR seesaw, small businesses have fewer luxuries at their disposal and creating an in-house PR role is a smart, financially prudent (but not cheap) and effective way to generate buzz and visibility aka marketing for their brand without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on trade advertising, sponsorships and exorbitant PR agency fees. And it lets the small business mold and shape its PR and communications strategy from the ground up. It lets the small business take a step back and craft – that’s what we do in the PR business – a thoughtful, personal and strategic strategy that will not only increase the company’s brand image, reputation and online presence across news publications, social media, and the blogging community, but also make a direct impact in the company’s bottom line.
Be a PR Whisperer
In a small business environment, the PR role sits in the driver’s seat of the company’s brand positioning, messaging, communications channels, media outreach, publicity and business development. Here’s where being an in-house professional at a smaller company pays off. You aren’t a small fish in a BIG pond at a larger PR agency. You can essentially become a PR whisperer – brainstorming and sharing your creative ideas with top-level executives and flipping your hands-on approach into real results in a matter of hours, whereas that same innovation and enthusiasm will likely be bludgeoned under multiple teams, supervisors, managing directors and VP-level executives at an agency.
Don’t Be Complacent
Don’t be complacent in your role – brainstorm on a DAILY basis and take advantage of PR software and resources like Vocus PR Software, HARO (Help a Reporter Out), MediaBistro “How to Pitch” Seminars, Publicity Club of New York and so many others. In the PR industry, it’s not just who you know (reporters, online bloggers, broadcast producers), it’s what you don’t know. Take full advantage of the many resources out there and find easy and fun ways to talk, scream and yell from the mountain tops who your company is, what it does and why it towers above the competition.
