The world's top marketing gurus share t
heir pr tips to help you stand out. We all know of those brands that seemed to come out of no where or even the local real estate professional who is known throughout the area. What are the secrets that these companies used to get such recognition? Is it a pr posting service, paying influencers to promote you or something else?
In this value packed post from boost the news they share the best tips from the most successful in that game. Here are our 10 favorites:
“Customize your contacts” – Heather Whaling (@prtini)
“Anyone can throw together a generic pitch, send it to a handful of reporters and see what happens,” says PR power-woman Heather Whaling on her blog prTini. “If the story/news is at least somewhat compelling, maybe you’ll land a quick mention or two. Will those placements accurately convey your brand’s/client’s key messages? Probably not.”
Don’t just send your press release or product pitch en-masse. The key to getting to the hearts of journalists, bloggers and influencers with news about your brand, says Whaling, is to customize the pitches and create messages that one cannot resist reading. “That way, instead of just amassing meaningless mentions and clips (not a smart PR strategy!), we can secure placements that build awareness, establish authority and drive sales/leads – the results that truly matter to clients.”
Whoa! So it sounds like they are taking content marketing strategies as if they were making an interesting blog post and applying it to their outreach. That seems obvious when reading it but how many of us think of that?
“Take good care of your brand champions” – Deirdre Breakenridge (@dbreakenridge)
Bono, probably the biggest king of marketing in history, once sang: “Sometimes you can’t make it on your own”. The help of brand champions, evangelists or influencers of different kinds is priceless, and can do wonders to your online presence. But don’t think it’s something they owe you – it’s a relationship you should cultivate and care about, as importantly points out Deirdre Breakenridge, co-founder of #PRStudChat, on her blog: “For your brand champions, are you expressing gratitude? Are you taking the time to help them too? It’s an important part of building relationships that should not be taken for granted. When people are drawn to you, want to work with you and share on your behalf, then you should be mindful and an active participant, taking the time to reciprocate and give back. Even the smallest gesture is appreciated. Ultimately, the rule is never to expect anything, but when you do reciprocate it goes a long way!” Amen to that, Deirdre!
Remember to return the favor and be of value to them.
“Don’t campaign – commit!” – Rachel Kay (@rachelakay)
“This ‘If you build it, they will come’ mentality with social media has been one of the most frustrating I’ve dealt with in both my corporate and agency PR consulting experience. And part of the reason it’s frustrating is I’ve yet to find the best way to help people and organizations understand that social media is a commitment, not a campaign. And that just because it’s so easy to set up a fan page on Facebook doesn’t mean that how you use that page to engage with your audience will be a piece of cake.” In this blog post,Rachel Kay from RKPR talks about a known problem: brands and business adopt any new platform available online, build their presence there, and then think fans will come running in numbers without any effort from their side. It’s a wrong approach, and good online social media specialists know it too well. Building a good online presence, with tons of loyal fans and followers, is a matter of hard work and long-term commitment: “To put it another way, you wouldn’t build and launch other company initiatives without a strategy, would you?”
Stay on top of your brand 24/7 – Gini Dietrich (@ginidietrich)
Imagine the absurd scenario in which one evening, out of the blue, Beyonce mentions your brand in her song, and the internet simply breaks. This actually happened, and the brand screwed it up by not reacting on time. Online, timing is everything, says Dietrich: “if you are going to have a social media presence, be prepared to have it 24/7. You don’t have to have someone responding to customers around the clock, but you do need to have alerts and notifications, along with an escalation plan to act and respond fast. As we saw, even good media can quickly turn sour if you don’t strike while the iron is hot.”
Tell a story – David Meerman Scott (@dmscott)
“Business and commerce continue to be fundamental ways we interact outside of our family. And while we may not fully realize it, stories are an inescapable part of how we communicate professionally.” This important quote by David Meerman Scott reminds us that a brand, before it has business goals, sales figures, and budgets, it has a story. It IS a story. It is the dream of a founder, who wanted to solve a certain problem of the world, and decided to do everything possible to make this happen. Telling this story, to yourself and to your audience, makes your brand more human. It puts a face and a heart on it, and makes it more easy to relate to it. And when this story can also relate to the worldview of the audience, it’s a love story. “When the story that you tell customers matches the story that customers tell themselves, your business is in alignment.”
How many local professionals and big companies actually do that? Some do and they are usually very successful in connecting. Such a good and yet subtle detail many ignore. Think of Angie from Angie's list that is a solid example.
Don’t wait for “perfect” – Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan)
“If you procrastinate because you’re waiting for something to be perfect, you’re missing an amazing opportunity.” An important lesson for life by Chris Brogan. In online PR and marketing, we often tend to be perfectionists. We want to have THE best pitch for THE best blog post with THE best headline on THE best website, and so on. But sometimes, this can actually hold us back. Because sometimes, waiting for perfect makes us wait for too long and miss the opportunity to strike. Sometimes, the few extra minutes / days we invest in working a bit more to make something be perfect, are actually a little bit too long. Chris Brogansays: take a risk, launch yourself. Even if you have to fix or to improve later, just be out there. “You’re not helping anyone when you wait.”
Yep. Make sure things are good and no waiting. Get out there and make it happen!
Be big, be bold, be brave – Ann Handley (@MarketingProfs)
“A bigger story puts your company in the larger context of what people care about. A bolder marketer upends the status quo, telling a story that hits on specific challenges your audience has (but no one else is talking about in the right way for a certain audience). Gutsier, braver voice is a differentiator in a sea of mediocre content.” Indeed, Ann, in a sea of mediocre online content, to make a strong presence, brands need to come up with big, bold and brave stories. Those who dare will succeed!
Be helpful – Jay Baer (@jaybaer)
“72 percent of consumers prefer using a company‘s website to answer their questions,” writes Jay Baer at Convince and Convert. “But businesses are not universally adept at this self-service approach, as only half of customers can find the information they need online.” To summarize Jay’s point, customer service is the best PR you could ask for. Help your audience find the information they need – and you’re guaranteed to win their hearts.
Never stop learning – Lee Odden (@leeodden)
Being a professional is not only about sharing your knowledge with others. It’s also about recognizing the importance of learning. The journey to professionalism is a never-ending road of improvement, and who can help you more than your colleagues in the industry? At TopRank Blog, Lee Odden shares a number of great meetings you can attend to increase your expertise and exchange knowledge with other experts in the industry.
Even the best crafts people and service people in the world keep learning and refining their skills and industry knowledge.
Don’t speak jargon – Guy Kawasaki (@GuyKawasaki)
According to Guy Kawasaki, “if your positioning statement uses any acronyms, the odds are that (a) most people won’t understand your branding, and (b) your branding won’t last long.” It’s important to speak in layman’s terms to make sure you don’t make it too complicated for your audience to get your message.
You can read their whole list of 25 here.
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