In the ever changing world of digital PR, there are so many opportunities and avenues which brands and companies can use to spread their brand’s message and increase their reach. While the shift has changed to engaging through social media, there is no excuse to ignore tried and tested traditional PR methods when it comes to expanding your business’s reach.
Though the days of the Mad Men PR agency has long gone, in this blog, we look at traditional tips, tricks, and techniques that digital PR agencies still use……. That work!
Be The Centre Of Attention: Stunts, Causes or Competitions
There’s an old television saying called, ‘Jumping the Shark’. It typically means, when a television programme is out of story ideas and relies on outlandish stunts or gimmicks. Generally, this means a decline in quality in the show.
In the world of PR, stunts, competitions, and gimmicks can launch or define a brand to a generation of consumers while drawing the attention of the media and press. That is why they’re a fantastic method for brands to use to launch themselves to new audiences.
Today, we have social media, something that was not available to PR agencies decades ago, which is a fantastic medium to broadcast your message or your stunt.
Through Facebook, we were able to help grow Urban Design Flowers’s social following through a simple stunt, a competition. Before this competition, Urban Design Flowers had a small social following in the low hundreds despite doing fantastic work and their number of celebrity clients.
Through a simple Facebook competition, which required a small investment of a prize and advertising spend, in a month, they gained over five thousand followers and drove a flood of traffic to their website.
It was a complete success, which now allows Urban Design Flowers to effectively remarket to their newly acquired followers and drive revenue to their business.
Go Back To Basics: Press Releases
Something that we’ve covered before but I will say it again, press releases aren’t dead and aren’t going away. Universally, it is a document which all journalists know and can expect when working with brands. In many respects, press releases are more important now than ever.
Why is that?
Whether working with journalists and traditional publications to bloggers and social influencers, they want to cut the dressing and get to the meat of the matter. Whether they want to write about your story or work with your brand depends on how quickly you can deliver your brand’s message and values. That is why press releases work better over media packs: as it is a streamlined document that contains only the core facts and what they need to know.
As well, there is the convenience a press release provides. Media packs or kits can be large, multiple documents that are difficult to download and need to keep several copies in different formats depending which is used by which journalist or publication when sending them. This is creating an unneeded hassle for both parties and is slowing the process down. A single document with all the information they need is a much optimised approach to outreaching your brand’s story or news.
Extra Tip: Include links in your press release if your website has further information relevant to your stories.
Use Review Samples
A review campaign is still a fantastic way to get publications and media outlets writing about your brand and the products you sell. Rather than giving them a press release or images, a free product or a review sample is a great incentive that makes bloggers and influencers more likely to work with your brand.
In many respects, it is much easier to conduct a reviews campaign than it was ten or twenty years ago as more people are publishing content. No matter what nice industry or field your business works in, I can promise you, there will be bloggers and influencers who you can work with.
Remember: Get a NoFollow on any links from reviews with free products. Last month, Google issued a stern warning that if bloggers receive a free product in return for brand mentions, it must be disclosed: therefore a nofollow link and clear statement that the product was free will keep Google happy!
Be An Authority
Are you part of a profession and is it currently in the news? Is there is a scandal or large story revolving around your industry? Yes? That’s great, that is absolutely wonderful. Why do I want to know? Because journalists and broadcasters want to know!
Why is there a great demand for former footballers to become pundits and broadcasters? Because they give their audience their experience and knowledge of the sport that sports journalists do not have. That is why journalists and broadcasters are interested in working with industry professionals when the opportunity arrives because they can give their article an extra layer of depth and insight that might not be able to provide themselves.
This is not limited to large news broadcasters and can be quite effective when working with bloggers, vloggers, and influencers. Not being part of a large media outlet, they often find themselves rewriting about current events much after larger publications have covered the story. By offering a professional opinion, this gives a new spin on the story.
Through keeping your ear to the ground and eyes on the news, you can find opportunities for your brand to give their experience and knowledge on a news story.
Pick Up The Telephone
Step away from the email and social media, go back to basics and pick up the phone! A large part of PR should revolve around picking up the phone and pitching stories, and it is the most effective way to get results.
Why is this?
Yes, you can send your press release and pitch your story to nearly anyone with email and social media. It is incredibly easy. It is even easier for them to ignore you. It can go into a spam folder or be forgotten, you can’t do that with a phone call.
As well, it gives the personal touch when working with influencers and journalists, which is vital for kickstarting a good relationship between them and your brand. Let’s be honest, we’ve all used template emails and copy & pasted new names. It is an awful way to communicate, let alone begin a working relationship that benefits both parties. It does not give the best impression of your brand and, especially with bloggers who communicate through networks and communities, that will build the kind of reputation that will hinder further PR campaigns.
Make the call, build a relationship and get your story published.
Building relationship and generating mentions for your brand isn’t easy: it’s time consuming and resource heavy. If you are interested in how Ricemedia can increase your online presence to the next level, get in touch today.
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