10 Tips - How public relations can benefit your business

By Bob Bion, PR Director, twentyfour7

The right PR can have a positive, impacting and far reaching effect on your business and brand. A lot of Liverpool companies could open up new markets and do well on the national scene with better PR...

Let's be honest - a lot of PR people are full of hot air. They're renowned for it. Some even thrive on it.

The Institute of Public Relations describes PR as "the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour." So there's the textbook definition - now for the practicalities.

First and foremost, PR is about getting your organisation noticed.

The most easily identifiable element of public relations is media relations.

So what's the key to getting your company in the news?

	The Story
	Primarily, you've got to have a story and a message. If you haven't, you're wasting your time.
	Communicate
	Issue news which shows your business in a good light: order announcements, personnel appointment announcements, announcements of major contracts and case studies showing your product and service being used to best advantage by your customers.
	Other Topics
	Look for opportunities to write on other topics affecting your business. Be proactive and original.
	Relevance
	Equally, make sure your press releases are relevant and only issue them to publications, TV and radio stations which are likely to be interested. If journalists gets used to 'binning' your press releases, they might miss the ones that are really newsworthy.
	Be Selective
	Some press release will appeal to the 'trade' media, others to the wider business media. Be selective - the distribution of media messages is not a mass mail shot exercise.
	Present Facts
	Press releases should also never be regarded as works of lofty literary merit. The intention of a press release is to not to give journalists profound intellectual stimulation, but to present facts which may, or may not, be used in their publication.
	Drafting and Using
	Any PR company which takes hours drafting press releases (and charges you excessively for the privilege!) should be treated with suspicion. Equally, don't expect all your messages to make the news. The choice of whether or not publish is down to the publication, not you.
	News Desk
	News desks can receive literally hundreds of press releases every day, not to mention e-mails. You're not a priority to them!
	A Pr Strategy
	It's also imperative that PR is deliberate, planned and sustained; not haphazard. Have a strategy in place with measurable objectives. It will increase your chances of success.
	Professional Campaigns
	In a nutshell, professionally implemented PR campaigns will make you more visible, boost your sales and increase your profit levels. An amateurish approach will produce exactly the opposite result, damaging your reputation and your business.

twentyfour7 is a Public Relations, Marketing and Business Development Agency

Email your views to: change@downtownliverpool.com

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