Public Relations - A Key Component to Your Marketing Wheel

Public relations is an incredibly important part of your marketing communications plan.  It is essentially free advertising, done by journalists and reporters.  It is used to promote products, people, places, ideas, activities, organizations, and even entire countries!

The benefit to public relations is that it is more credible than traditional advertising.  News stories, feature articles, and events seem more real and believable to readers than ads do.

 Some of the public relations tools that you can use are:

·         Press releases
·         Speeches
·         Product publicity
·         Public affairs
·         Lobbying
·         Investor relations
·        Product Development
·         Special Events
·         Public service activities

Here’s where your marketing wheel starts to take place.  Remember that in the first blog of this series, I talked about your website being the centre of the wheel and everything you do needs to lead back to your website.  Your website is a great tool to use for public relations.  People search the internet for information, not necessarily to purchase something.  Using your website as a public relations tool gives your customers the information they are looking for.  If your company has appeared in the news, put a link to that newscast on your website.  Had an article written about you or your company?  Put that in there too.  Maybe your company just won an award.  That needs to be broadcast too.  All of this is giving customers information about your company, which is what they are really looking for.

 Your marketing team needs to have a great working relationship with journalists and reporters that represent your industry and your target market.   You need to know how they prefer to receive stories, whether it be by email or through a press release distribution site.  I have also just called up some of my contacts and asked if they would be willing to do a story on a certain topic.  If they have the time and they find it newsworthy, they’ll do it.

 Now, here are some tips when submitting a press release.  If you would like to submit a press release that will actually be effective

a)      Make sure you have something newsworthy to say
b)      Make sure your press release is professionally written
c)       Make sure it’s truthful and it isn’t an outright advertisement
d)      Make sure you are sending it to the correct place and contact person

So, remember to include public relations activities into your marketing communications plan.  It will help build your reputation without breaking your bank account.

Your Website - The Centre of the Wheel

In this article, the second of an 8 part series on how to build a strong marketing communications plan, I want to impress upon you the importance of a well-designed website.  Since on-line marketing is so important for any business nowadays, your entire marketing plan needs to be developed around your website.  As more and more people search on line for companies (instead of using a phone book) the most important part of your marketing strategy is having a website that clearly gives your customers all the answers they’re looking for.  Every other marketing activity you do needs to lead back to your website.

So, what does your website need to do for your company?  Well, I could go on for days and days about website optimization, but for now I’ll just give you the basics.  So, the answer to that question is, depending on the company and the industry the content will be different, but the main points that the website needs to be are:

·         Informative

·         Inviting

·         Interactive

Give me information:

Creating an informative website is the most important thing you can possibly do for your business.  When someone is searching for your company, the want all of the information they need right at their fingertips.  Remember that when people read stuff on the internet, they just scan it.  People do not sit and actively read word for word the entire page to find what they want.  So, it’s up to you as a business owner to make sure that you have provided all the information a customer could ever want to know about your business and make sure it’s right where they can find it.   Your content needs to be of high value to your customers, otherwise they’ll leave your website and search out a competitor.

Part of creating that content is making your website searchable.  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is really important when developing the content of your website.  Key words that are important to your company, your industry and your market are what will help bring your website up to the top in search engines. (I will go into further detail about this in an upcoming blog about your overall on-line marketing activities.)

Invite your customers in:

Now, content is one thing, but the website needs to be inviting.  Like a good host, you would make your guests feel welcome in your home so they want to stay.  Think of your customers as your guests.  You want them to visit, but you also want them to stay for more than a few seconds.  Remember that your website also needs to accurately reflect the company image.  Creating an inviting website that clearly tells your customers who you are can be achieved by using some of the following tips:

·         Be consistent in your colours and fonts

·         Don’t clutter it up with too much stuff

·         Use a pleasing color scheme

·         Incorporate clear and easy-to-use navigation

·         Employ quick-loading graphics

·         Make sure your contact information is easy to find

·         Use simple graphics

·         Choose headings that catch the interest of your reader

·         Create a section for electronic news releases and media materials

·         Post success stories and testimonials (with permission, of course)

Talk to me:

And of course, once you’ve gotten your customer to visit your website, you ideally want them to interact with you.

·         Offer discount incentives for online purchase of products and gift certificates

·         Promote online appointment scheduling by offering package deals

·         Provide a way for visitors to give you feedback (e.g., a “Contact Me” form, direct e-mail link, or a survey)

·         Purchase a digital camera so you can take pictures at events and upload them to your site

·         Host regular Webinars

·         Offer free stuff, like a free estimate or assessment

So, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Marketing is not just advertising.  It’s about creating that memorable impression, by creating an experience that your customers are going to remember.  Your website is the centre of that marketing wheel.  It’s what’s holding the wheel together.  So don’t let your “wheel” fall apart with a poorly designed website.  Take the time to properly design it and update it regularly.

Messages from different promotional approaches all become part of a single message about the company.  So keep it consistent!