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An important, but frequently overlooked approach to small business promotion and marketing is public relations. In addition to advertising, sales letters, and face-to-face selling, most well-executed marketing plans include one or more of the following public relations tools: press releases, media interviews, editorials and guest columns (written by you or an associate), seminars and workshops, public speaking engagements, and special events. A major component of public relations involves "planting" feature stories or news in newspapers, magazines, television or radio programs, and other branches of the media. When a favorable story about your business or organization appears in the press, you not only gain the short-term benefits of the positive publicity, but you can use reprints of the article as a powerful marketing tool. Enclosing a copy of the article with your brochures and sales letters can boost your credibility immeasurably. Public relations, like other forms of marketing, should not be haphazard or unplanned. Ideally, you should create a 12 month marketing/PR calendar in which you map out the marketing methods you're going to use each month and how your public relations program is going to factor into that strategy. Keep in mind that the more your target audience sees and hears the name of your organization or business, the easier it will be for you and your associates to sell your products, services, or point of view. In conjunction with putting your name out there on a regular basis, here are a few other important principles and ideas to bear in mind as you pursue your public relations and marketing objectives: * Consider publishing a newsletter for clients, prospects, and the media. * If you have a new or expanded business, hold a grand opening and invite the media. * Conduct a press conference if you have something major to unveil or announce. * Hire a public relations consultant or agency if you need advice or help. * Take a reporter to lunch (especially if you have a newsworthy story to pitch). * Be consistent in you message and your image. * If you're scheduled to be interviewed, anticipate questions and rehearse answers with an associate, friend, or spouse. * Reinforce your marketing message and positive image in your ads, direct mail campaigns, packaging, sales presentations, speaking engagements, trade shows, press releases, press conferences, and all other contact with the media and the public. * When you're talking to the media, don't say anything which is "off the record" (it might just end up in print or on the air!).

If you're an authority on your industry or any topic, make that known to the local media. Send them a press packet containing an introductory letter, a studio-quality photo of yourself, a bio, and any appropriate newspaper clippings, brochures, fact sheets, press releases, your business card, resume, and perhaps a page of testimonials or a letter of recommendation(optional), preferably from a community or business leader. It all depends on the situation, your field, and how well established you are. The intention is to have reporters call you for a quote or an interview the next time they do a story on your area of expertise.

Better yet, become proactive and suggest story ideas to news writers and reporters. To increase your effectiveness in "pitching" stories to the media, get to know as many writers and editors, as possible, on a first-name basis.

Becoming known as an authority in your field will call positive attention to you, your business, your organization, or your cause. Not only will that increase your visibility and raise awareness, but it may also result in getting invitations to speak to groups or to conduct workshops. Once your public relations "machine" shifts into high gear, you find yourself achieving more and more success, in terms of generating favorable publicity, enhancing your public image, and attracting customers, clients, members, patients, business associates, or donations, depending on what your objective is.

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Success Strategies for
Public Relations Marketing

Excerpt from On Target: The Book on Marketing Plans by Tim Berry and Doug Wilson

Public Relations involves a variety of programs designed to maintain or enhance a company's image and the products and services it offers. Successful implementation of an effective public relations strategy can be a critical component to a marketing plan.

A public relations (PR) strategy may play a key role in an organization's promotional strategy. A planned approach to leveraging public relations opportunities can be just as important as advertising and sales promotions. Public relations is one of the most effective methods to communicate and relate to the market. It is powerful and, once things are in motion, it is the most cost effective of all promotional activities. In some cases, it is free.

The success of well executed PR plans can be seen through several organizations that have made it a central focus of their promotional strategy. Paul Newman's Salad Dressing, The Body Shop, and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream have positioned their organizations through effective PR strategies. Intel, Sprint and Microsoft have leveraged public relations to introduce and promote new products and services.

Similar to the foundational goals of marketing, effective public relations seeks to communicate information to:

• Launch new products and services.
• Reposition a product or service.
• Create or increase interest in a product, service, or brand.
• Influence specific target groups.
• Defend products or services that have suffered from negative press or perception.
• Enhance the firm's overall image.
• The result of an effective public relations strategy is to generate additional revenue through greater awareness and information for the products and services an organization offers.

Goals and Objectives

Good strategy begins with identifying your goals and stating your objectives. What are the goals and objectives behind your public relations strategy and can they be measured and quantified?

Each of these areas may reflect the goals your public relations campaign may seek to accomplish.

Press relations
Communicating news and information of interest about organizations in the most positive light.

Product and service promotion
Sponsoring various efforts to publicize specific products or services.

Firm communications
Promoting a better and more attractive understanding of the organization with internal and external communications.

Lobbying
Communicating with key individuals to positively influence legislation and regulation.

Internal feedback
Advising decision makers within the organization regarding the public's perception and advising actions to be taken to change negative opinions.

Media Relations and Public Relations Training Materials
for Classroom Instruction, Home Study, or Distance Learning

Marketing Public Relations; A Marketer's Approach to Public Relations and Social Media For undergraduate public relations, new media, and marketing courses. The first text to teach public relations through the lens of marketing. Marketing Public Relations breaks from the norm by presenting public relations using a marketing, rather than a communications studies or journalism, approach. This text recognizes the similarities between PR, word-of-mouth, and social networking media and creates a framework for constructing marketing strategies that incorporate these highly credible and cost-effective tools. Students will first learn the theory and then how to apply it, in order to ?do Marketing Public Relations? in the real world.

Developing the Public Relations Campaign: A Team-Based Approach, Second Edition Developing the Public Relations Campaign: A Team-Based Approach takes a simple, easy-to-follow approach that helps students develop a public relations campaign in a service-learning environment. This text is designed for courses that use a team project approach rather than a traditional lecture/note-taking model. Developing the Public Relations Campaign introduces a three-step process - the PIE chart - that accurately describes the campaign development process used in the real world. A practical approach, with exercises and case studies in every chapter, guides students through the development of their own public relations campaigns.

Strategic Writing: Multimedia Writing for Public Relations, Advertising and More, Second Edition Strategic Writing emphasizes the strategic, goal-oriented mission of high-quality media and public relations writing with clear, concise instructions for more than 40 types of documents. This multidisciplinary text covers writing for public relations, advertising, sales and marketing, and business communication. Featuring a spiral binding, numerous examples and a user-friendly "recipe" approach, Strategic Writing is ideal for public relations writing classes that include documents from other disciplines.

Public Relations: A Values-Driven Approach, Fourth Edition In a time when society is holding individuals and organizations to high standards of conduct, Public Relations: A Values-Driven Approach teaches students how to build ethical, productive relationships with strategic constituencies. This text provides an introduction to the dynamic, growing, and honorable profession of public relations as it relates to a broader social context. Grounded in public relations theory and traditions, Public Relations: A Values-Driven Approach appeals to students through lively anecdotes, an informal writing style, and a very reasonable price. Each chapter helps students understand how public relations activities reflect and affect an organization's core values.

Public Relations in Schools, Fourth Edition With chapter contributions by leading experts Public Relations in Schools, 4/e, provides a comprehensive view of how community relations affect organizational behavior and the effective management of districts and schools. With a focus on communication alternatives in modern technology and political demands for change it offers an integrated foundation of theory and craft to help practitioners facilitate a positive change in public relations. Beginning with the organizational characteristics of public relations this text offers coverage of specific duties assumed by administrative personnel in planning, collecting and analyzing data, media relations, funding campaigns, evaluating public relations activities, and responding to crisis situations.

Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics, Ninth Edition Comprehensive and current, Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics, Ninth Edition helps students better understand the basic concepts, strategies, and tactics practiced in public relations today. Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics combines numerous real-life case studies with core theoretical to help students relate theory to the actual practice of public relations. This comprehensive text is grounded in scholarship and includes references to landmark studies and time-honored public relations techniques. Written in a disarming and accessible style, this edition focuses on the application of technology and encourages students to think about creative uses of new media.

Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques, Sixth Edition Public Relations Writing and Media Techniques is the most comprehensive and up-to-date public relations writing text available. With real-world examples of award-winning work by PR professionals, this new edition continues to help students master the many techniques needed to reach a variety of audiences in today?s digital age. Clearly written and well-organized, this book emphasizes the nuts and bolts of writing, producing, and distributing public relations materials through traditional and social media. The author provides step-by-step procedures illustrated by examples from actual campaigns to engage today?s students. This text also serves as an invaluable resource for public relations practitioners in the field.

Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics, Ninth Edition Designed to give your students the extra support they need to succeed in your classroom, our Study Edition of Wilcox's Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics offers perforated chapter practice tests at the end of the textbook that can be used as a study tool for students or as homework. Containing the same engaging and effective features that have made Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics such a success, the Study Edition offers an additional bonus: perforated chapter quizzes. Because the answers to the practice tests are not included in the Study Edition, instructors can use the tests as quizzes or as extra homework. Instructors can download the answer key and share it with students as they see fit. Comprehensive and current, Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics, Ninth Edition helps students better understand the basic concepts, strategies, and tactics practiced in public relations today. Public Relations: Strategies and Tactics combines numerous real-life case studies with core theoretical to help students relate theory to the actual practice of public relations. This comprehensive text is grounded in scholarship and includes references to landmark studies and time-honored public relations techniques. Written in a disarming and accessible style, this edition focuses on the application of technology and encourages students to think about creative uses of new media.

Cutlip and Center's Effective Public Relations, Tenth Edition For courses in Introductory Public Relations. Cutlip & Center offers students the gold standard in public relations, providing the most up-to-date reference in the market. In the new edition, Glen Broom continues the work of Cutlip and Center by providing the most up-to-date reference for students.

Public Relations Practices: Managerial Case Studies and Problems, Seventh Edition For undergraduate and graduate courses in Public Relations. Written by two of the most respected individuals in the field, Public Relations Practices, 7/e, presents timeless case studies to help future practitioners develop agility in the principles and applications of effective two-way communications likely to confront them and their employer.

Public Relations Cases, 8th Edition Primarily using Public Relations Society of America award-winning cases, PUBLIC RELATIONS CASES, Eighth Edition, presents a clear theoretical grounding in the major areas of public relations. Using the ROPE process model (Research, Objectives, Programming, and Evaluation), the authors keep students focused on the strategic elements of exemplary communications campaigns. The case studies provide glimpses into best practices for public relations campaigns as recognized by professionals in the field. The cases all use a strategic communications model, where clearly defined objectives are based on sound research and good audience analysis, followed by creative tactics that are evaluated for their effectiveness.

Public Relations: The Profession and the Practice, 3rd Edition With the CourseSmart eTextbook version of this title, students can save up to 50% off the cost of a print book, reduce their impact on the environment, and access powerful web tools for learning. Faculty can also review and compare the full text online without having to wait for a print desk copy. CourseSmart is an online eTextbook, which means users need to be connected to the internet in order to access. Students can also print sections of the book for maximum portability. Coverage of global markets, new technologies, and multiculturalism throughout make this dynamic text the cutting-edge choice for public relations courses. Accompanied by unique, free online video interviews of leaders in the public relations field, the text presents and explains in a personal, jargon-free style the fundamental tools of public relations practice, providing a multi-disciplinary understanding of the emerging trends within the field. Critical changes in society and technology lend importance to the increasing emphasis in the management function of public relations. While traditional media is still the foundation of public communication, the new social media now provides a much more personal and interactive form of public relations. This book thus provides the user with the ability to create effective messages using both the new social media as well as traditional media.

Public Relations can be a
Powerful Web Marketing Tool:

Unlock The Power of Press Releases To Claim Prized Search Rankings Amazing new software submits your online press releases to over a dozen online newswires for massive amounts of instant exposure. Get your press releases spread around the web and see your traffic stats skyrocket. Worth looking into! Plus, you even increase your chances to claim top positions in the search engines.

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