3 UNDERRATED PR TIPS
PR is an industry that puts you in the spotlight. Because of the attention it brings, many people choose to only go for the biggest and the best options. That’s a great thing to do, however, there are certain aspects that many people forget to pay attention to. So I wanted to share with you 3 underrated PR tips that you should take advantage of today.
1. DON’T BE LATE
This is a tip that applies to live interviews and meetings. One of the worst things that you can do is arrive late to a PR appointment. The best example I can give is regarding live TV interviews. Being featured on TV is no simple thing... The show has to air at a certain time, breaks need to be taken according to schedule, and there is no room for do-overs. My best advice for when you are preparing for a TV interview is to arrive at least twenty minutes earlier than you were asked to come. The reality is that we cannot control external situations such as emergencies, traffic, car accidents, road work, etc. and if you show up late, even if it wasn’t your fault, you’ll make yourself look bad and won’t have a second chance that day unless you restart the process and rebook for another time. The same can be applied to podcast interviews, live press interviews, phone calls with prospects, and meetings with clients. It’s important to show others that you value their time and respect them enough to arrive on time to meetings.
2. GO LIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Many people don’t even consider their social media presence when they think about their PR strategy because social media is free. However, just because something is free doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable. Going live on social media, especially Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube is an amazing way to build a connection with your audience, show the world that you’re serious and consistent, and share your personality as well as expert advice. Sharing free advice online may seem counterintuitive when you’re trying to make money, however, free content actually often brings a great ROI to businesses. When you share valuable pieces of information online, you are showing the world that you are an expert that is generous with the knowledge they have. You don’t need to go online and spill all your company secrets, but if you give just enough advice online that it impacts your followers in a positive way, people will be more inclined to buy from you because they will already know for themselves that your free content is good. And if your free stuff is good, your paid content will be even better. Most people think that PR is just about the fancy stuff like TV and podcasting, but it’s also the little things like showing up online every day that matter too.
3. DON’T SKIP OVER SMALL AUDIENCES
Just like my point about social media, just because something is smaller and/or cheaper, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it. For example, there are podcasts and press platforms that are smaller and not as well known by people. They may have fewer listeners and readers, but that doesn’t mean you should bypass the opportunity to make an appearance on one of these platforms. If you are new to the PR space, the reason you should consider smaller outlets is that these are great steppings stones for building up to larger, more expensive, and more well-known platforms. Not everyone has the money to jump straight into the biggest deal, or they simply don’t know how well they will do within the PR space (need some more info about the benefits? Click here to read about the ROI of PR). Starting small is a great way to get your feet in the water and get a feel for how you can expect things to go once you choose to scale up.
If you are not new to PR, I still recommend you give the small platforms a try. Podcasts, for example, are usually made up of really devoted listeners, and the smaller the podcast, the more invested the listeners are. By speaking on these platforms, you get a chance to truly connect with people that are more likely to actually reach out to you than listeners from a very popular show. Whether you choose to go big or small, with PR it’s always worth it.
PAYING ATTENTION TO DETAILS WILL ALWAYS PAY OFF
In the long run, if you choose to pay attention to the small things, you will get much more out of your time and money than someone who only focuses on the biggest spotlights. Just to recap, here are the 3 pieces of underrated advice than anyone investing into PR should follow:
Don’t be late
Go live on social media
Don’t skip over small audiences
Keep these three things in mind moving forward, and watch how things change for you. If you’re ready to get started with either the biggest or the smallest PR investments, book a free call here and let’s get started.
