| 10 Small Business Public Relations and Marketing Tips |
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By Christine Henry Woodward Every business owner knows that a small business public relations and marketing plan is critical to their success. However, most don’t know where or how to begin. While it’s best to have a comprehensive marketing plan in place when launching a new business, there are many simple small business public relations and marketing strategies you can implement today to give you an edge over your competition. Struggling with small business public relations and marketing? Here are some tips to get you moving in the right direction.
Small Business Public Relations and Marketing: 10 Tips to Grow Your Business: • Press Releases: Whether submitted online or offline, press releases are still the best way to get the word out about your business, products and services, promotions, and more. Press releases are powerful tools to impress and influence your target audience. Don’t think you have news worth mentioning on a regular basis? Think again! As your small business public relations and marketing firm, My PR Tools will show you how you can create relevant news out of almost anything. • Articles: Submit keyword-rich articles to online directories to build links and get more exposure. Offline articles are also effective, especially when they appear in your industry’s trade journals. The sooner you implement an article marketing campaign, whether online, offline, or both, the sooner you will build your reputation with this small business public relations and marketing strategy. • Case Studies: Speaking of reputation, case studies are perfect for distinguishing your brand and communicating your expertise to your customers and prospects. As an integral part of your small business public relations and marketing plan, case studies showcase your performance and the results you’ve achieved for your customers. • Pitch Feature Stories: Print publications are always looking for captivating human interest stories. Be strategic. Think about how your product or service may fit in with the news of the day. If you’ve done your small business public relations and marketing homework, you know you can create news out of anything. You just need to convince editors. Don’t have the contacts? My PR Tools will get you in front of the media that may make your business a household name. • Use Your Customers: Testimonials are the easiest way to show potential customers that your business not only serves a need, but exceeds expectations. Put customer testimonials everywhere—on your Web site, in print brochures, in press releases. You’ll see your small business public relations and marketing efforts pay off in a big way. • Email Marketing: Why chase new customers all the time when you can make “old” customers regular customers? Send your customers an email newsletter once a month to inform them of new promotions, new products and services, etc. This small business public relations and marketing tool will keep your business on your customers’ minds. • Social Media: If you’re not on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, you’re not making the most out of your small business public relations and marketing opportunities. While there are literally thousands of social networking platforms, these three are the most popular and will help grow your customer base if you use them regularly and join in the conversation. • Viral Marketing: Unconventional marketing methods can be an incredibly persuasive and successful component of your small business public relations and marketing plan. Whether you’re posting videos on YouTube or sending prospects a unique and memorable gift, never underestimate the power of viral marketing. • The Handwritten Note Card: When’s the last time you received a handwritten note card that wasn’t from a friend or relative? It’s rare. Make a lasting impression by sending a handwritten note to people you meet at networking events, to a potential customer following a face-to-face meeting, and to existing customers to stay on their “radar screen.” That’s a lot of small business public relations and marketing advice! My PR Tools can help you narrow them down. After gaining a thorough understanding of your business, products and services, goals, challenges, competitors, etc., My PR Tools advises you on which small business public relations and marketing strategies will work best for your business. By Christine Henry Woodward |
