How to improve your PR
PR has developed significantly over the past ten to twenty years. The number of tools at a PR professional’s disposal has increased dramatically and there have been huge changes in the way PR is delivered, with many exciting platforms to engage audiences on. But what still lies at the heart of PR, and what certainly drives it, is strong content and valuable relationships.
Some PR professionals are guilty of neglecting these core practices in favour of flooding the industry with content that isn’t necessarily newsworthy and that doesn’t always find its target audience. Here are a few pointers that I believe can help industry professionals to make sure they aren’t overlooking these core traits in order to improve their PR.
Honesty
There are people in PR who will over-promise in order to secure a client or spin the truth to get coverage in a publication. When it comes to managing your client’s expectations, speak honestly about how your strengths can benefit them and talk about the ways in which you stand out.
The same goes for the press. Do not promise interviews or exclusives you’re not 100 percent sure you can obtain or change the angle of a story to help sell it. Think about the long term – being honest with a journalist will help gain their trust which could benefit future news pieces and your entire PR strategy. What I am trying to say is, don’t promise the world when all you have is an atlas.
A good plan
A well planned and thought-out PR strategy can help to make sure your content is newsworthy. I have read releases where it just feels like they are putting news out there, to be out there. Planning releases, researching discussion topics for social media, looking for forward features and communicating regularly with your client can all help to create a cohesive strategy.
Is it interesting?
It is common practice to put what before why when writing a news piece. The whole point of a strong news story is that it’s informative and it has a purpose. Most press releases will lead with what the story is, rather than why the story exists.
Why is this new piece of technology ground-breaking? Why should I buy this new state of the art software? These kinds of questions are why you should be starting with the purpose. Your product can then answer the question for you. I think it’s a more engaging method of grabbing the reader’s attention and it puts the question and the answer in the correct order.
A personality
Unless you’re like Apple and you’re releasing something as glamorous as the iPhone, you may have to think outside the box when it comes to making your clients stand out. This is the case particularly at industry events, where your competitors are fighting for the same attention.
At an event a couple of years ago, I worked with one of my clients on making sure their stand came across as entertaining and memorable. We included drinks, music, food, and a raffle with prizes to be won. This attracted large crowds throughout the day and my client made some excellent contacts and potential new leads. They came across as not only knowledgeable, but as having a personality, something that I think can be forgotten in PR. Whether it’s cocktails or music, do something extra to stand out from the crowd.
If you’re looking for help to bring your PR to life, then talk to us about our press release service – we are an expert PR agency, and we’d love to help.
