Get the Word Out

We are spending all month talking about how to turn that genius idea into a real live business.  We've talked about what questions to ask, where to find the answers and how to turn that into a business plan. Last week we talked about turning that information into a good strong brand and now we need to talk about how to get the information out to the masses.  Here are some ideas to get you started.

1.  Plan an Open House

If you have a physical space to hold one in, this is a great way to share your hard work.  Invite friends and family to come tour the space and try out your product or service.  We have talked about it before that referrals are the best marketing!  See our previous post on How to Throw a Successful Party for some tips and tricks.

2.  Write a Press Release

Write about your opening and give the press some background into you and why/how this business has come together.  Appeal to emotions and you are likely to get some column space.  You could even tie this in to your open house event and invite the press to come check it out too.  Here is our Press Release 101 post for some tips.

3.  Get Social

These days, there is really no better way to reach the masses, and for free, than social media.  I would say the two main ones to start with and really focus on would be Facebook and Twitter.  Then when you have a good following and solid schedule for those you can expand to others like Pinterest, Tumbler, Four Square, etc.  Here is my quick and dirty explanation of the difference between some of the social media sites in Social Media Explained.

4.  Tell Everyone

Carry business cards everywhere and tell everyone what you have been working on.  When friends ask you how you have been, tell them how busy you are with getting everything going.  Get them on your team and give them a couple cards so they can share with friends.  Friends and family are your best built in advocates.

Cheers!

Kristen

Networking - Gaining New Relationships

Welcome to Relationship Builder month here at Crafty Communications!  We are going to spend all month sharing tips and tricks for gaining new relationships, following up with new connections, making it personal and entertaining to aid in converting them to advocates.

We have heard the saying time and again - "It's who you know!".  Whether you are looking for a new job, to build your audience, gain new clients or gain an "in" somewhere, that saying applies.  But how do you get to know the right people or new people that may be able to point you in the right direction?

How to make it not cheesy and uncomfortable:

For a long time, I was really not a fan of networking.  But, I think a lot of that was because I was going into it for the wrong reasons.  I stopped going to gain new business, and started going to meet new people.  I find that starting the conversation with something not related to business often got us off to the right start.  Make a comment about something going on at the event, a detail you really like or an element you thought was done really well.  For women, it's even easier, compliment them on something, their shoes or bag.  Always a great way to start a conversation.

Most important, be genuine.  No one likes a hard sell at a networking event.  You don't have to hand your business card off to everyone there.  Make two or three good connections at every event you go to and you will start to build up contacts in no time.

Networks we Love! 

Meet Up - If there is a group for something, you will probably find it on Meet Up.  And I mean, they really have a group for everything!  You can search by location and then type of group you are interested in.  Most are free to attend, some have small fees.  A great one for professional and personal groups.   

Portland Business Journal - they put together power breakfasts with dynamic speakers, workshops, luncheons and conferences throughout the year to help connect with other professionals in the area.

Crave Portland - meet other women of vision and insight at their monthly Crave Chats with panel style discussions.  Not only can you interact with the presentation on great topics, but you get to meet other fabulous women in Portland.  (They have chapters in most major cities.)

American Marketing Association - Have great monthly meetings with educational topics great for marketers or business owners looking for marketing assistance.  (also nationwide!)

Schmooze - Schmooze is a networking event here in Portland developed for business leaders, entrepreneurs and job seekers looking to connect with the local business community.  It's held 6 times a year, open to the public, and free! P.S. We really dig the name!

Cheers!

Kristen

7 Questions to Ask Yourself When Putting Together Your Annual PR Plan

1.  What are your strategic goals?

-this is a common theme here at Crafty.  Why start anything with out having specific goals for doing it? And a specific way to measure your success?

2.  Is there are particular niche you are focusing on this year, e.g. cycling or the arts? 

Are you communicating these key messages to media?  How do media respond?
-sometimes theming your communications with a trend or something that is popular in the community can help tie you in and make it more relevant.

3.  What are your target media?  Which media drive the most visitors?

-just as you would determine your target audience, you also need to target specific media.

4.  Are you hoping to drive more visits from a specific market?  What media are people in that market consuming?

-can you focus your efforts to a specific area?  Hit is hard and heavy?  Or is it better to have a smaller presence over a larger geographic area?

5.  What types of stories are most valuable to you?  

Which do you think will drive more bookings: a feature article or inclusion in a round up?
-there are definitely benefits to both.  A feature article is great in the right medium to the right people.  But and inclusion in a round up can be a great mention and group you with other businesses and reputations.

6.  How have your most valuable articles been produced?  

Were they the result of a press release, a partner relationship or custom pitch?
-sometimes it's all about who you know and the relationships you can build with key partners.  Or do standard press releases work best?

7.  Do you ask media to include a link to your website?

-the can really help be determined by your SEO strategy.  If they are not including your direct contact information can people easily find you online by searching?

Cheers!

Kristen

Define Your Public Relations Objectives - Mad Lib Style

Here's a fun one to get you warmed up!

When I was younger, I wanted to be a(n) _______________________________________.
                                                                       (occupation)

But, I could never wear ________________________________________ all day long.
                                               (article of clothing)

Now get to work!

Generate a story on __________________________________ in ____________________________.
                                                 (topic)                                                           (media outlet)

Convey ___________________ in _________ of media stories, broadcast segments or blog posts.
                     (message)                  (number)

__________ percent of stories influenced by ______________________ to score ________________.
(number)                                                        (your organization)                    (target point range)


Then come up with a point system to evaluate each PR success.  Here are some things you can use to measure each:

• key message - was it included?
• positioning
• placement
• prominence
• tone
• story type
• shared/sole mention
• media tier
• photos/visuals
• contact information included
• quote
• quality of comments/reader response
• proactive vs. reactive
• how was the coverage initiated?

Need help?  Let us know!

Cheers!

Kristen

Friday Quote - Public Relations

Happy Friday!

Kristen

The Handwritten Note

Let's be honest, nobody really likes to get the mail anymore.  It is usually filled with bills mixed with advertisements.

"But wait...what is that small square envelope with my name handwritten on it?  I'm going to open that right now!"

Personal hand written notes grow more rare by the day.  But, we all love getting them!  Emails, tweets, Facebook posts are essentially cost less.  They are easy and quick to write and you and I produce hundreds of them everyday!  These electronic communications are rarely notable, but handwritten notes are unusual.  They take minutes or hours to draft, and each word is carefully chosen with no "undo" or "autocorrect" to fall back on.  Drafting one involves purchasing stationary, paying for stamps and visiting a mailbox.  They indicate investment, and that investment communicates value.

While these novelties are a "sales tool" they are usually not best used for a call to action because of the slower process.  More frequently they are used to remind people that you value the relationship.  Use them to say thank you, a follow up to a conversation, remind someone they are not forgotten, raise new issues or even include a gift.  These simple acts of investment, remembrance, gratitude and appreciation are a "sales tool" to show people they are important to you.

Finally, they have permanence.  An email can quickly get deleted, and social media posts quickly get moved to the bottom of a news feed.  No one prints a thank you email and displays it prominently on their desk.  But a cute, well thought out card may get hung on my wall for a bit!  They are tangible and more memorable.

Let's not let this communication form die.  There are so many adorable note cards just waiting for you to use them!  Papyrus is a great place to start and they have locations all over the country!

Cheers!

Kristen

What Makes Your Company Newsworthy?

So you want to start a conversation with the media?  What gets their attention? Over the years editors, reporters and journalism professors have come up with a list of factors or criteria that help journalists decide whether something is newsworthy or not.  They can also help to decide HOW newsworthy something is.  Generally, the more factors below that can be applied to your event or story, the more newsworthy it is bound to be.

Impact or Consequence

Events that have an impact on your readers, or real consequences in their lives.  The greater the impact the bigger the story.

Conflict

The reason reality television exists.  We love conflict; we are naturally drawn to it.  Without conflict there would be no literature or drama.  Conflict is what propels the human drama.  

Loss of Life/Property Description

Here is hoping that neither of these things ever happen around or to your business.  However the old saying "if it bleeds, it leads" is true.  

Proximity

The event or story needs to be close to the readers.  This is incredibly true for small businesses.  The New York times may not care that you are having an open house next week and people can win free stuff, but if your business is in Hillsboro - the Argus may be interested.

Prominence

Are people involved in your story or event famous or prominent?  If so, the story becomes more newsworthy.  Could be local politicians, celebrities, athletes or CEO's - anyone in the public eye.  

Timeliness

In the news business we tend to focus on what is happening this day, this hour, this minute.  So events or stories happening in the now are newsworthy.  Currency also applies in the category - does it have more than one occurrence that would keep the interest of an audience?

Novelty

Another saying I learned in journalism school, "When a dog bites a man, no one cares.  When the man bites back - now there's a news story."  The idea is that any deviation from the normal, expected course of events is something novel and therefore newsworthy.

Cheers!

Kristen

Everything You Do or Say

I am not sure there needs to be any further explanation than this.  But, this hit home with me because I still think a lot of my friends and family really have no idea what I do.  I went to school for public relations and do it for a living among many other things.  Does that mean anything to someone who doesn't do it for a living or really even have any knowledge about it?  It should!  

Public relations is shaping your image -whether as an individual or a company.  How you interact with people, what you choose to wear, how you write that email or answer the phone - ALL public relations...and more importantly will influence people on whether they want to do business with you, be friends with you or even respond.  Build your brand.

Happy Friday!

Kristen

Press Releases 101

In my current position I have found the traditional press release to be a great tool for getting the word out inexpensively.  One example comes to mind.  We are headed to a different part of our region to do business for a week.  An entirely different market that we normally reach out to.  This endeavor could be fairly expensive to purchase schedule on all the different mediums.  So, four months before we were there, I wrote a press release, did some research to find the best media contacts in that area and sent it out.  With 6 weeks  to go and NO paid advertising started yet, we have sold out three of the dates we are there.  Not bad!  So I wanted to share some tips with you about how to use this tool.

What can you write a press release about?
Something new or newsworthy about your product, service, business or even a related event.  Sometimes you can hang a release on a trend, or an upcoming holiday or season, but events are easiest to get publicity for.  Tailer it to what the targeted publication or readers may want to know, and less about what you are trying to get them to do.  Self-serving releases are a waste of time and people can usually see right through them.

The traditional way - write it an research individual reporters who might cover your story.  Send an individual pitch email, with the release in the body and attached.

For SEO.  Write an online release with careful attention to keywords especially in the title and first paragraph.  Use a few anchor text links to specific pages on your website and then post through press release distribution services like Pitch Engine.

Use a release as background material to supper blogger outreach.  Pitch your companies product to review bloggers.  Do your research and pick the right ones.  The release will provide the background information for the product they can use to fill in their review.

Write a release to position yourself or a staff member as expert on a topic - as long as you are.  This works for issues that are trending in the news and online.  Try writing about something new in your industry or better yet, get a couple complimentary businesses to share their opinions and expertise together to grow your reach.

What else can a business do with a press release?
1.  Post a link to the release on your own website.  Write an introductory paragraph with a link in a "news" section on your website.
2.  Add links to your release in any newsletters you send out as long as they are timely.
3.  Share the via social media if they are appropriate.  Not all are.

When should I write and send my press release?
Traditionally you want to get your release to newspapers, radio and television 3-6 weeks in advance.  I suggest emailing it out and then making one tactful follow up phone call to make sure they got it.  When you are putting together your press list make sure you check their guidelines for how to get it to them specifically.  Don't use email management websites to send these - a lot of larger companies these types of emails go into their spam folder.

For online news releases, short time frames are better.  Dependent on the time of year get them up anywhere from 1-2 weeks in advance.  Some site update their news overnight so again, double check their guidelines and specifics.

Magazines work further in advance.  A regional publication may work 2 months out, national publications work 4-6 months out.

Final thoughts
The most important part of writing and distributing press releases is doing your due diligence.  Find the right people to send it to and write it to your audience.  Online release, done properly, are great for SEO and event PR and can become a great way to get quoted in a trend piece, or covered in an online or traditional publication.

-Kristen