You want to get your small business noticed,🙋♂️ 🙋♀️ but are working with a tight budget. With trying to scale and meet client demands, you’re really tempted to put PR on the back burner, momentarily extinguishing its financial implications. But don’t! Even on a shoestring budget, PR is key and can make your business survive and, even more importantly, thrive.
If hiring a PR agency seems unaffordable🤯🤯, then there are numerous PR tactics you can employ to build and cement the visibility of your brand, but you must be willing to put in the time and energy. As this article on aimiesheridan.com puts it, PR is pure hustle, a relationship game that takes time.
Good PR tactics that do not come with a hefty price tag include:
Writing a blog: content is king!
Submitting your startup for business awards
Sharing industry insights in a podcast
Social media campaigns
Pitching relevant media directly
No business is too big or too small for PR. Think about this quote by business magnate Bill Gates:
“If I was down to my last dollar, I would spend it on public relations.”
Would you? In the next few paragraphs, I walk🚶 🚶♂️ 🚶♀️ you through reasons why like Gates, you should prioritise PR, especially as a small business. You can also check out this article we did to find out why PR is actually your best friend.
PR is Cheaper than Advertising 🥳🥳
Compared with advertising, PR is way cheaper. While advertising is paid media, PR is earned media. This means that even with limited resources, small businesses can utilise PR tactics such as the ones listed above to create mutually beneficial relationships with target publics. The cherry on the cake is that earned media is more credible than paid media. According to this article by 5WPR, PR is roughly 90% more effective👏👏👏 than advertising in influencing customers. Since small businesses tend to have less money for advertising and PR, what you need is more visibility, at a low cost. PR offers you just that!
To discover more differences between these two ‘bragging tools’, read our previous blogpost: 4 Reasons Why Advertising is Different from PR.
PR Captivates Investors👍👍
A carefully planned and executed PR strategy has the effect of generating positive media
coverage, thus building your reputation and giving your business more visibility. While doing their due diligence in a particular industry, investors are bound to learn about you from the media and get attracted to your business. This is why it’s also important for businesses to blast 📢📢media with news of game-changing amounts of funding💰💰 they secure. When it comes to attracting investors, success breeds more success!
Read this article by luminouspr to find out the 4 reasons that businesses should announce funding news to the media.
Also, investor relations and public relations have previously been viewed as separate functions, but with today’s investor wanting to know about the company’s vision, mission, core values and highlights from the internal culture rather than simply information on revenue, there’s a clear need for storytelling and more engagement, thus the gradual coming together of the two functions.
PR Maintains Brand Credibility 😎😎
Brand image matters more than you think! Since small businesses rely heavily on word of mouth, it is important to remember that aggrieved customers can spread negative publicity, putting a dent on a brand’s credibility. In today’s digital world, with potential clients increasingly trusting online company reviews, one negative review can really cost the business. This is where PR comes in, to help build a good👌👌👌 customer experience, which will help retain old customers and attract new ones.
According to this Forbes article, some of the ways PR can help create a good customer experience include:
Collecting feedback and acting on it
Creating a compelling narrative that demonstrates value for customers
Ensuring that every interaction is positive
PR Increases Sales 🤑🤑
Increasing sales is inarguably the foremost preoccupation of many small businesses. While strong selling strategies are crucial, making every new customer a long-haul partner can only be achieved through PR methods. This post by Inc. states that consumers often base their purchase decisions on a company’s reputation. A good reputation can be hard earned through consistent PR methods over time, thus PR does have a definite impact on sales and revenue.
Read this article we did previously for a deeper understanding of how PR can increase sales.
That’s it from me folks. Thank you for reading! 🤝Check out more articles on our GuidedPR blog. I promise, they’re just as insightful as this one.
Start creating compelling content to share with journalists and on your social media channels. Try for 30 days for free! Sign up with one click!
Wanja is an avid reader and passionate writer, living and working in Nairobi. She’s a PR Assistant and Blogger at GuidedPR. She holds a Bachelors in Mass Communication from JKUAT and has accordingly worked within the print media industry and in academia. When she's not researching current affairs and millennial trends, you'll find her on social media, keeping up with what's hot!
Find Wanja on LinkedIn.
Comments