Too busy to do PR?

It’s always important to make sure your brand has visibility – not least of all with customers, potential customers and employees, regardless of the economic situation. In actual fact, in tricky times, I’d argue that PR is even MORE important.

Many businesses do their PR in-house, which is absolutely fine. In my book, as long as you’re not in stealth mode, do whatever works for you.

Sometimes the responsibility lies with the marketing team; sometimes it lands on the MD’s shoulders (along with everything else!) but the reality is always the same – no matter who does it, it takes time. Also, if it is not your main job, thinking about how you promote your company may be stopping you from doing something else.

Here are some tips to help get your PR and marketing done effectively, so you can concentrate on the day job:

• Chunk your content – set aside an hour and list all your potential stories
• Delegate some of the news stories to other people in your team – PR is a whole company activity, not just one person’s responsibility
• Have a ‘community news ambassador’ who will keep you updated on your company corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity. That might be the sponsorship of a local team or engagement with the neighbouring community
• Create a standard email template for requesting case studies from customers
• Create an annual marketing plan so you can see at a glance what is coming up.

I know some businesses refer to ‘free PR’ but honestly, it’s only free if you don’t value your own time. Of course, it may be more cost-effective to ask for some help from a PR professional!

Photo by Agê Barros on Unsplash