Ballin' on a Budget: How to PR without a PR Agency
Though PR is essential, not every company can afford an agency. So, how can you PR without PR pros?
Introduction
Public relations is more than capturing media attention and brand recognition. PR strengthens your branding, directs your marketing efforts, and is an overlooked component to business growth.
Whether you're a Fortune 500 company or a solopreneur working out of your garage, you need PR. If you fall on the latter side of that spectrum, you likely don't have the budget to hire a PR firm or consultant, but you also don't have to.
You can Ball on a Budget.
Be a PR Baller on a Budget
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Here are three ways you can capture positive PR today without spending a dime.
1. Build a Community on Social Media
We'll say it again, don't try to boil the ocean—pick the social platform(s) that align(s) most with your organization's goals, brand, and target audience. From there, build a community to engage with. You can create a LinkedIn Business Page or Facebook Group at no cost and start building a community right away. An online community is the perfect place to grow brand recognition, gain customer feedback, and get your message to the ones who matter most. Don't worry about how many followers you have—everyone starts at zero.
READ MORE: How to Determine Your Target Audience for Maximum Impact — Evocati PR
Continue to invest in your social media presence. Create posts in line with your audience, market and grow your channel, engage the consumer, track the analytics, and adjust accordingly. Don't be afraid to take risks and trust the analytics. Create what the audience is interested in learning about and take some chances.
2. Publish Quality Content
Creating engaging, high-quality content that resonates with your target audience is the cornerstone of any successful PR strategy. And you can do this today with just a little bit of time invested in quality control.
Content is not just about selling your products or services; it's about telling a story, sharing a vision, and creating a community around shared values. The first step is to understand your audience - their interests, their needs, and their values. This understanding will guide you in creating content that speaks directly to them, is informative, empowering, and aligns with their core beliefs.
READ MORE: Unleashed: Maximize Your Startup's Social Media Marketing Impact — Evocati PR
Remember, content doesn't just mean text - it can be anything from blog posts, infographics, and videos to podcasts and webinars. Be strategic in your planning, ensuring that each piece of content serves a purpose and contributes to your overall messaging. Engage your audience with compelling narratives, professional insights, and meaningful calls to action. It costs nothing except your time to create content that resonates.
3. Befriend One Local Reporter
Your business is a polished gem just waiting for attention from local press. Find a local reporter with a beat related to your business and connect.
READ MORE: Mastering the Art of the Perfect Local Media Pitch: Tips from the PR Experts — Evocati PR
Develop your relationship with timely responses and digestible pitches on relevant stories. That'll set you up for a win-win relationship. Just remember, not every story is newsworthy, make sure you are pitching the right story at the right time. There's no cost to finding a local reporter interested in your story. You just have to make the time and conduct the outreach.
Be a Baller PR Strategist
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You can create a PR activation at no cost as well, but it requires strategic thinking. A PR activation is the process of making your company known to the public for a specific call-to-action. Releasing a new report or product for an audience to read or purchase to make are great examples.
There are four aspects to consider as you shape your PR activation on a budget:
1. Develop Business Goal(s)
What is your desired outcome? This is the organizational goal for your entire activation like "Gain coverage from up to five national business reporters that helps us secure three brand partnerships" not just, "We want to be featured in three news stories." Be SMART in setting your goal: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. These ensure you have set the proper goals for your activation.
2. Decide on a Angle
Why is this newsworthy? Define what makes this activation unique, impactful, and relevant. This often includes those affected, location, major partnerships involved, connection to news-dominant stories of the time, and more. Once you have an angle, focus on a good pitch: Easier said than done, but don't worry, we've written plenty on the concept.
3. List Then Create Your PR Products
What are the marketing/PR products to include in your activation? Not every activation needs a press release, media advisory, media roundtable, social media campaign, email campaign, and pitches. Identify what is essential and has a realistic ROI. Once you've identified the PR products you need for an activation, create them and work toward your launch.
4. Implement a Launch Timeline
When do you launch for maximum exposure? Create due dates and release dates for your PR products and work with your activation date in mind. You can always edit this if needed, nothing has to be in stone, but you want to begin with the end in mind. Identify your launch date and then the release schedule of your PR products to support it.
Have a 'why' behind your dates: Why are you sending that pitch on that date? Why is the media advisory before/after the press release? For example, you'll want to notify the media at least two weeks before your activation so they have enough time to get coverage approved by their boss and add the event to their calendar.
You Got This
We understand not every business can afford a PR agency. But with just a little bit of time and attention, you can ball on a budget like a pro. This includes building a community, creating engaging content, and befriending a local reporter. Finally, you have what it takes to create and host a PR activation, you just need to follow the strategic steps we provided—it's what we use for our clients, so we know it'll work for you.