Power Up Your Public Relations! by Michelle Griffith

PR is a two-way conversation, but you have to start it.

I want to start this blog off right by offering a 30-minute PR consultation to the first 10 of you who ask by e-mail. You will receive a 30-minute one-on-one public relations consult that focuses on tactics you can begin to implement immediately to grow your market visibility. What? I know, you’re wondering ‘what’s the catch?’ Why would a senior level public relations executive want to work with small and start-up businesses to jump-start their revenues?

It’s for all of the same reasons I agreed to write this blog for Susan (isn’t she awesome?) First reason: Like most of us, I like helping people succeed. Second, small and start-up businesses are the backbone of America. Third, because I spent the first part of my life working in small and start-up businesses and I know how exciting it is and how hard it is to succeed. If I can help you, we all win!

I will use my experience and expertise – achieved during years of working with a national full service public relations, media relations and crisis communications agency – to help you get the word out to your customers through traditional and social media buzz and placements.

Here’s the thing: You can have the best product or service in the world, but if your customers and market don’t know about it, how can you make sales and generate revenue? To be successful, you need to get the right messages out in the right way at the right time to reach your customers quickly and effectively – and to get them to listen and act. And you need to keep touching your customers, reminding your customers to buy your product or service. In today’s market, small businesses can use grass roots efforts, social media and basic public relations and media relations to talk with their customers. That’s right, talk with them, converse with them, develop relationships.

It has been my experience that most entrepreneurs, regardless of the size or age of their business, don’t have a clear understanding of all of the various components of marketing. Beyond that, few understand that public relations is the single most cost effective component of a marketing plan, and one of the most powerful ways to reach and motivate your target audiences to take action.

Here’s a good rule to remember: While advertising is an expensive, one-way monologue that pushes information out for general consumption (or not), public relations develops a two-way dialogue, a conversation with your key publics/audiences that engenders a relationship with them, so they want to get to know you and your products, and make the decision to take mutually-beneficial action. But guess who has to plan and then initiate the two-way dialogue? You do.

Michelle M. Griffith, APR

Senior Vice President

Clearview Communications + Public Relations Inc.

www.clearviewcom.com

michelle@clearviewcom.com    

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