Anderson Edit Bay Blog

When companies are considering which marketing tools to use for their business, PR should be at the top of the list. Why? Here are the four top reasons:

1. It’s affordable.  PR is recognized as being more cost-effective than traditional advertising. Studies each year show that people believe news stories/editorial more than they believe paid advertising. Nationwide, spending on PR continues to increase because of its positive ROI.

2. Conversations don’t stop with the economy.  Online and word-of-mouth conversations occur 24/7 in social media and in person. PR is recognized as the discipline that is best suited to monitor these discussions for signs of potential crisis and manage them. Consistent PR will build goodwill “equity” that helps when bad news must be communicated.

3. Step forward when everyone else steps back.  As other companies reduce spending to ride out the story, opportunities are created for other companies to step forward. Those firms who are thought leaders in the difficult times can maintain their leadership position for the long term.

4. Be first in line for post-recession purchases.  Tough times will not last forever. Even though people aren’t buying as much as they used to, it doesn’t mean that they are not thinking about their next purchase. Companies that have maintained their PR efforts will be in a better position to take advantage of expanding markets.

Generating publicity about your company and its services—whether the publicity is in newpapers, magazines, broadcast or online publications—is a great way to attract new customers.  It provides an important third-party endorsement and credibility that’s hard to achieve with paid advertising.  And, online stories that contain your keywords and links back to your web site also improve your rankings with search engines.

A recent survey by Middleberg/Ross media studies showed that almost 98 percent of journalists go online daily to generate story ideas and access information.  Having an online “newsroom” on your web site is a great way to show reporters and other audiences how active your business is.

So, what should be included in your newsroom?  Some of the basics include a company backgrounder, bios on key executives, recent news releases with corporate announcements, and articles positioning your executives as experts in their field.  Other items could include video footage of executives speaking at a conference, your product in “action” or staff involved in community activities.  Post the footage on YouTube and include a link in your newsroom.

With the advent of social media, companies also have a great opportunity to cross promote and extend the value of their newsroom content and publicity.  You can take the headline from a recent news story about your company and Tweet about it, “Read about us in today’s (name of news outlet)” and include a link to the story in your newsroom. 

You can also add a link to the story and a couple of sentences of description to your company’s Facebook fan page. 

While every social media tactic may not fit for your company, use the ones that are appropriate.  Use every opportunity to cross-promote and spread the word regarding the great things about your company.