PR Publicity - Page 3

Interested in PR & Publicity for your business? We share all the best publicity tips, media coverage strategies, and how to launch a publicity campaign.

Facebook; Using the Social Media Application to Engage Current + Future Clients

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Why Facebook

There’s tons of buzz about Twitter, Pinterest, and even using apps like Instagram to promote your business and engage current or future clients. Twitter is growing by the day, and many celebs have already unofficially made the move to it as the preferred way to blast their opinion, or current happenings.

The reason why we’re going to focus on Facebook in this article is that while changing every day; it is still one of the “go to” or iconic hotspots in the social media industry, the one that supposedly “almost everyone” is a member of. Also, with Facebook, business pages upload photos very easily, and video as well. If you choose to allow comments, your friends and customers talk about what they like, what they may buy, and the points of interest of your products.

Get in the Game

I recently spoke with someone who was hesitant to put his business on Facebook because he was looking at the TV channel “AMC”, who has a very prominent Facebook and social media presence.

While looking at the page, he saw a lot of negative feedback. There were fans and other people commenting on posts very negatively, things like, “We don’t give a crap about Mad Men, only Breaking Bad!” Or: “It really sucks that you guys have so many commercials now instead of content!” Let’s look at a few things. AMC, whether you love or hate them, has plenty of content. Trust us. They do. They put money into it, they shoot it, produce it, and it is above average. If a few folks make bad comments, it does not matter. They will be buried soon by other comments and frankly, life goes on with your startup or business.

This individual was afraid to put his business on Facebook because he didn’t have the time to field negative comments and the like such as “Used your business, didn’t do anything for me”. Well, revolutionary brands like Sony and Verizon have had people complaining about them, but they still need an online presence and generate tons of revenue. DO NOT worry about petty folks who comment all day and try to drag you down.

Whatever product or service you’re marketing, eventually as long as you do not have a home office in a dank dungeon and provide some form of reliable craft, these things really do iron themselves out. A lot of business owners are hesitant to get on Facebook because they picture it as just gossip; things they do not care about being updated in the news feed. Sometimes when you are using Facebook to engage clients, it is hard to track the results. Let’s say you run a pet grooming business.

Ideas for Utilizing Facebook

So every third or fourth day, you run pictures of cute pets, and different tips on how to groom them, even at home. You slowly add suggestive advertising, like the fact that your store is running a special or has a great new certified employee. The thing about Facebook is that yes, you have your business phone number on the page and some customers will call directly from that, but otherwise you are passively AND actively marketing at the same time.

That is, you may not know when your business picks up directly because of your Facebook activity; you may not know if a cute picture of pet or relevant post about grooming got them to call. But, since for now, Facebook is free to join, it is imperative to have a business page, add friends, post videos, and reach out in general.

Tips for Facebook

The purveying fear about joining Facebook as a business is some people won’t like your giveaways, sponsors, announcements, and everything that avenue entails. It really will be ok.. you almost have to face the fear of negative publicity, as much as it may remind you of celebrity train wrecks and the like. With Facebook, if you choose you can disable comments, when a storm comes with negativity, you can get back on track quickly. For something like a photography business, Facebook rules.

You can post video, pics, opinions, quickly and it shows up in end user’s news feeds. And that’s the most important quality of Facebook, when someone “Likes” something or posts a response, it shows up in others newsfeeds, directly to their smartphone. We will look at tweeting and others soon…but Facebook is not going anywhere. Keep your business page separate from your personal, and prosper. Well, we know Spock said something like that, but we really do mean it.

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Ideas for Planning a Publicity Campaign

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publicity planning

The word planning automatically fills the mind with thoughts and images of a lengthy to-do list, scattered notes and paper. If you’ve ever been put in charge of anything, especially a publicity campaign you can easily feel the pressure mounting as people continually call and email for updates posing the key question: “How are things coming along?” No fear, it’s a typical scenario that can be managed by carefully planning the steps you’ll take to successfully execute your campaign.

A few guidelines in sorting out where to begin start with a quick Q&A brainstorming session so that you can get an idea of what you need to accomplish. Then, analyze the media to determine which outlets would be more suitable for pitching the story about your product or service. Make sure their subscribers or readers are the type of consumer you can market your product to. Finally, how does the media play a part in your campaign? Will you be inviting them to attend an event or submitting a feature request/media pitch?

Here are 7 planning tips & ideas:

1. Make a timeline or schedule of the product launch and determine when you’ll turn to media for attention. This needs to be thought out and timed at the right moment.

2. Draft a media release and determine distribution outlets (will you use a press release distribution service?)

3. Research media outlets that serve a demographic similar to your target market and research their past coverage. This is especially important when dealing with magazines, tv networks, radio and blogs.

4. Determine your purpose for contacting the media (are you seeking live event coverage, a feature, a review?)

5. Utilize existing business relationships with those individuals who can assist in sharing your pitch with their network of associates and friends.

6. Discuss possibility of a promotional tour in high traffic areas where you can come face to face with your target audience. It doesn’t have to state-to-state, it can be city-to-city or smaller; consider visiting college campuses, malls, libraries, community centers and the like.

7. Create relevant press/media kits and business cards along with any promotional items you wish to give away. Be sure to give them something to remember you by in addition to your wonderful first impression.

Keetria is an entrepreneur, wellness advocate, and brand strategy coach for creatives & entrepreneurs with 16 years of public relations expertise working with some of the world’s leading brands, startups, media personalities, and entertainers. If you would like to work together, don’t hesitate to reach out!

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