fbpx

4 creative PR tips for small businesses

by | Dec 13, 2021 | Public Relations

For many small businesses, running lengthy, in-depth PR campaigns just isn’t a realistic goal. Campaigns can be expensive, and without the proper expertise, it’s hard to make sure they’ll be successful. Thankfully, there are tons of ways for small businesses to get some good PR without having to break the bank. Here are some tips for getting PR for your small business in creative ways.

1. Tell an interesting story

If your goal is to gain more attention from industry blogs, websites, and social media, then crafting a compelling narrative is the best thing you can do for your business. Even if your business has been successful, or is really unique or innovative, you won’t be getting much interest just by stating those facts. Instead, focus on what sets your business apart from all the other, seemingly identical ones.

Do you have a really interesting backstory about how you got into the industry in the first place? Does your office have a unique culture that other businesses will want to hear more about?

Or do you participate in local events or charities that could make your business an attractive option? Yearly events like Earth Day can become opportunities for you to advertise the way your business uses solar power. Whatever makes your business different should be featured on your business’s website and should be the background narrative whenever you’re posting on social media—automotive SEO can be helpful for ensuring your wording is search-engine friendly.

2. Build industry relationships

Gaining free or cheap PR is all about building relationships with those in your industry to generate lucrative partnerships. One newly popular way to do this is by partnering with social media influencers, YouTubers, bloggers, and reporters who cover news within your industry. Reach out with partnership offers, and keep in contact with them once the partnership is over. You never know when your product or project could become a point of interest for them again.

3. Become an expert

As a business owner, it’s likely that you’re an expert in some area of your business or industry. Whatever your niche is, it’s time to declare yourself an expert in that area and start spreading your wisdom around. You can do this by pitching guest blog posts for relevant websites, or by generating your own content on your business website and shopping it around to publications. This is also a great way to build trust with potential clients because they’ll see you as a business owner with true knowledge about the product or service they’re offering.

In addition, you can sign up for a website like PRWeb that will alert journalists and bloggers about you when they’re looking for experts to provide credibility for the content they want to write. You’ll receive queries about certain topics, and if a topic falls into your area of expertise, you can choose to be a source. These websites will also frequently allow you to send out press releases for websites to choose if it’s a compelling enough story (refer to tip #1).

4. Check your progress

One of the toughest parts of crafting PR as a small business is not knowing whether your efforts are paying off. Thankfully, there are ways of getting hold of that information if you know where to look. By knowing the terms to search for, you can use Google Alerts to send you an email when certain search terms are used.

Once you have your terms as accurately chosen as possible, you’ll be able to track how often people are looking for information about you or your business (or your competition, if that’s the information you want). It takes time to get it right, but once you have your process down, PR can become a fairly automatic and lucrative undertaking. Getting good PR doesn’t have to be an expensive process, so use these tips to start generating more interest in your small business today.

Walter Bodell

RECENT ARTICLES

Overheard at Communications Week 2024: Trends for communicators

Overheard at Communications Week 2024: Trends for communicators

2024 marked the ten-year anniversary of Communications Week, an event I founded to provide communicators with a space to network, connect, and learn from each other. Back in 2014, our event theme was “media disruption”—a theme that has only grown in prominence over...