Product publicity can give you a sales edge, whether you sell to the trade or you are a consumer-facing company. Of course, that advantage isn’t automatic. To gain trust — and more leads — you’ve got to be strategic. Here are some common publicity tactics that may be wasting your time, plus three tactics Media Relations Agency uses to help our clients outperform their competition.
Are you inadvertently burying your story?
Time and again, companies come to us to fix their PR problems. Three of the most common mistakes include:
- Overly promotional press releases. Dial down the hard sell. People pay attention to media stories because they want to make informed decisions. That’s why the media may shy away from product-centric stories.
- Narrow media parameters. Limiting your media outreach also limits your audience size. If a sought-after prospect misses your story in that single publication, you may not get another chance to reach them. Remember, general publications tend to have the biggest audiences including your desired subset. Plus, if your hand-selected media aren’t interested in your story, your entire campaign may end before it even begins.
- Ignoring the media’s lead times. Getting started too late can be a deal breaker. For example, the media are already working on holiday buying stories so you should be working on your gift-giving PR now.
Publicity should cause buyers to desire your product more than their money
For our clients’ PR campaigns, Media Relations Agency places a lot of emphasis on knowing who is most likely to buy, and why. That’s essential for a successful publicity outreach because it enables you to speak directly to this audience at the right time and through the right channels.
Three tactics we use:
- We help create more awareness. If buyers don’t know about you, they will spend their money elsewhere. Telling your story frequently and through a variety of media will capture the most attention. Increase your chances of getting noticed by adjusting your content to meet the information-gathering needs of the different media’s audiences.
- We help create more interest. Repeat after me: WIFM. That stands for What’s In It For Me. Your PR must always create a picture in people’s minds of how your product will improve their quality of life or make their job easier. Acknowledge their concerns. Be clear about which issue(s) your product improves.
- We help create more desire. Distinguish yourself from your competition. What can you say about your product that your competition cannot? Come from a position of authority. People buy from companies they trust, so use PR to educate your audience and demonstrate your depth of knowledge.
When you’re ready to work with an agency experienced in helping clients outperform their competitors, call us at 952-697-5269 or use this form to schedule time on our calendars.
