The Best Kept Secrets About Public Relations
Tags: Public Relations, Founders, Startup Lessons, Pr, Entrepreneurship

PRontheGO — Illustration by Ewen Gur

We asked PR and growth experts about the best kept secrets about Public Relations. What strategy or tactic is commonly unknown to founders? How can entrepreneurs use this PR secret for their benefit? Learn about the top secrets of PR here:

You can actually do PR yourself.

“One of the biggest kept secrets about public relations is that you can actually do it yourself. For many early stage startups and entrepreneurs, outsourcing PR is not an option due to budget constraints, but many don’t realize that they can operate it in-house until they’re ready to hire an agency. Plus, journalists actually prefer to speak directly to the source so it can work to your advantage. Obviously, you need to understand how the media works to make it worth your time, but once you learn how to craft newsworthy pitches and find the right journalist for your story, it can be an incredibly cost effective way to increase your visibility, position you as an expert in your industry and grow your business. Once you’re ready to outsource your PR, you’ll be better placed to manage an agency or in-house hire because you have experience doing it on your own, which helps you optimize the investment. It also makes for a better working relationship because you understand how PR works.” — Maria Eilersen, Founder of Be Conscious PR

You don’t own your brand.

“It’s not your tagline, logo or even what you say you are. Your brand is a perception in your customer’s mind. The good news is you can shape that perception with the stories you tell. This is the power of public relations. It builds brands and relationships through stories. From about pages to bios and blogs to press releases to community engagement to social media posts to website copy, every piece of content is part of your story.” — Tami Belt, Chief Storyteller at Blue Cube Marketing Solutions

Read and listen.

“This may not qualify as a popular response, but the best kept secret about PR in my professional life is to be an AVID reader and listener. It may sound simple, but taking the time to read what people are actually writing about is the best advice one could ever give a founder. You cannot be in the selling mode before you establish a connection with a writer and uncover ways to relate to their interests. The joke is, no one reads anymore and all young people care about is the headline and the photo…. Well, there are still plenty of writers who are driven by their research interests and the story. Dare to read and dare to listen to what people are curious about, you may just find getting articles becomes a normal occurrence.” — Audrey Nadia Rubinstein, Publicist and owner of the METTA Agency

Almost anyone has access to contacts.

“1 best kept secret in PR, is almost anyone has access to contacts, the days of having coveted contacts are way gone ( hello, internet) You can access and connect with pretty much any media outlet, as a creative founder or business owner. I am seeing more and more clients coming to us with established relationships they wish to examined beyond their own personal reach. And let’s be honest, it takes a while to craft a short and sweet email that a media outlet, freelancer or person will pick up and actually do something with. However, building your own dream contact list is at your disposal. A great way to connect with media lately is on clubhouse as well as Linkedin has always been a great tool for us. A great tactic is to earmark (virtually or literally) writers who speak to your industry and look them up, send them a message, and get to know them. They are people to, just waiting for some fresh air to be written their way. At RPR we build custom media lists for all of our clients and are transparent with who we reach out to and what we are saying. It is as simple as that, no green curtain and no oz, just us wizards at your disposal to help you curate the right message to the right people.” — Emily Reynolds Bergh, Owner of R public Relations Firm

Answer HARO quickly.

“One of the best-kept secrets about PR is…to answer HARO quickly! PR opportunities (like HAROs) often disappear as soon as they come, and with time, the competition to win one is getting higher and higher. The first thing you should do when reviewing a query is to pay attention to the deadline and, even if you have time, you should submit a pitch within a maximum of 12 hours. And of course — don’t send the answer after the scheduled time — the chance to win is almost impossible then.” — Karol Nowacki, Acquisition Manager at Tidio Chatbots

Stay top of mind with media drops.

“If you’re launching a business, take the time to create 5–15 personalized media “goodie” baskets to announce your business, introduce yourself to them, and start a conversation in hopes of future media coverage! You have to make sure they know who you are, and a launch is the PERFECT time. Pro tip: do a little social media stalking to get a feel of who they are if you want to make the baskets even more personalized. Items can be anything from what you sell to branded items like portable phone chargers, tumbler/water bottle… or even a celebratory bottle of champagne for your launch! Don’t forget to include a personalized note in your basket just saying hi and you hope they enjoy the items and include your social media handles. Send them an email before the drop off (it’s ok if they don’t respond — you’re going to leave it with the receptionist who will hand deliver it), and after the drop off letting them know to keep an eye out for it! Not launching? No problem. You can apply this same tactic any time of the year, just make sure to get creative and come up with a “why now”.” — Jaclyn Anderson, Founder and President of JKPR Marketing

Relations with the media are built by being collaborative.

“Know who you are and embrace it, and remember that this industry is about building relationships and being collaborative. Basically, act like a human being and treat other people accordingly. Authenticity is what will help you stand out, so try to build genuine relationships with reporters that don’t come off as purely transactional. Communicating through mass pitches is fine, but individualized emails offering timely topics up for discussion and expansion can help you build a rapport with a journalist and keep you top of mind. As they see that you have a clear understanding of their beat and interests, and are making an effort to remain informed and informative, your stock as a subject matter expert will rise — making it more likely that they’ll turn to you when a quote or expert is needed.” — Eric Yaverbaum, CEO of Ericho Communications

Thank you!

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PRontheGO.com — The Creative Entrepreneur’s source for PR hacks.

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