Owners of small businesses and startups often feel stumped about how to compete with larger brands, especially in terms of garnering positive media attention. Hiring an experienced public relations agency can be a great step for building trust and raising awareness among consumers without the need to spend a huge amount of money on expensive ads.
KEY INSIGHTS
- Growing a small business or startup requires attention, and media coverage can be extremely important for achieving this.
- Building brand awareness and getting media attention for small businesses involves understanding your targets, composing your brand story, creating a press release and building relationships with journalists, and much more.
- Orange County PR firm Twelve12 offers a broad catalog of marketing services, including custom public relations to meet the unique needs of your business and help you build a strong, appealing brand.
Positive media coverage can be the key to growing a small business, and it’s important to stand out among so many competitors vying for the same attention. The right media strategy can enable small businesses to raise their profiles and generate the type of media coverage they seek.
Raising Your Profile: Getting Started
Who is Your Target Audience?
You need to understand your target audience: who they are, which media outlets they consume, and how to reach them. This may include online media, local newspapers, radio, podcasts, TV, trade publications, email campaigns, and social media.
What is Your Story?
Hard selling rarely works in today’s saturated marketplace. Stories are what captivate consumer audiences, and yours needs to stand out and engage your targets. What is your brand story? What makes your business unique? What makes it more appealing than alternatives?
It’s Time for a Press Release!
Press releases are distributed to media outlets to promote events, new products, or new services. They must be well-written (not by AI), error-free and tell a compelling story that is clear, concise, and illustrates why your brand/business/event/product is newsworthy right now. Include relevant information such as a quote from the owner/founder and clear contact details.
Build Relationships with Journalists
This is critical for generating media coverage – and one reason why hiring the right marketing/PR firm can be such a valuable investment. PR firms like Twelve12 have solid, established relationships with media agencies and journalists that can provide easier opportunities for small businesses and startups to get the word out and act as a launching pad between journalists and your business.
Network
Networking opportunities should be embraced – attend conferences, trade shows, online events, and community events as appropriate. You should also avail of LinkedIn and other social platforms to connect with and build links with journalists.
Nurture Social Media
Social media is essential for most business types today, and small businesses can significantly benefit from its potential. Share business news and updates, showcase your offering via photos and videos, follow media agencies and journalists, share relevant content on your profile/s, and engage with journalists, as well as your target audience.
Exploit Your “Authority”
Position yourself as an “authority” in your niche. Publish regular blog articles and consider guest posting on other sites. Provide articles, quotes, appear on radio/podcast/TV programs, and/or participate in interviews – a PR agency can help you achieve this.
Collaborate
Partnering with other complementary, non-competitor businesses for collaboration can be very effective for cross-promotion and generating media coverage. E.g. a café could partner with a gourmet coffee brand; a wedding planner could partner with a florist; a hotel could partner with a day-tour or transfer provider. The possibilities are infinite.
How Can Startups Build Brand Awareness Fast?
The quickest, easiest way to build brand awareness quickly is often to work with an experienced branding and marketing agency near you. The right provider for your business will offer a choice of services and work with you to create a strategic campaign that delivers the best possible ROI for you while also meeting the needs of your budget. This may mean taking a basic approach initially and building on it as your business grows.
Services the best providers offer should include:
- Brand strategy
- SEO (including meeting the needs of AI)
- Website design
- Content management
- Social media marketing
- Media and public relations
- Advertising services
- Video production
- Internet marketing services
Twelve12 is an Irvine-based Branding, Marketing, and Public Relations Agency. With a second office located in Newport Beach, we work with clients from a vast array of industries throughout Southern California and across the USA.
Explore how we can help your business shine: Call +1 (949) 288-6790 or email [email protected]
