I am often asked how to promote a business when there is no news to announce. There are no forthcoming deals in the pipeline, no new appointments, partnerships or anything that the media might find interesting. So, what do you do to get yourself out there?
The thing about PR, and to an extent marketing in general, is being able to provide something that is of value to people. News about the business is great if you have it but if you don’t then you need to look at other ways that will get your name out there and get people and potential leads interested in you and the business. You need great content.
What do I mean by content?
Content comes in many shapes and forms – blogs, thought leadership articles, case studies, listicles, infographics, the list is endless. Whatever the content may be however, it needs to be useful to the reader. I create a great deal of content for clients and I approach every piece very carefully. I look at issues, concerns, trends, topics that are being written about and I think about how my clients can contribute to the debate. What do they do and what expertise do they have that can help the reader. For example, if I have a client that provides automation for TMCs I’ll consider what travel companies think about automation, what it would mean to their business, what they need to consider before making a decision, the impact on staff, choosing the right system and so on. This gives me a background to help form the structure of the piece.
Looking at trends it is often clear to see how industries are shifting. This is interesting to people directly involved and it helps them decide if they need to make changes or additions to their own business. Similarly, case studies help businesses see how problems are solved or how technology has improved the way they operate which has lead to greater returns for their business. Case studies should not just be self-promotional they should be useful. What was the problem, what was the solution, how did you implement it and what was the result. It’s a pretty simple but very effective formula.
Promoting your content
There are many publications, online and offline and blogs that want good quality, well written content. Not re-hashed material but original content that their readers will find useful. Make it your business to get to know these publications. Look at their style and the material they run. Is it highly technical? More industry focused? B2B or B2C? You’ve spent time creating your piece so you need to spend just as much time giving it the exposure it deserves.
Now think about further extending your reach. Think social. Would your connections on LinkedIn find your article useful? If so, chances are they will share or retweet if you’ve shared across twitter. You’ll double your audience and you’ll get seen by like-minded people who may just be interested in what you have to offer.
The old saying “Content is King” is very true but not if it’s just content for the sake of it. People are tired of reading the same stuff over and over again. They want originality and value add. Everybody has something to say, whatever it is make it relevant, make it interesting and above it make it useful.
You’ll find some more examples of thought leadership articles here www.realitypr.co.uk/blog