Note: this entry is part of a series about using marketing to generate leads and enhance brand awareness. See our Sales & Marketing topic for the previous blog posts.
Many manufacturers overlook the importance of Public Relations (PR). Many things fall under the umbrella of PR., but one of the primary goals of PR is to establish relationships with the reporters of local media outlets and trade publications so that they publish articles about your company. By getting quoted or mentioned in news article, you are able to:
Manufacturers can start the ball rolling by sending press releases to local reporters. In case you are unfamiliar with the term, press releases are written company announcements that are pitched to the media. When reporters receive your press releases, they can use some or all of the information in their articles. It’s a win-win situation: you’ve provided them with content for their article, and they quote you as a source in return.
To be clear…and this is what many manufacturers struggle with… press releases aren’t advertisements. You can’t just write your sales pitch or talk about how great your company is…and then expect a newspaper to write a glowing feature article. That’s not how it works.
Reporters write about topics that are beneficial to their readership – your goal is to provide them with content that they can use. Here are some tips on how to write a press release:
With competition at a high, having your name in the paper can help. Through a great PR program, you can gain valuable exposure in your marketplace!
In the last part of the series, we’ll discuss the very important topic of Metrics and ROI!