Public Relations Should Be A Steady Drip
Public relations is not like a water faucet.
You don’t turn on the tap when you’re ready for some PR and turn it off when you are no longer thirsty for attention.
In sticking with the water analogy, public relations works best when you keep a steady stream of water coming out of the faucet at all times. Yes, you’re going to pay for it (just like you would when the water is trickling out) but having a PR agency that works in tandem with your company is a solid investment if you don’t want to miss out on opportunities to tell your story.
A lot of companies are content to only show up when they have news to make. And then they expect the media to cover what they deem to be “breaking news.”
In reality, the media is less likely to cover your news if they are not familiar with what your company does. There are only a handful of companies in the world that can get away with issuing a press release over the wire and earning coverage that way, and your company is not one of those companies.
To earn real coverage that moves needles, your PR staff has to be in the thick of it, day in and day out, building relationships with the right reporters while looking for ways to tell your story that don’t necessitate a press release.
We’re talking about thought leadership pieces and owned media that serves to put you out there even when you don’t have anything to put out there.
These tactics serve to keep you in the conversation and maintain with your key reporters a level of familiarity.
Chances are good they follow your social channels if those are built to be helpful, so anything you can promote before big news – like those thought leadership pieces you are landing – is key in keeping a steady drip of information headed their way.
When it does come time to announce a new product or earnings or whatever it is you want to announce that you think will make news, it won’t catch reporters off-guard and leave them scratching their head as to who you are.
If you’ve been properly priming the pump over the course of the past few months, a reporter might choose to cover your news over someone else’s if they are already familiar with you. We’re not saying that’s going to happen for sure, but they might go with the known quantity.
Just like everything else in business and life, you get out of public relations what you put into it. And making sure it’s always on is a solid strategy if you want to make some waves and improve the reputation of your company.
If any PR agency tells you they can secure coverage right away by starting from scratch, they likely won’t be able to back that up, and you’ll just be giving away money.
Take the time to invest in a steady cadence of storytelling. You might be surprised at the stories you uncover, and it will lead to better opportunities to put your story in front of the right audience.