PR

We have retained a PR firm. They have presented us an elaborate plan that
includes news releases of things like new hires, client wins, etc.

Some of things they suggest (such as by lined articles) we think can
generate leads. However, some of the things they are suggesting seem like
fluff. Generating leads is our goal. We don't really feel the need to tell
the media every time we hire someone or buy a new copy machine or something.
:-)

Any thoughts on PR and its value? Should we ask for a stripped down PR plan
that just includes lead generating activities? That is our instinct in this
matter. Any thoughts on PR and its use for the small business would be
appreciated.

My gut tells me that most PR consultants think in terms of corporations and
that is probably how they were trained. Big corporations do a lot of PR that
is just in the category of nice to have -- e.g., announcing a new hire --
but that are not really core to the mission of making money. I guess it
comes down to resources and time.

--
Robert Anderson

Let me speak to this as a former radio station program director. I did
radio for over thirty years before moving into the classroom. We used to
get all kinds of press releases from this one trucking firm over
anything and everything that was happening, including new hires, client
wins, etc. We never used any of them. Why? It wasn't of interest to our
listeners, and it really wasn't hard news. And it found its way into my
wastebasket.

Broadcast media, especially radio stations, are flooded with news
releases, with requests for air time or for coverage, and we have to do
*something* to sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. If our
listeners wouldn't be interested in the contents of the release, or if
the release couldn't be classified as hard news, we discarded it.

Your PR firm is doing you no favors if all it does is generate a
blizzard of paper aimed at media who are already drowning in it. Make a
list of your media. Find out the demographic they reach. If they reach
the demographic you're targeting, get to know the program director,
public affairs director, whoever is in charge of handling things like
that. Find out what s/he wants, then give it to him/her. That's the way
to get your name out in a way that can generate leads.

**** Morris
Department of Business Administration
Northeastern State University
Tahlequah, Oklahoma

Robert Anderson wrote:

> We have retained a PR firm. They have presented us an elaborate plan that
> includes news releases of things like new hires, client wins, etc.
>
> Some of things they suggest (such as by lined articles) we think can
> generate leads. However, some of the things they are suggesting seem like
> fluff. Generating leads is our goal. We don't really feel the need to tell
> the media every time we hire someone or buy a new copy machine or something.
> :-)
>
> Any thoughts on PR and its value? Should we ask for a stripped down PR plan
> that just includes lead generating activities? That is our instinct in this
> matter. Any thoughts on PR and its use for the small business would be
> appreciated.
>
> My gut tells me that most PR consultants think in terms of corporations and
> that is probably how they were trained. Big corporations do a lot of PR that
> is just in the category of nice to have -- e.g., announcing a new hire --
> but that are not really core to the mission of making money. I guess it
> comes down to resources and time.
>

Robert Anderson wrote:
> We have retained a PR firm. They have presented us an elaborate plan that
> includes news releases of things like new hires, client wins, etc.
>
> Some of things they suggest (such as by lined articles) we think can
> generate leads. However, some of the things they are suggesting seem like
> fluff. Generating leads is our goal. We don't really feel the need to tell
> the media every time we hire someone or buy a new copy machine or something.
> :-)

while a PR firm may be better at this, you can do that yourself
if you have to save that money, but do it.

Press releases may look like fluff but they will (assuming they
get printed) expose the reader of that section (rather than the
advertising section which is only read by the people who look for
that thing at that time) to your name and location (put your URL
in too if you have a web site) and for each one person who reads
it it will stick with some fraction of them.

While it may not immediately generate leads, it may very well
do so in the long term.

Maren
---------------------------------------------------------
http://www.jach.hawaii.edu/~maren/palms_etc/
Your Source of Tropical and House Plant Seeds from Hawaii
specializing in Job's Tears in bulk and
fresh Gardenia Taitensis (Tiare) seeds.

In my last post, I forgot to mention a great PR book, Jason Salzman's
"Making the News: A Guide for Nonprofits and Activists." It doesn't read
like a college PR textbook; it's full of great illustrations of how to
get--and keep--media attention. It's primarily aimed at the nonprofit
sector, but the advice Salzman gives is applicable to the business
sector as well.

**** Morris

Robert Anderson wrote:

> We have retained a PR firm. They have presented us an elaborate plan that
> includes news releases of things like new hires, client wins, etc.
>
> Some of things they suggest (such as by lined articles) we think can
> generate leads. However, some of the things they are suggesting seem like
> fluff. Generating leads is our goal. We don't really feel the need to tell
> the media every time we hire someone or buy a new copy machine or something.
> :-)
>
> Any thoughts on PR and its value? Should we ask for a stripped down PR plan
> that just includes lead generating activities? That is our instinct in this
> matter. Any thoughts on PR and its use for the small business would be
> appreciated.
>
> My gut tells me that most PR consultants think in terms of corporations and
> that is probably how they were trained. Big corporations do a lot of PR that
> is just in the category of nice to have -- e.g., announcing a new hire --
> but that are not really core to the mission of making money. I guess it
> comes down to resources and time.
>

"**** Morris" <MORRISR@nsuok.edu> wrote in message
news:112v71sc6ca5262@news.supernews.com...

> Your PR firm is doing you no favors if all it does is generate a
> blizzard of paper aimed at media who are already drowning in it. Make a
> list of your media. Find out the demographic they reach. If they reach
> the demographic you're targeting, get to know the program director,
> public affairs director, whoever is in charge of handling things like
> that. Find out what s/he wants, then give it to him/her. That's the way
> to get your name out in a way that can generate leads.

BTW, today we made the decision to drop our PR firm. It actually got us
quite excited at the prospect of doing our own PR. We realize it will be a
lot of work. Yikes.

Thanks. Yes, we were actually thinking that we would do the following:

1. develop our own media list.

2. write direct articles with our bylines.

3. send *interesting* press releases only. The fluff goes.

4. Join PRNewswire that has this service whereby you can be put in as an
expert to be interviewed by journalist. *** This is the item we are not sure
about ***

Thanks.

--
Robert Anderson

"Maren Purves" <m.purves@jach.hawaii.edu> wrote in message
news:112v72kdh809m79@news.supernews.com...
>
> Robert Anderson wrote:
>> We have retained a PR firm. They have presented us an elaborate plan that
>> includes news releases of things like new hires, client wins, etc.
>>
>> Some of things they suggest (such as by lined articles) we think can
>> generate leads. However, some of the things they are suggesting seem like
>> fluff. Generating leads is our goal. We don't really feel the need to
>> tell
>> the media every time we hire someone or buy a new copy machine or
>> something.
>> :-)
>
> while a PR firm may be better at this, you can do that yourself
> if you have to save that money, but do it.

We are going to try and do it ourselves. We may actually be able to do it
better than a PR firm. We know our industry.

--
Robert Anderson

"**** Morris" <MORRISR@nsuok.edu> wrote in message
news:112v735bkl1p385@news.supernews.com...
>
> In my last post, I forgot to mention a great PR book, Jason Salzman's
> "Making the News: A Guide for Nonprofits and Activists." It doesn't read
> like a college PR textbook; it's full of great illustrations of how to
> get--and keep--media attention. It's primarily aimed at the nonprofit
> sector, but the advice Salzman gives is applicable to the business
> sector as well.

Great. We are definately going to have to study PR in order to do this well.

Any other book recommendations and PR web sites?

To bad

Robert Anderson wrote:

> 4. Join PRNewswire that has this service whereby you can be put in as an
> expert to be interviewed by journalist. *** This is the item we are not sure
> about ***
>
> Thanks.
>
Do it! Remember that radio/TV stations are licensed by the FCC to
"program in the public interest as a public trustee." They're always
looking for something to put on the air to show they're fulfilling that
obligation. It may be a call-in talk show, a guest on the morning drive
or midday music shows, or whatever, but they're looking. I was when I
was in those shoes.

****

Robert Anderson wrote:


>
> Great. We are definately going to have to study PR in order to do this well.
>
> Any other book recommendations and PR web sites?
>
> To bad
>
Unfortunately I'm not as expert in Web sites as I ought to be, so I
can't tell you anything there. As for books, yes, there are other PR
books, but most of them are written for the academic, e.g. Mary Ann
Moffitt's "Campaign Strategy and Message Design." Salzman's book is
written for the layman, the PR non-professional. The others go down deep
and come up dry, where Salzman explains, in common-sense terms, how to
befriend media outlets so that you solve their problem (programming,
news stories, etc.) while they solve yours (publicity). In this case,
befriending the media outlets isn't taking the PD out to lunch, it's
coming up with a well-prepared guest for their morning show or a
well-crafted news release. I honestly think that's the only book you'll
really need.

****

"Robert Anderson" <nospam@nonespam.com> wrote in message
news:112vpvvielbnd18@news.supernews.com...
>
>
> "**** Morris" <MORRISR@nsuok.edu> wrote in message
> news:112v735bkl1p385@news.supernews.com...
> >
> > In my last post, I forgot to mention a great PR book, Jason Salzman's
> > "Making the News: A Guide for Nonprofits and Activists." It doesn't read
> > like a college PR textbook; it's full of great illustrations of how to
> > get--and keep--media attention. It's primarily aimed at the nonprofit
> > sector, but the advice Salzman gives is applicable to the business
> > sector as well.
>
> Great. We are definately going to have to study PR in order to do this
well.
>
> Any other book recommendations and PR web sites?
>
> To bad
>
You could learn a lot from the pioneer and master in Direct Marketing which,
in a way, is targeted PR. "Being Direct" by Lester Wunderman. I got my book
through a special program put on by the US Post Office in an effort to
stimulate Direct Mail.

Wayne