Public Relations Tips: December 2006

There have been some really clever contests in the past that have resulted in some wonderful publicity for the companies that offered them. For example, To celebrate its 100th anniversary three years ago, OshKosh B'Gosh launched a six-month nationwide search for the oldest pair of bib overalls. The contest, conceived by Laughlin Constable Public Relations, received publicity not only when it was announced, but right through to the end.

It touched a sentimental chord and resulted in hundreds of responses, including endearing letters from owners of bib overalls. Midway through the contest, the company sent excerpts from the letters to media nationwide.

The company received additional publicity when it announced the winner, Clyde Mehder of Sarasota, Fla., who had a pair of child-size bibs that were designed in 1901 by his uncle who was a tailor for the clothing company.

You too could use a sentimental contest as a creative way to create publicity for your company. For more great creative contest ideas see Special Report #18, "Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call"

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People love contests. So do the media. They're fun. They provide an aura of suspense. And they're one of the best ways to get publicity for your company without having to spend money on a paid ad. Choosing a clever contest that becomes an annual event can be part of your company's branding campaign. Pillsbury, for example, gets tons of free publicity from its annual Bake-Off. Winners are profiled in their local newspapers and national magazines, along with the winning recipes.

One of the reasons that contests are so valuable as publicity tools is that you can create publicity before, during and after the contest. Beforehand, you can send a news release announcing the contest and perhaps even pitch a clever angle that warrants a feature story. During the contest, you can keep the media updated on entries. Then you can announce the winner with great fanfare. During the months after you announce the winner, take the most interesting story angles from the contest, particularly clever entries that didn't win, and pitch those as ideas to the media. Then resurrect the contest the following year and do it all again.

For great ideas on when and how to do contests that will grab the media's attention and get you free publicity see Special Report #18, "Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call"

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The following are some ideas for getting media attention:
 List company experts at your site and invite the media to call on them for commentary, background and story ideas.

 Include a "Media Room" at your site. For an example of an excellent media room, visit the Society for Human Resource Management at http://www.shrm.org/press/

 List story ideas about your company.

 Offer an electronic version of your photo.

 Ask your media contacts if you can e-mail them when you have new content at your site that might interest them.

 Ask for links on industry sites, such as trade associations.

For more great tips to get media attention see Special Report #17, "63 Powerful Ways to Promote Your Web Site to Draw Traffic and Boost Sales"

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Getting people to your site initially is important, but getting them back to it again and again is how you make money and boost sales. The following are some great tips for getting people to your site:
 Publish an e-mail newsletter weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. It's a great way to position yourself as an expert, sell products and spread the word about you.

 Offer a tip of the day on your home page.

 Invite visitors to take a quiz and test their knowledge of something related to what you are selling.

 Offer something free if visitors will fill out a short survey, answer a question (a great way to take a poll or survey), cast a vote, take a quiz or give you a testimonial that you can use in your marketing.
For more great ideas to get people to your site again and again and boost your sales see Special Report #17, "63 Powerful Ways to Promote Your Web Site to Draw Traffic and Boost Sales"

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People will spend both money and time on your website if it is easy to use and navigate.
 Don't ask the customer to provide too much information about themselves or they will bail out before buying.

 Offer a money-back "no questions asked" guarantee and promote it.

 Provide free information and samples to entice your customers to buy.

 Let people know you accept many forms of payment-checks, credit cards, faxed orders, phone calls or e-mail.

 Offer sales support after someone buys your product. Invite them to call or e-mail you if they have questions.

 Use a shopping cart program so customers can add and remove items from their shopping cart before they "check out."

There are many other ways to make your site easy and convenient to use, for a complete list see Special Report #17, "63 Powerful Ways to Promote Your Web Site to Draw Traffic and Boost Sales"

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If You're Doing Broadcast Interviews you can reward yourself with tons of free publicity by recycling and reusing the interview.

 When you do a radio or TV interview, ask the host or producer off the air, "Who else do you know who might be interested in having me as a guest?" Media people often have valuable contacts in other markets.
 Several days before you appear on a radio show, send a postcard to bookstores, clients, newspaper or magazine reporters, or anyone else who you want to listen to the show. Tell them the time, date and where to find the show on the dial.
 Tape the talk show. Give copies of the tape to print reporters who you want to write about you, and slip a copy of the cassette inside your media kit.
For more tips for getting the most out of your broadcast interviews, see Special Report # 13 "How to Recycle Your Publicity (for Serious Publicity Hounds Only)"

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Never be satisfied with just one publicity "hit." Always try to turn one hit into several by recycling.
 When you do a radio or TV interview, ask the host or producer off the air, "Who else do you know who might be interested in having me as a guest?" Media people often have valuable contacts in other markets.
 If a national publication prints a story by or about you, write a short news release about it for your daily and weekly newspapers, trade publications, chamber of commerce newsletter and alumni magazine.
There are many other ways to recycle publicity, see Special Report #11 "Secrets for Building Your Celebrity Image" for more tips and ideas, as well as other ways to build your name fame.

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Here are tips to help you sponsor a great contest with maximum publicity potential.

 Make your contest easy to enter. Let people enter at your web site.

 If you have a retail store, print ballots and post them near your cash register.

 Do a direct mailing to your regular customers, or announce a contest via e-mail and provide a link to your web site where people can enter.

 Write a news release announcing the contest and send it to your local newspapers.

 Get your morning drive-time disc jockey involved in a quick, one-shot contest. Donate prizes and suggest an idea for a contest that the DJ can conduct in one morning, or let the DJs come up with their own contest ideas. For example, callers might be invited to call in and describe the worst job they ever had. Be sure the DJ gives you credit for the prizes.

 Local businesses can include local celebrities to serve as judges. When you announce the winner, have the celebrity judges present the awards.
For more great tips to maximize contest publicity see Special Report #18, "Clever Contests That Will Tempt Reporters to Call"

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A media kit is a folder of information that will help reporters write an accurate story. It should include whatever facts you want them to know about. Contents can include-among other things-a history of your company, professional profiles of key executives or officers, black and white or color photos, a fact sheet about your organization, a business card, recent news releases and a small product sample.

Media kits help reporters save time and improve accuracy because everything is there in black and white. When I worked as a newspaper reporter, I sometimes copied entire paragraphs of information found in media kits, particularly when I was on deadline. It was convenient. And I didn't have to spend time calling the source to ask for more information, or double-check numerous facts. If you don't have a media kit and you're on a tight budget or have little time to create one, relax. You can start out small, then add to it as time goes on. I advise many of my clients to eventually build an entire wardrobe of contents, then decide what goes inside the media kit depending on how they are going to use it.

Media kits also show that you're media-savvy and understand how the news game is played. They can be used for far more than just the media. Use them as marketing materials to share with potential clients. Take them to trade shows. Give them to your sales people to use on sales calls.

To learn more about media kits see Special Report #8, "Media Kits on a Shoestring: How to Create Them Without Spending a Bundle"

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Letters to the editor are one of the fastest, easiest and least time-consuming ways to catch the media's attention and spread your message to the greatest number of people possible. Unlike news stories that are written by reporters, letters allow you to state an opinion, offer an alternative viewpoint, heap praise, or move someone to action-in your own words. That means there's a much smaller chance that the facts will be wrong or that your message will be twisted or diluted as it might be in a regular news story.

Why You Should Write Letters
To keep your name in front of the public. Even if you're already receiving great publicity, use letters to the editor to supplement the stories that are written about you.

To build or maintain a high profile. Because well-written letters are so easy to get printed, you can use them as part of your campaign to build your celebrity image, increase your profile in the community or simply to become better known, and to be seen as an expert.

To learn of the many other reasons to write letters to the editor, as well as great tips on writing them right see Special Report #4 "How to Write Crisp, Compelling Letters to the Editor to Promote Your Product, Service or Favorite Issue"

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In a crisis it is important to have your updated media list in multiple locations and formats because, depending on the emergency, you may not have access to your computer or regular files. It is often a good idea to keep a copy of this document at home if that is an option for you. Or, if you have a network you can access from a remote computer or via the web, keep your media lists in a folder on a shared drive. You could also keep a copy on your PC at home. Ultimately, in a major crisis situation, the news will often get out immediately through local TV stations, but you will still want to have your list of the people you have worked with in the past, who may be willing to listen carefully to your side of the story.

For more information on how to effectively manage communications in time of crisis, we recommend that you check out the instantly-downloadable book Crisis Communication Planning.

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