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4 Essential Elements of An Effective PR Campaign

When it comes to PR, many startups and small businesses don't have deep pockets. But brand recognition can be achieved without spending thousands.

Photo: Kelley Weaver, Founder and CEO of Melrose PR; Source: Courtesy Photo
Photo: Kelley Weaver, Founder and CEO of Melrose PR; Source: Courtesy Photo

As CEO of a public relations firm, I’ve seen how unique public relations strategies can elevate a company’s brand awareness and drive ROI more than the traditional approaches.

A successful PR campaign doesn’t require millions of dollars. Small businesses and startups can get started on a small budget with a bit of creativity.

Here are some tips to maximize your PR efforts:

 

Craft a pitch, not an advertisement

Regardless of your industry, if you conceptualize a product, it is likely that you have plenty of competitors. A market research study found that consumers see upwards of 5,000 advertisements per day.

 

Elements of Effective PR - YFS Magazine
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Most of these ads go unnoticed. This is why creative, fresh ideas are necessary if you want to distinguish yourself from other brands. If you can successfully create content that is entertaining, inspirational or memorable, you’ll see greater success.

 

Position your PR campaign as an icebreaker

A great way to push your PR campaign further is to make it newsworthy enough to warrant discussions around the water cooler. You probably heard about Crayola retiring one of its crayons — not traditional “news” (nor important to our society), but it was the talk of the town, making its rounds on social media, NPR, TIME, The Huffington Post, and USA Today.

The New York Times even issued a eulogy for the departing crayon! There is a reason Crayola didn’t discretely lay off this color. It was not so much a means of freshening its color palette, but a genius marketing campaign to get people talking. To give your campaign that viral quality that starts conversations, tap into the cultural milieu and the elements of pop culture (i.e. social media) that resonate with people today.

 

Know your niche

What facets of your business are unique and fascinating? Which publications does your ideal customer read? What types of information do they like to read about?

A story angle for a Huffington Post article might be vastly different than one for Forbes. Identify five target publications and tailor your campaign to them.

 

An Effective PR Campaign - YFS Magazine
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In 2004, Mattel garnered public interest in the details of Barbie and Ken’s love life when it announced the couple had called it quits; news outlets ate it up. Mattel then launched Cali Girl, a beach-themed line of clothes and dolls, with a new “friend” for Barbie. Children discarded their Ken dolls, and parents rushed out to buy her new Aussie beau.

But it wasn’t over for Ken, who launched a campaign to win her back. On Valentine’s Day in 2011, Barbie and Ken finally reconciled, the nation breathed a sigh of relief, and the brand new Sweet Talkin’ Ken flew off the shelves. Mattel’s sales spiked over these years, and every advancement in Barbie’s love life was covered by major news outlets.

Revisit your company values and mission statement. Remain authentic to your core audience and tailor your PR campaign to them.

 

Partner with micro-influencers

We have found much success working with micro-influencers to help reach our target audience. One of our clients, BloomsyBox, partnered with floral design guru Carly Cylinder. Their social media strategist, Samantha Gill, started a blog series a la Julie & Julia, in which the main character tackled Julia Child’s cookbook page by page.

 

PR Tips for Startups - YFS Magazine
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Samantha, a beginner in flower arranging, humbly describes her thoughts and difficulties as she followed Cylinder’s instructions, encouraging her readers to try the bouquets out themselves. Samantha’s arranging tips provide sage advice about attention to detail, admiring one’s own work, and not overthinking it. It’s not easy to follow the footsteps of Cylinder, but Samantha’s delightful play-by-play has garnered admiration from Ms. Cylinder herself.

Often when you work with influencers, there is some sort of compensation, be it monetary or paid in product. In this instance, Cylinder was so excited about this project and thankful that it could help promote her book that the partnership was 100% organic and unpaid.

While our client is a small business in a pond of big fish, their creative marketing and PR strategies have resulted in a significant sales increase, coverage in dozens of top-tier media outlets and strong SEO that outperforms their biggest competitors.

 

When it comes to PR, many startups and small businesses don’t have deep pockets. But brand recognition can be achieved without spending thousands. If you are a budding startup or small business, you don’t need to be a multi-billion dollar company like Mattel or Crayola to make a splash. You just need to think outside the box.

 

This article has been edited.

Kelley Weaver is Founder and CEO of Melrose PR, a Public Relations agency focused on technological and storytelling innovation.

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