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Our guest blogger, social media and public relations expert Catriona Pollard, will show you how to grow your business by raising your profile in the media.
As we kick off the 2013/2014 financial year you are likely thinking through your business priorities for this year, what you’re hoping to achieve and where you want your business to be in 12 months.
Now is a great time to think about how you can help your business grow and thrive through PR and social media. Here is how you can make it happen.
Actively use social media
Do you have a profile on social media but you don’t use it very often? Then why not make this financial year the year you become a social media guru and increase the benefits for your business.
Social media is a great communication tool which can help to build your reputation, gain valuable customer feedback, attract new customers and position yourself or your business as a thought-leader in your industry. However you can’t take advantage of these benefits if you are not actively involved with social media.
Get active on social media by posting regularly (read this article on how many times you should post a day), commenting on other people’s posts, sharing engaging content and creating a social media strategy.
You should also dedicate enough time to social media to create a strong presence online and gain more followers. If you think social media is too time consuming then read this article for some time saving tricks.
You may also want to consider hiring a social media agency to take care of your social media and to help you get even more results.
Create a PR strategy
Have you been conducting your own PR activities but want to see more results this financial year? You can achieve this by developing a PR strategy for your business. A PR strategy will help you target your communication to the right audience and the right publications at the right time.
A strategy can also help you to define your target audience and allow you to develop the right key messages to communicate to them. Without a strategy you won’t have a clear goal for your PR activities, which will make it difficult to measure your success.
If this sounds too difficult then you can always employ a PR agency to raise your profile in the media.
Read the news
To find media opportunities for your business you need to read the news and media publications to stay up to date on current events and industry news. This will help you to find current newsworthy angles to help promote your business.
Start by regularly reading the publications you want to be featured in and the publications related to your industry.
This will help you to get to know the topics these publications cover, the names of key journalists and what each journalist specialises in. This knowledge will help you to tailor your media pitches, which will give you a better chance of gaining a media interview or getting an article published.
Become a public speaker
A great option to think about is raising your business’ profile through public speaking.
Speaking at conferences and events is a great way to position yourself and your business as a thought-leader in your industry. It can also lead to a range of new opportunities for your business and generate an increase in customers or clients.
You don’t need to be a professional speaker, you just need to have an expert knowledge in a particular field, be able to speak clearly and have an engaging presence on stage.
You should start this resolution by first choosing an area of expertise you want to build your profile in. This is usually related to your profession and enables you to promote your business.
Next you can start volunteering to speak at events in your industry or join networking groups which offer speaking opportunities. Once you start speaking at events you will find that more opportunities arise.
Seek training and development opportunities
Building your skills and knowledge in PR and social media is essential to getting the best outcomes for your business. Read industry publications, speak to people in the industry and seek out training opportunities such as these events in Sydney or Melbourne.
By expanding your knowledge you’ll discover what works and how to invest your time effectively.
Now that you’ve made a list of your PR and social media New Financial Year resolutions it’s important to stick to them for the rest of the year. The key to achieving this is to create a strategy around your resolutions with clear goals and time frames for each activity.
Good Luck!
PR Workshop: Want to learn how to skyrocket your brand and get free publicity with Catriona Pollard?
Did you know you too can learn exactly how to use PR tactics so you can be regularly featured in the media? Come along in Sydney on 16th July or in Melbourne on 24th July 2013 and uncover proven PR techniques that have led businesses just like yours to stand out and outshine their competitors. You will leave with the confidence to do your own PR and the tools to do it successfully.
You will leave knowing:
- What makes a good story.
- How to write a winning story pitch journalists are sure to be interested in.
- How to find publications your customers read.
- How to write an article that will get published.
- How to develop a media release that will get results.
- The do’s and don’ts of media relations?
Catriona Pollard is director of CP Communications, which merges traditional PR tactics with cutting-edge social media strategies that engage consumers as well as businesses. Every organisation has amazing stories to tell, and we deliver meaningful and long-term results that link your stories and core messaging to what’s happening in the real world, in real time.