People confuse public relations with advertising. Both are accomplishing something similar, which is to expose you and your message to a targeted audience. The main difference is one you pay for, the other you don’t, at least not as much. Both play an important role in branding you and your business. But if you’re budget challenged, go for the free publicity and become the news!
Jill Lublin is a PR expert and best-selling author of “Get Noticed…Get Referrals and a long-standing member of eWomenNetwork. In her webinar on eWomen Success Institute, she explains the 7-myths about publicity. Among them, is that the media won’t be interested in your story. The fact is, it might not be your story in which they’re interested, but instead they need an expert on a particular topic. That expert could be YOU!
So how do you become the go-to expert in your industry? One way is to write a book. Seems like everybody is doing it these days. Publishers Weekly reports that self-published books account for one-third of all e-book sales on Amazon’s Kindle store. That’s 30% of all e-book sales! As a former broadcast news Producer, Assignment Editor and Reporter, I can tell you that being an author gives you immediate cred. And when the media is looking to interview an expert on a topic fast, having “best-selling” author in your title helps.
Another way is to create videos that show off your expertise. The video above is a news-style piece I wrote and produced for one of our Celebrity Science clients, Dr. Mache Seibel. He is an expert in women’s health and menopause. Dr. Mache is the author of, “The Estrogen Window.” He is often interviewed live on various talk shows, but this video is different. It tells a story about how estrogen helps relieve the symptoms of menopause featuring Dr. Mache as the expert. It’s a subtle approach to getting his name, his book and his personality out in the public. He has no control over whether or not the media will use it, but he can post it on his website or social media platforms and send it to various targeted media outlets for consideration the next time they need an expert in menopause or women’s health.
Another example of a video that could get you free publicity by becoming an expert in your industry is a “Tip Video.” These are short videos, maybe 60-90 seconds long, where you offer some free advice on your area of expertise. Here’s one from another Celebrity Science client, Attorney Nancy Greene.
You might notice that these are professionally done videos in our studio with professional producers and editors. If you want to be noticed by the media, it’s best if you show yourself in the most professional and credible light.
Kym Yancey is the President of eWomenNetwork and Director of our Celebrity Science program. He also owned an advertising agency for 18 years, so he knows his stuff. He says that any smart, saavy, marketeer will create and design their advertising campaign to feel like PR by adding subtle advertising messages to steer an audience to the client’s business. The advantage of advertising is that you’re guaranteed to have your message played, because you’re putting dollars behind it.
As for Public Relations, Kym says PR is meant to be more nurturing. People tend to trust someone who is delivering a message that teaches them something. That said, there’s no guarantee your PR video will get played by the big media. For a low-cost option that you control, you can boost it on Facebook and use their analytics to measure the results fast and respond accordingly. If people are watching, keep it up there. If not, take it down and try another one. It’s actually a little more involved than that, but we can help you make sense of it all in our Digital Advantage program.
In the end, PR shows the real side of you. It’s your platform to show off who you are and what you know and how you can serve the public. Become the news that people want to watch. It’s a good start to building relationships with people who are thirsty to do business with people they know, like and trust.
Author, Phyllis SmithContent Manager, eWomenNetwork
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