There is such a disconnect
between what entrepreneurs think PR is and what it can do for them. Many think PR is about covering up scandalicious behavior or publicity stunts to promote something in an outrageous way.
PR is really just creating a compelling opportunity that helps you connect and engage with the people you most want to serve.
All of your PR outreach should do these things:
- Help you build relationships
- Help you be seen as a thought leader
- Help you be R.E.A.L
Being R.E.A.L is based on the four core principles that every business should have as its foundation: realistic, engaging, authentic, and of the mindset you want to have a long-lasting relationship with your clients.
But here’s the problem that a lot of business owners have.
The concept of self-promotion
It really makes people squirm. They feel like slimy, snake oil salesmen.
So, I want to suggest three ways to think about it that can make it easier for you.
- Self-promotion is the art of sharing work and ideas that are important to you. In the act of sharing, you build an audience that you can use for your business. It creates the “know, like, trust” factor that is so important in marketing and it helps you build a tribe of clients, prospects, and collaborators that appreciate you and inspire you to do your best work, instead of sucking the life out of you.
- Make connections by being worth being connected to. There’s a mistaken notion that the best way to get connections is to stick yourself in front of a whole bunch of people. Don’t buy into that.
- Your target audience and the media’s are very different. You have to appeal to theirs. You could be on the front page of the newspaper but if the next day, that paper is being used to wrap fish, what did that coverage do for you? Use it to build your brand and tell your story, not necessarily sell your product/service.
What do you think?
Thank you for sharing this space with me!