It has never been easier to do your own publicity successfully without needing a public relations firm. Of course, if you have the budget and resources, a professional public relations agency or consultant is a great asset to your team; they bring skill, experience and existing media connections. Today, anyone with a good story and the right knowledge and tools can do their public relations and get media coverage. You can learn the necessary skills, gain experience by doing, make media connections, and create relationships like never before. You need to know the rules of the road.
Here are the top four reasons:
1. The media is in transition
It has become a round-the-clock business, with the media now open 24/7, often continually updating sites and going on air with stories as they break. This ‘always on’ way of operating creates an ongoing need for fresh, relevant content and stories.
Coinciding with this is a fall in advertising dollars that in turn, has caused staff reductions and shrinking newsroom staff. This has created an opportunity and need for citizen journalists like you. In addition to this, new media outlets have sprung up-, from digital and mobile versions of newspapers to tablet magazines and channels like YouTube and podcasts.
2. Journalists are social
It has never been easier to connect with journalists. More and more of them use social media to promote and facilitate their work. They are more accessible to everyone, whether they are PR professionals or folks like you.
A new study from the Indiana University School of Journalism examines how U.S. journalists use social media to report the news. Here are a few specific ways journalists are using social platforms:
• 59.8% find ideas for stories
• 54.1 % find sources
• 20% interview sources
Journalists also see social media as a vehicle for self-promotion; 80% state that it helped them share their work and two-thirds say they are more engaged with their audiences thanks to social sites.
3. Easy access to information
Information on doing your public relations has always been available; it has never been as easy to find specific information in the instant that you need it. It used to be that you would need to buy a book or sign up for a university course to learn how to master a skill like public relations. The Internet offers up a plethora of information on public relations at your fingertips. The exciting part is that it’s never been easier to get specific information or questions answered; you no longer need to read an entire book to find the answer to a question like “How do I format a press release?” Just begin to type it into Google, and their suggestion tool will probably display it as an option in the search results before you even finish typing.
Niche-specific blogs offer great, often actionable, content on their topics of interest. The comments section allows for the opportunity to interact with the blogger and drill down further, asking questions right on the blog post.
New options for quick answers to specific questions include Quora and Google Helpouts, which connects you with subject matter experts.
Exciting changes in online courses offer additional opportunities to gain information and short, laser-targeted training. Micro courses are offered at UDemy, and self-paced courses like our Magnetic Media Kits for Authors are packaged as info-products created by and for entrepreneurs.
4. Technology and tools for DIY PR
An increasing number of tools can help you do your own public relations more easily and affordably. While many entrepreneurs ask about a tool that writes your press releases, I have yet to find one that can also write a human – though I haven’t yet tried the Watson, the computer that won on Jeopardy.
The kind of tools now available include PR distribution platforms like Pitch Engine or Launch.it that let you post and distribute social media press releases, as well as socialize with journalists without leaving their platforms.
Online pressroom tools from hosted platform PR.co to let you share news, media kits, and other media assets easily without any technical or web development skills. These newsrooms can talk to the media on your behalf 24/7/365 while you are busy running your business.
Tracking and measuring tools are indispensable to doing your own publicity; they let you know the reach of your publicity, from where your content is being shared to comments that have been made on your story. These tools can also be used wisely to identify journalists and blogs covering your topic and key industry influencers.
I think of the current media opportunities like Audrey, the man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors, continually bleating ‘Feed me, feed me.” If you can feed this hungry content with good-quality stories in press releases, interviews, articles, and multimedia, media coverage is yours for the taking.
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When it comes to publicity, there are a few takeaways from the lottery that are worth considering. Getting publicity can feel like winning the lottery as it often comes with a lot of the positive attention and benefits. It can also create a cash windfall it that can help to attract more clients who now see you as a top expert who they are willing to pay top dollar to work with you.
