Five top questions answered about PR
We answer 5 common questions about PR and what you must know before jumping in!
I’ve had a few conversations with some amazing business owners of late – and so I thought I’d pull out some of the top questions I’ve been asked about PR… in case any of these may have been niggling at you too!
1) I haven’t launched yet, can I do PR?
YES! In fact PR can be the launchpad to grow your community and get your audience warmed up for when you’re ready to open doors (physically or online).
This is the strategy PR queen Fleur Madden (who you might know from her time as the CEO of The Red Republic) used to start growing her community before she launched her new business, Freelancing Gems – landing coverage on places like the Today Show.
Rachel Callen and I (Katie Martel) chat all about how she did this on our Thriving in Business podcast with her.
2) Do I need to have a huge following on social media – or have an established “reputation” behind me before doing PR?
NO! While it *can* help, it’s absolutely not necessary to have a huge following on social – or have an established name in the industry.
In fact this is what we chat about with Carmen Pascoe, one of my Katie’s PR School members, who within two weeks of going through my program, reached millions across PR coverage in all the major women’s and parenting media in Australia – including Kidspot, Mamamia, Business Chicks and Women’s Agenda.
Carmen had only a few hundred followers, and is entering an established market in the nanny-finding industry – but as we talk all about in our latest episode on Thriving in Business – she shares what she did to help overcome this.
She also shares how she overcame her imposter syndrome fears of thinking – “who the heck am I to pitch to media”.
3) I am a “bad writer” so I can’t do PR or create content for my brand (not a question…but a statement I hear alll the time)
As someone who got Cs all through high school in English… and now has had a career writing, I can assure you, writing is a learned skilled.
Writing content for media and your own socials or website is NOT about writing the perfect sentence.
It IS sharing exactly how you meet your audience needs’ – and once you understand a few smart and simple strategies that work for crafting stellar content – you’ll be landing the PR and brand results you need in NO time.
4) Do I need to have a massive budget to “do” PR
Nope. Especially if you do it yourself. You can reach millions in “earned” coverage as SitClique’s Carmen Pascoe did with landing coverage in Kidspot, Mamamia, Business Chicks and Women’s Agenda about her business SitClique (again, we chat about this in our latest episode on Thriving in Business).
However, it’s important to know with the rise of digital media and dwindling advertising budget – some media and influencers outlets may ask for some level of payment.
BUT, with a stellar story, it’s absolutely possible to avoid this.
5) Can I expect sales immediately after my PR opportunity?
This is one I set the expectations of clients and my students straight up.
PR is all about relationship and reputation building – for building a thriving business for the long-term!
It’s about growing your brand awareness, reaching new audiences, building up your trust, and influencing your audiences to engage with you on your other platforms – like enquiries, follows on your socials or website.
It’s *less* about the sell. In fact this may even get you sent straight to the advertising team if you attempt this.
Your PR content is about setting you up as the go-to — so your audiences are there and following your every step when you do have something to sell on your other channels!
Again, if you haven’t already listened to it yet – check out our chat with PR queen Fleur Madden on this exact topic https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/tib07-launching-online-business-pr-social-marketing/id1522796274?i=1000488415888
PS if you want to join my next round of Katie’s PR School and get started ASAP on mastering your own PR – without the big budgets – check out all the details here and just pop your email in the box and you’ll be first to know when we go live!
