Publicity Campaign Strategies For Small Businesses

Publicity Campaign Strategies For Small Businesses - Making Business Sense - Talking Business with Phil Andrews

Publicity Campaigns for Small Businesses have the ability to win the war for Small Businesses over a period of time. Brand awareness takes time and specific strategies for any small business to reap its benefits.

Publicity campaigns should be based on specific goals of each particular business.  Every business should map out a well-designed plan to take advantage of newsworthy items that appear in their business on a regular basis.

The problem that arises with most small businesses is that they are so consumed with many of the day to day activities that public relations campaigns get put on the back burner. Publicity is one of the areas where most small businesses can get more bang for their buck.

Where else can a business get more for their buck in exchange for a little time invested, and creativity?  Some years ago I sent an article to a magazine by the name of Shop Talk Magazine, and they featured a story about the Haircut Hut Barbershop Franchise which I ran for a period of ten years. The cost of the three page story was a typed letter and stamp.

The magazine space in which the article appeared was valued well over ten thousand dollars. Some areas in which publicity is often overlooked in small businesses are anniversaries, addition of key employees, renovations, new websites, new locations, new product lines, strategic partnerships, etc.

Top of the mind awareness for small businesses must be developed in a systematic manner. The best way to accomplish such a huge task is to attack your campaign by developing a systematic public relations campaign around specific things that occur in your business.

Look how McDonalds capitalized on the number of hamburgers sold. They leveraged the number of sales into one of the biggest publicity campaigns. Small businesses can also leverage newsworthy events that happen in their business on a regular basis.

The art of the big deal should be a business owner’s primary way of thinking about their business. If you don’t make a big deal out of the accomplishments of your business no one else will think second about it, matter of fact no one will know about your great news.

Newspapers need news. We live in an information society, and if newspapers can get a great story for free most newspapers will cover your story if it fits their need for specific content.

The greatest thing about publicity is that it is just the beginning when your article first appears in a publication. Your featured article can now be copied and sent to friends, you can use it in a press kit or put it on your website, or even use it in your online newsletter.

Publicity is a door opener and if used correctly it can open many more doors and get you many more features. The hardest thing about a publicity campaign is to get it rolling; it has the power to snowball once it has been started.

One added benefit, people tend to support the products and services in which they are familiar with on a regular basis provided they receive the exceptional service they have come to expect in business.

Both large and small companies benefit from publicity. There is no such thing as any company being too well-known!

About Phil Andrews: Phil Andrews is the President of the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. an affiliate of the US Black Chambers, Inc. and Past President of the 100 Black Men of Long Island.

Mr. Andrews is also the President-Emeritus of the Black Public Relations Society-New York an affiliate chapter of the National Black Public Relations Society.

Mr. Andrews has appeared on WABC Here and Now and NBC’s Positively Black. Mr. Andrews is a Black Enterprise BE Modern Man. To join the Long Island African American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. today log on to www.liaacc.org