You may be excited to promote a launch or some other big business news. But, just as you would pack essentials for a long journey, the best PR requires preparation.
Before a promotional push subjects you to greater scrutiny, ideally you will have time to get your fundamentals in order. This series of articles, "Prepping for PR," from Zamo PR's small business resource, Bincubate TM, offers a helpful checklist for doing so.
If you haven't launched yet, you're in a great position. And if you're already an established business, and it's not possible or practical to make these all of these changes before an upcoming scheduled announcement or PR push, these suggestions can always be transformed into an aspirational "to do" list for future consideration. You can refine or reinvent yourself at any time.
The first Bincubate post invites you to look at your business name and logo. If you're already up and running, admittedly, these are not changes to be made lightly---or quickly. But if you have the time, before a PR campaign potentially shines a bright spotlight on your business you might simply think about whether these core pieces of your brand identity still work for you and the goals you want to accomplish, or whether some tweaks might be necessary.
Sometimes a rebranding—and the reasons you will give for same—can be a powerful PR ‘hook.’ Rebrands can also be bundled with your other news, which can also help to explain or justify the change.
Before a PR campaign potentially subjects your website to a new level of scrutiny, the next post in the Bincubate "Prepping for PR" series invites you to assess your site's current content and underlying structure.
If your PR effort is successful, one of the first things people will do is to go to your website to learn more about you and, ideally, take your desired action----whether that is to buy something, register for something, or contact you to set up an appointment.
If a reporter is visiting your website to learn more, the site should also function as a basic "press kit," allowing them to easily glean all the basic information about your business, without necessarily having to contact you to learn more (although your PR should invite them to do so, especially to obtain higher value digital assets that shouldn't necessarily be available for anyone to download without your knowledge).
This post also contains some additional tips to ensure that your website continues to fully promote you on an ongoing basis, long after your upcoming announcement.
And the final post in the Bincubate "Prepping for PR" series asks you to examine the role social media will play in your upcoming PR effort, and well beyond.
As the article states, "Even if you don't currently have the time or inclination to sustain a steady stream of original social media content, your social media platforms could still be providing you with valuable additional ‘PR pathways’ to amplify whatever basic messaging, news and/or announcements you are already otherwise generating and sharing, e.g., on your website, however sporadically. Don't leave that potential PR on the table. Every little bit helps, including for SEO purposes."
This post also suggests ways to craft your broader social media structure and strategy.
So, whether you need some help completing this pre-PR 'checklist,' or you've passed with flying colors and are ready to get started, please reach out to Tania [@] Zamopr.com and we'll be happy to assist.