Fall PR Planning Tips

Fall is just around the corner and for many businesses, it is a time for planning and moving forward and PR is one of the most cost-effective tools you can use to help promote your business.  Even if you do not have a big budget; there is a lot you can do with the smallest of financial outlays utilizing PR.

Here are just a few tips to consider:

• New products or services.  If your company makes a product or offers a service, have you ever formally announced this to the media?  If not, consider looking at PR to unveil your new product or service offering to the press.
• Fall or holiday promotions.  Are there any seasonal or holiday tie-ins with your business that you can promote through PR?  Even if you are a business-to-business company, there are often milestones that tie in with your business that you can promote through a news release or other media outreach.
• Partnerships and customers.  Do you have partnerships or a name recognizable to customers that you can publicize?  Many businesses do, but often overlook this avenue.   Press releases on partnerships, as well as articles on customers and how they are using your products are just a couple of ways that you can promote these through PR.

Like many entrepreneurs, SMBs and startups, your time may be short to implement these on your own.  Hiring someone fulltime or hiring a traditional agency (which can often cost thousands, if not tens of thousands, a month, depending on your industry and focus) is not in the reach for many.  There are boutique agencies and solo practitioners that can offer you advice at startup budgets and you can often get much more senior level professionals by going this route.  However, even with this don’t simply go for the cheapest price.  Look for an agency or professional with a repeatable track record on getting things done.