Read Why Flacking is One of the Best Ways to Get Your Company Noticed
by Carrie Hinkel on April 4th, 2008
Any business, new or seasoned, can benefit from flacking. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it just means using PR to generate publicity and buzz for your company. But, just because we’re talking about PR doesn’t mean you have to hire a fancy Madison Avenue firm and spend thousands for them to launch a campaign for you. Believe it or not, if you are a small business owner, you can do your own flacking – and you might just be surprised at all the attention you’re able to generate! Here’s how:
Start a company blog – You can either add a blog page to your company website, or use a blog website like TypePad.com but, either way, blogging is easy and it can help to get your company noticed. Along with putting your company’s name in the search engines’ natural listings, blogging is one of the best ways to promote yourself as an expert in your industry. Popular blogs get noticed, have hundreds of subscribers and get links from other blogs or news sites. The publicity power of a good blog is nothing short of amazing.
Generate press releases – The best way to get the press and media interested in your company or its products and services is to write and send out press releases. The mistake that many writers make is that they make their press release sound more like a self-serving advertisement and less like an interesting story. Think carefully about each of your press releases – you’ll need a story angle that will intrigue readers, rather than bore them about your new line fabrics. Of course, your press release can mention the fabrics but that certainly shouldn’t be the highlight of the press release. If you’re not confident in your writing abilities, then hire a professional press release writer from a freelance website like Guru or E-lance . Give them as much information as you can and then let your writer come up with a newsworthy press release.
Focus on your target market – Now that you have your press release, it’s time to distribute it. It can be overwhelming to think about the hundreds of thousands of newspapers, magazines, blogs, tv stations, etc., so don’t. Focus on the media outlets that interest your target market. For instance, if your company manufacturers an electronic knitting system, then focus on magazines, blogs, tv stations, etc. that cater to that market. Send out or email your press releases directly to each of the outlets on your list. Include pictures and/or a link to a product demonstration video as well. In addition, you should also submit your press release to an online press release distribution company like PRWeb or PRnewswire – this will help you to reach those hundreds of thousands of media outlets that are all across the country.
As you can see, flacking really isn’t all that hard. It just takes some time to keep the publicity going on a regular basis. And, the best part is that a successful PR campaign can soon take a snowball effect as more and more media outlets and blogs pick up on the story.