33 ways you can leverage your PR/media relations program
Some companies do a great job in using materials and results garnered from their public relations programs for other marketing purposes. Since the William Mills Agency works with more than 65 companies across North America, we are in a position to see how our clients “repurpose” the work we do for them to enhance their marketing efforts.
PR professionals provide ideas on how their work can be used to improve communications with constituents, such as customers, prospects, employees and investors. This article provides 33 ideas for how you can leverage your investment in a public relations program to improve your tradeshow marketing, direct marketing, company website, executive/company positioning, employee communications, customer communications, investor relations and sales materials.
Trade Show
• Use press releases for “room drops” – attendee outreach on important days of a trade show;
• Place enlargements of articles to augment booth signage – on easels or on the booth walls;
• Distribute press releases as “breaking news” to share at events; and
• Use article reprints to enhance your collateral.
Company Website
• Develop a pressroom on the company website which includes announcements and e-press kit;
• Post headlines or abstracts of recent media coverage on the entry page with links to the full text:
Links can be to the company news section or direct to publications’ websites; and
• Supplement the “About The Company” section of your website to include reference to bylined articles or significant placement within an industry magazine.
Customer Communications
• Repackage press releases as articles for newsletters;
• Create e-newletters and broadcast via email;
• Write a letter from the president and send along with recent articles to show customers how your company is growing in relevance;
• When customers are quoted in an article or help in any way, send the article along with a gift (bottle of wine for example) and letter saying “Congratulations and thank you for your support!”; and
• Package article and company news in binders given to customers at company meetings, for user’s groups or as a part of a “kick off” presentation.
Direct Marketing
• Distribute press releases as direct mail or e-mail campaigns;
• Highlight your product or service benefits in an article and mail to prospects with a brief note, “Thought this might be of interest to you”;
• Email a PDF (electronic) version of a recent article – emails are easier to forward than reprints;
• Send article reprints with invoices or other routine correspondence to reinforce customers’ good feelings about their purchase; and
• Create a multimedia CD or DVD featuring company successes and send to prospects
Employee Communications
• Email successes in the media to employees (employees want to work with winning companies);
• Frame articles and line hallways or conference rooms to highlight company achievements;
• Post articles in the employee break room – highlight important passages or reference to employees;
• Nicely bind articles into a book for the lobby or reception desk; and
• Hand out article reprints at company meetings.
Sales Materials
• Enhance sales presentations with images of important articles;
• Boost the credibility of information kits with articles or new announcements;
• Using case studies, illustrate how your company solved problems for other companies;
• Produce a brochure that shows the company’s extensive media coverage with a caption, “Looks Who is in the News”; and
• Sales training – competitive clips to help sales team overcome objections or misconceptions.
Investor Relations
• Recap media successes and share with investors or board members as evidence of improving the company brand; and
• Use “call outs” or highlight sections of a great article for the investor presentation.
Executive/Company Positioning
• Draw attention to key executives for speaker submissions for important industry conferences;
• Play up company successes in the media to enhance award submissions; and
• Include an executive bio their status as a published, industry-acknowledged expert, referencing specific publications where they have been featured.
More ideas
• Forward “media success” package to local civic organizations, chambers of commerce or other business associations in pursuit of speaking opportunities or newsletter mention.
Businesses that make an investment in public relations demonstrate a more sophisticated understanding of business promotion and development than those that dismiss its value. Why not allow your successes in the media to ripple throughout your organization to attract prospects, deepen customer loyalty and inspire employees? Sharing your company’s commitment to your industry and expert status is smart business.
PR professionals provide ideas on how their work can be used to improve communications with constituents, such as customers, prospects, employees and investors. This article provides 33 ideas for how you can leverage your investment in a public relations program to improve your tradeshow marketing, direct marketing, company website, executive/company positioning, employee communications, customer communications, investor relations and sales materials.
Trade Show
• Use press releases for “room drops” – attendee outreach on important days of a trade show;
• Place enlargements of articles to augment booth signage – on easels or on the booth walls;
• Distribute press releases as “breaking news” to share at events; and
• Use article reprints to enhance your collateral.
Company Website
• Develop a pressroom on the company website which includes announcements and e-press kit;
• Post headlines or abstracts of recent media coverage on the entry page with links to the full text:
Links can be to the company news section or direct to publications’ websites; and
• Supplement the “About The Company” section of your website to include reference to bylined articles or significant placement within an industry magazine.
Customer Communications
• Repackage press releases as articles for newsletters;
• Create e-newletters and broadcast via email;
• Write a letter from the president and send along with recent articles to show customers how your company is growing in relevance;
• When customers are quoted in an article or help in any way, send the article along with a gift (bottle of wine for example) and letter saying “Congratulations and thank you for your support!”; and
• Package article and company news in binders given to customers at company meetings, for user’s groups or as a part of a “kick off” presentation.
Direct Marketing
• Distribute press releases as direct mail or e-mail campaigns;
• Highlight your product or service benefits in an article and mail to prospects with a brief note, “Thought this might be of interest to you”;
• Email a PDF (electronic) version of a recent article – emails are easier to forward than reprints;
• Send article reprints with invoices or other routine correspondence to reinforce customers’ good feelings about their purchase; and
• Create a multimedia CD or DVD featuring company successes and send to prospects
Employee Communications
• Email successes in the media to employees (employees want to work with winning companies);
• Frame articles and line hallways or conference rooms to highlight company achievements;
• Post articles in the employee break room – highlight important passages or reference to employees;
• Nicely bind articles into a book for the lobby or reception desk; and
• Hand out article reprints at company meetings.
Sales Materials
• Enhance sales presentations with images of important articles;
• Boost the credibility of information kits with articles or new announcements;
• Using case studies, illustrate how your company solved problems for other companies;
• Produce a brochure that shows the company’s extensive media coverage with a caption, “Looks Who is in the News”; and
• Sales training – competitive clips to help sales team overcome objections or misconceptions.
Investor Relations
• Recap media successes and share with investors or board members as evidence of improving the company brand; and
• Use “call outs” or highlight sections of a great article for the investor presentation.
Executive/Company Positioning
• Draw attention to key executives for speaker submissions for important industry conferences;
• Play up company successes in the media to enhance award submissions; and
• Include an executive bio their status as a published, industry-acknowledged expert, referencing specific publications where they have been featured.
More ideas
• Forward “media success” package to local civic organizations, chambers of commerce or other business associations in pursuit of speaking opportunities or newsletter mention.
Businesses that make an investment in public relations demonstrate a more sophisticated understanding of business promotion and development than those that dismiss its value. Why not allow your successes in the media to ripple throughout your organization to attract prospects, deepen customer loyalty and inspire employees? Sharing your company’s commitment to your industry and expert status is smart business.