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On this week’sMarketing Minute, Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio co-hosts Carol Morgan and Todd Schnick discuss the importance of using public relations for business, the biggest misconceptions about public relations and how to find the best public relations professional fit for your company’s goals.
The rise of social media might make it seem that hiring a public relations consultant is no longer necessary. However, Morgan disagrees. A company’s best social media content comes directly from its press releases and its blog posts. Further, press releases and blog posts that are newsworthy can bring a company third-party endorsement by pitching them to news media.
Morgan and Schnick also discuss some of the most common misconceptions about public relations that they have encountered. A frequent mistake is made when news is pitched. Sometimes, the “news” is not newsworthy, it is pitched on deadline day or it has been pitched to a reporter by company who does not know the reporter’s niche. The company might need to pitch to the residential reporter and is instead pitching to the commercial reporter.
Additionally, a company who is not blogging, or is blindly pitching to and not following up with a reporter it does not have a relationship with, will not get the results or coverage it aims for.
Another mistake to make in a company’s public relations strategy is to hire any public relations representative. The problem in this is that there are many different types of public relations concentrations and the public relations professional a company hires might not have the specialty that the company needs.
Hiring a public relations professional who does not have a relationship with the media company that needs to be reached, will not yield the results a company needs. A client whose specialty is not the specialty of its PR professional can easily make errors that are easily recognized in an email pitch to a media company who likely sees dozens of pitches a day.
So, how should companies set out to find the right public relations professional? Morgan says it is important to keep the company’s goals in mind. Will it get the results it wants by pitching to the New York Times or to local newspapers? Does it need the right social media coverage or site content? The goals of the company should match the capability, background and platform of the public relations professional.
Companies should keep in mind that PR professionals almost always have a niche or specialty. Large agencies often have multiple specialists for many niches, and smaller boutique agencies are often incredibly adept at their specialty. There is, after all, a significant difference between public relations for events, local press, politics, booking speaking engagements and more.
Listen to the above interview to learn more about how to get the most out of PR for business.
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Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio’s “Marketing Minute” segments air on Wednesdays. The segments highlight the latest marketing strategies and tactics, from branding and social media to the latest technology and tools, all to help sharpen your business’ approach to marketing and public relations and to drive your message. If you have a topic you would like covered on Marketing Minutes, or want to learn more about using a topic as a marketing advantage for business, contact 770-383-3360. Please download and subscribe to all of the Atlanta Real Estate Forum Radio podcasts on iTunes and if you like this week’s show, be sure to rate it.