Post by PR Expert Contributor Jennifer Finke of The PRepared Publicist.
Most people think PR is simply about influencing reporters to write about you and/or your company. While this is part of it, in today’s world, media are only small part of the enormous amount of influencers who you should consider reaching out to and “influencing.”
PR involves getting people to talk about you in a positive way. There’s an old saying that goes “if you have to tell someone you’re a lady, you’re not a lady.” Advertising is about touting how great you are – but at the end of the day everyone knows you paid for that ringing endorsement. PR is different. It’s about getting others to validate you and tell the world that yes, you are indeed a lady – and a great lady too!
So who are these influencers that you should try to influence? Let’s discuss in detail:
Media: Media representatives, such as reporters, editors and producers, are often some of the most influential people around. They can write stories about you or your company and have the ability to reach mass or niche audiences.
Bloggers: Bloggers can most certainly influence your audience’s buying decisions and your page rank in Google. They are a chatty bunch so find the handful that compliment your brand and start developing relationships with them.
Authors: Authors can be influential in so many ways. First, they often recommend products, services and ideas in their books and oftentimes they may be talking about your competitors and not you! If they are best-selling authors, chances are they’ll be writing more books or updating their current books so it’s important to be on their radars. Authors are also very credible spokespeople for an industry. If The Today Show is doing a story on breastfeeding, chances are they will bring on an author who writes about breastfeeding as their expert guest… so developing a relationship with an author can score you more attention than anticipated.
Industry Leaders: It’s important to develop relationships with those leading industry trade organizations or events. Like authors, these individuals speak on behalf of an industry and have tons of credibility. They are often invited to speak at events or with media – so you want them to know about you if you’re doing business in that industry.
Social Media Gurus: There are quite a few people who have created an expertise on a topic through Twitter or Facebook. They may have thousands of friends or followers who follow their every word. If you make an effort to befriend these folks, they may be willing to mention you to their friends or followers too.
Customers: Never underestimate the power of word-of-mouth PR. When a friend tells me something is good, I am 100 times more likely to try it. Maintain good graces with your customers by holding secret sales for them, providing them with a great newsletter and interesting content on your blog, and by simply making them feel special and welcomed each and every time they do business with you and beyond!
Today, there are a variety of people who can influence a buyer’s purchase decision. Identify who you think are the most influential influencers for you and begin to forge genuine and meaningful relationships with them.
About the Contributor: Jennifer Finke is a long-time PR consultant focused on helping small businesses find success with their PR efforts. Check out her websites for more information on her PR eBooks and PR services. www.ThePReparedPublicist.com and www.JF-Communications.com
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Great points! I especially agree on the part about customers. With the social networking tools out there, if you make a customer unhappy, they now have the means to not just reach their immediate circle, but the other hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people that are in their social networks. However, this obviously can also work in your favor if they love your service or product!