Public relations (PR)

Once you have identified the right media outlets, you can target them with press releases.
A press release is a news story that promotes your business in a positive light. Write it in a clear, journalistic style, and tailor each one to the specific media outlet.

For example:

• If an engineering company lands a big Italian order using a new manufacturing technique, the trade press would focus on the technical success and innovation.
• For the local paper, the angle might highlight job creation and the prestige of beating international competition.

Potential PR stories

There are many natural PR opportunities including:

• a new product launch
• new premises
• new members of staff
• an important new order
• business expansion
• involvement with a charity
• significant anniversaries, eg your 1,000th customer
• business partnerships
• changes in business structure such as mergers and acquisitions

Creating additional publicity opportunities

You can also generate PR by:

• submitting articles, such as opinion pieces, for publication
• commissioning a survey on serious or fun issues and send the results to the press
• suggesting a competition with your product as the prize
• giving expert opinions and volunteer quotes on current affairs