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Generating Publicity for Your Business

September 20, 2021
By James Gussie

Publicity is a key part of any business. It can help you get your name out there, build credibility, and gain more customers. However, it’s not always easy to generate publicity for your business.

The how to get publicity for my business is a blog post that discusses how small businesses can generate publicity. The article covers the importance of generating publicity and ways to do so.

Most entrepreneurs or company owners undertake marketing research to estimate the size of their potential client base before beginning a successful business endeavor or launching a new product. When it comes to getting the word out to that client base, many businesses may turn to the media for assistance. However, few company owners are as careful in identifying their suitable “media market” — that is, all media sources whose editorial profiles are a match to a product/business profile and would be acceptable for producing media exposure and publicity — as their marketing research.

Educating my customers on their “media market” is one of my favorite things to do. Consider this: the total media market in North America has over 75,000 outlets and over one million reporters, editors, and producers. Only a tiny proportion of them, however, may be suitable and applicable to your company or product. Which ones, though? Unfortunately, far too many well-intentioned entrepreneurs are either unaware of or misled about what it takes to get their company noticed by the media. I recently conducted a poll of 100 company owners and entrepreneurs who inquired about a publicity/media exposure campaign. Here’s what I discovered:

“Are Admittedly Media Market Clueless,” according to 11%.
“Have Unrealistic Media Market Perceptions” – 19%
“Think Local & Large Media Are The Only Media,” says 29%.
“Have A Good Grasp On Their Potential Media Market And Its Benefits,” according to 41% of respondents.

Here are the descriptions of these groups, as well as the lessons I attempt to instill in people that fall into them:

11 percent – “Are candidly media market illiterate” These are the company owners that are well-versed in their product and market, but have never considered mounting a publicity/media exposure campaign. They have no understanding of their prospective media market or how to create awareness in it.The lesson: For these kinds of company owners, I suggest enlisting the assistance of a smaller public relations firm. Someone from an advertising firm or a public relations expert who is ready to “hold the client’s hand” and teach them. Look for someone who is willing to spend time teaching you about what should be included in your particular media market and pitch. Make sure the agency or publicist has the same understanding of the product/business as you have and can educate you on the media industry – one that will benefit your company for years to come.
“Have unrealistic media perceptions,” according to 19% of respondents. When a PR campaign is launched, they are the company owners who are CERTAIN that EVERY newspaper, consumer interest magazine, and television show will carry a story on their new goods. The takeaway: No product or company, no matter how large or successful, can guarantee coverage in every media source in a market. However, with the proper media strategy, you may gain attention in a large number of them. Every media pitch will be evaluated in light of the media outlet’s editorial lead time, available editorial space, and editorial staff member’s availability to cover your proposal. Whether or whether your proposal makes it to the pages or air is entirely up to the judgment of each media source. If you target the wrong medium with the incorrect message, it may be a losing fight. With a little experience and media industry knowledge, however, you can significantly improve your chances of obtaining such media placements.
“Think local and big media are the only media” – 29% These are the people who define their media market in two words: As you would expect, LOCAL & LARGE refers to the media outlets in their city or surrounding geographic area – the local newspaper, a regional business magazine or two, and a few radio/TV programs. The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Good Morning America, Oprah, and your other favorite large-circulation, trade-specific media source fall under the LARGE category. The takeaway: Local and big media markets are important, but they aren’t the only ones. The greatest media market possibilities might be hundreds of other smaller size papers, journals, newsletters, or TV/radio/cable programs, which could create more consumer attention and sales than a placement in the major media. Many company owners are unaware that these smaller, more focused media sources exist due to a lack of media market expertise. This is where a public relations firm or a PR expert may help you with your publicity campaign. They are well-versed in the media industry and will be able to identify the media members most likely to provide editorial pieces about your company or product. They also have excellent media connections that can convert a single feature into a syndicated piece that appears in numerous places throughout the country.
“Have a solid understanding on their prospective media market and its benefits,” according to 41%. These are media-savvy entrepreneurs and business owners who are practical and aware of how the media may help their company. They understand that in order to obtain coverage that will enhance the company’s visibility, they must narrowcast their media pitch to a certain section of the media. The takeaway: Don’t believe a public relations firm or a publicity expert when they say they’ll send your proposal to 20,000, 30,000, or 50,000 media outlets. Only approximately 25% of North America’s 8,000 daily and weekly newspapers, 11,000 magazines and newsletters, 15,000 radio/TV/cable stations, and 7,000 Internet news sites accept press releases from beyond their geographic region. They only address LOCAL problems, companies, and goods, thus focusing on them is a waste of time. The trick is to do your homework and figure out which media sources will be interested in your pitch, as well as how to turn those interactions into positive consumer interest features that will educate and excite consumers about your product or service.

Identifying and pitching the appropriate media market requires the same diligence as finding and selling the right consumers. Bottom line: Knowing your proper media market may make the difference between product/business exposure and product/business obscurity, whether you have a general interest product with broad consumer appeal or a trade specialized company with a very limited client base.

A small business publicity is a way to generate publicity for your business. There are many ways that you can use to do this, including social media and word of mouth.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are some ways to generate publicity for a business?

There are many ways to generate publicity for a business. One way is to run advertisements in the local newspaper or on television, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Another way would be to create an online presence with social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

What are 5 ways we can get free publicity for your business?

There are many ways to get free publicity for your business, but here are 5 of the most popular ones. 1) Get on social media and share your content. 2) Create a blog post about your business and write it in a way that will attract peoples attention. 3) Promote yourself by creating videos or articles about your business. 4) Reach out to influencers in your industry and ask them to share your content if they think it is worthy of their followers. 5) Share your content with friends who may be interested in what you have to offer.