From the series of New Media PR articles for business
by Alysyn Curd



A successful brand is no accident. Somebody put some thought, followed by effort, into it. As a designer and communications provider, I can tell you, branding is more than producing quick-slick ads and brochures with pretty logos. It is a strategic creative process positioning your company, project or personality in the minds of the masses. Your public, your fans, your customers. The power to reach those people and convert them into “friends” of your brand, with your “right” message makes public relations the secret to successful branding.

As a creative communications consultant, I’ve discovered that many entrepreneurs don’t effectively use public relations. They certainly don’t understand its power to brand.

PR’s practices and branding power seem to be the “best kept secrets,” of high profile publicists and corporate marketing gurus. But you CAN learn to practice it yourself or learn why to hire someone else. I’ve written this so you’ll at least learn why, either way, PR is a MUST for your branding.

PLAIN and SIMPLE: doing it yourself seems to save money, though I would argue that the time you spend practicing something you may never be great at, would be better spent on other areas of your business. The advantage of hiring an expert, or even someone who may not yet be an expert, but who can dedicate the time to becoming one, is a great savings of your time. And yes, time IS money in this sense.

Imagine you are juggling --or slaving-- to service your customers, gain new ones, improve your product and expand your margins. Imagine though your business is small to mid-sized, your goal is to provide the best your category has to offer. Imagine you do have a vision, yet building your “brand” to cult-like status has eluded you.

Most of your public -those you have yet to reach- won’t know any of this about you or even that you exist, unless you deliberately, brand. And while you may have learned everything else about your business through trial and error, unless you know how to successfully build your brand, you will only be imagining you have one. Build your brand using great public relations.

PR works in branding because branding is more about instant understanding of your message and your mission as opposed to merely recognizing a logo. When your message is relevant and means something beneficial to its intended audience, it’s memorable. Exposing this “memorable essence” using PR builds your brand. In the old days, this is what placed you apart from your competitors. In today’s collaborative “social networking” business environment, this use of PR is what attracts you to colleagues and expands your influence to customers. Well executed and delivered PR enhances your credibility, then increases your sales and ultimately, your income. The right public relations-driven branding strategy can take you from local, to national, to global growth.

HERE's WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Branding is the establishment of mass-market name recognition and more importantly, message recognition. This is when a “mass audience” knows who you are and understands, and relates to, what you offer. When they hear your name or see your logo they immediately know what you’re all about. It makes those masses aware of how much better, or better off, they’d be by connecting with your brand. One by one, it gets those masses to buy.

Your sales message has been so well promoted that your company or brand name has BECOME the message. Ability to trigger this ‘reflexed’ recognition and response takes time. It takes a planned effort. It takes word of mouth strategically spread on a mass scale. “Buzz” plays a part but without planning, buzz is a fickle phenomenon usually short-lived. Buzz is widespread when you’re hot –and in that aspect, for a time keeps you hot. But the very nature of being hot is that eventually you cool off. Sure, your message could go “viral’ online, but no one’s been able to effectively predict when and how that happens. Those exciting, and often lucrative, scenarios seem to be happy accidents. When it does happen, the onslaught of attention means you must be even more prepared to receive it.

This is why a PR plan is mandatory. You need a public relations plan that generates and manages media exposure and word of mouth for you, consistently. “All buzz all the time,” I like to say.

8 STEPS IN YOUR POWER PR BRANDING STRATEGY

(Excerpted from the article, “PUBLIC RELATIONS BRANDING and NEW MEDIA: 8 ‘HOW-TO’ PR STEPS FOR YOUR ONLINE BRANDING PROGRAM,” by Alysyn Curd, available at http://www.artimpactnetpr.com)


1. RESEARCH
This includes evaluating the competition, the marketplace and the media for news, trends, power players, etc. Results in informed ideas and targets. DO NOT skip this step!

2. PACKAGING

The development of the media kit, also called news kit, or press kit. This may include a press release, “pitch” letter, fact  sheet, biographies of key people on your team, background on the company or brand, etc. Your mission statement and previous news clips may also be included.

3. MEDIA LISTS and RESOURCES
This list will grow and change constantly, but your first version of it needs to be established before you start. There are excellent Internet distribution outlets and wire services that should be included. This list can break down into a multitude of categories and sub-categories. The basics are local news media, national news media, trade (your specific industry) media, and Internet distribution sources.

4. ANGLE DEVELOPMENT
An outline of ideas for promotion, reasons your brand should be “in the news.” Again, brainstorm. This is the core of your public relations effort. It involves developing “campaigns” rather than single shot releases. Your initial research efforts help fuel this step.

5. PLAN
Based on the previous 4 steps (above), this includes a written calendar schedule of what information you will “release,” when and where.

6. EXECUTION

Writing the material, producing press release, etc. This is especially where you may choose to hire a pro.

7. DELIVERY
Sending the material out. This distribution involves keeping track of where you send press releases, etc. It effects and monitors your “reach.”

8. FOLLOW THROUGH and FOLLOW-UP

Like each step before it, this is important. This is where you leverage all the efforts that went before as you interact with inquiring media professionals and other interested parties providing them additional information as needed. This also involves reporting the results of your campaign or expanded promotion based on those results.

SO, TO SUM UP:

Branding involves consistent publicity-driven action. This is the secret. And it should and can be achieved in your local market and beyond. PR-based branding begins through analysis and an extreme understanding of your reason to be –your mission, your target, your competition (your “market”) and your offering. This information is the foundation from which to create ongoing efforts worthy of ongoing stories and “buzz” about you.

The PR-based branding strategy is the most necessary and ‘doable’ method for success on the small business –or on any-- budget. It is the most effective way to establish your unique identity in the minds of your public and convert them into customers. Once the public recognizes you on a mass level, consumers begin to convert into friends; friends who understand and embrace your vision enough to buy what you have to offer; friends influenced by, and appreciative of, what you’ve created especially for them; friends, loyal to your brand, generated through great PR.


Alysyn Curd for Art Impact Marketing, Inc. copyright 2007/2009, all rights reserved.