PR Hacks for Small Businesses

With around 6 million SMEs in the UK, you need to make your company stand out. People don’t know how great your business is until you share with them, what makes it exceptional.

Our PR hacks for small businesses will help you attract attention from customers and get press coverage.

• Press Releases: If something newsworthy is happening with your business, write a press release and share it with journalists, bloggers and influencers related to your sector. Remember to include a catchy subject to get attention, then get to the point by summing everything up in a few paragraphs. Be clear about what the story is about in the headline – is it a new service or product, or does your business coincide with a ‘national day’ or on-trend topic?
• Brand Purpose: Research has shown that consumers spend no more than 10 seconds reading a press release. Say what your business does and what problems you can solve early in the content of your press release.
• Time your Press Release to Optimise Coverage: When planning press releases, think about which type of media channel you are contacting. Different organisations have different deadlines, magazines tend to work 2-3 months ahead, so you can send press releases about future events, newspapers can be daily or weekly. If it is daily, then send your press releases in the morning before they have their editorial meeting. This goes for radio and TV as well. Online publications tend to have 24/7 content and can publish several times a day.
• Keep up to Date with News in your Sector: If something related to your industry is in the news, you can capitalise on that by sending out press releases and sharing your business story. Keep an eye on JournoLink Weekly News and Calendar in your 'Plan' section. Set up Google Alerts to track keywords that are relevant to your business and be the first to hear about trending stories you can piggyback.
• Trending Content: If something related to your industry is trending on social media, take advantage of that and share insights or knowledge about your business to position yourself as a market leader in your field. Often referred to as ‘newsjacking’, businesses can get great PR by relating their story to an existing news story.
• Create a Media List: Cultivate good relationships with the media and create your own media list of bloggers and journalists writing about your industry. To make it easier for you, upload your list to JournoLink. This means that as well as accessing JounoLink’s database to send press releases and respond to media requests, you can measure how your list is doing with the analytics.
• Self-PR: Never forget to PR yourself, if you win an award, share the good news, if you launch a new product, follow that up with a newsletter or email campaign, as well as share it on social media. Check the 'Plan' Section from your JournoLink dashboard and sign up for industry events in your sector, as you can network, boost your credibility, and find out about awards and innovations in your particular industry.

If you have any questions about using JournoLink’s PR software to hack your PR, contact our friendly team now, or book a demo to see how PR can boost your business.