Top 5 Tips to Help Small Businesses Gain Publicity

If you want to get the most out of your marketing budget and maximise your brand presence, we have a few hacks that we have tried and tested that will help you take your business to the next level.

1. Strengthen Your Digital Presence

Unless a customer lives in your area and is already aware of your business, your website and social media presence are the main ways to connect with current and prospective customers and other businesses in your sector. There are many things that you can do, to ensure that your digital presence works hard for your business.

Make sure that your website and other digital channels such as your social media and directories are all updated regularly so that you can actively engage with your clients and attract new customers. Think about the user experience design (UX) to make your products and technology usable and enjoyable for customers. For people to see your website and check out your products or services, you need to increase your visibility on search engines. Create a  search engine optimisation (SEO) strategy to boost the visibility of your business on well-known search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. Take time to research keywords pertinent to your product or service and ensure that your website is optimised for maximum exposure.

Leverage social media to engage with actual and potential customers. You can keep a dialogue going by responding to comments, and criticism with solutions, and running a loyalty programme or offering quizzes and giveaways such as prizes, or discount codes. Showcase any product or service launches, business updates, special offers, and client successes in an eye-catching, interactive manner to attract further interest in your business.

Establish authority by creating well-thought-out content, such as press releases and educational blog posts that demonstrate to customers your knowledge of your industry, and ensure that you are seen as a credible, trustworthy source of information. 

Provide an exceptional customer experience for people visiting your website, or engaging with your company on social media. The idea is that every time someone clicks on your website or checks out one of your social media channels, they should have a positive experience. Ensure that all customer touchpoints are properly and regularly managed, such as a user-friendly website, fast response times to messages and comments on social media, and informative emails that can nurture leads.

2. Utilise Press Release Software

You may wonder why press releases are important for your business, and not have much experience or confidence in writing and sharing them. Essentially press releases allow companies to create relationships with media outlets and journalists writing about your industry, share your knowledge and products with a larger audience, build brand awareness and save on advertising costs. Press release software is a great way for small or medium-sized businesses to share their news with more people.

Taking advantage of press release software at JournoLink to optimise the reach and efficiency of your message is key for SMEs to make the most from a limited budget. And track performance analytics so that you can measure their impact to make the most of your marketing.

Press release software automates the tedious process of distributing press releases. You can personalise your message to make your content appealing to a variety of readers which will help you achieve a greater media reach and empower you to control your brand’s reputation. 

For maximum exposure, share your press releases with media channels that you know are relevant to your content and not just your particular sector. You can create a media list of journalists and bloggers writing about your industry, and target them separately. 

3. Harness the Power of Influencers

Connecting with influencers is a great way to increase visibility, engage with your target audience and boost your brand for greater brand recognition. With the right influencer on board, you can drive sales and create a larger presence in your industry.

The key to success with influencers is to identify and connect with the right ones for your brand. Before contacting an influencer, do some research and find influencers whose message and aesthetic aligns with your brand. Look for people with active followers, and good engagement metrics. Once you have identified influencers who you feel would be a good fit for your brand, reach out and ask if they would be interested in working with you.

Once you have the right influencers onboard, there are several strategies to maximise their impact. Start by offering them an exclusive deal for their followers, such as discount codes or exclusive content. Make sure the deal incentivises them to share and promote your products or services. You can also collaborate on projects such as hosting a webinar or appearing on a podcast. If there is a trending topic in your sector, join forces to create and share social media posts.

Nurture your relationship with influencers and journalists by following them and reposting their content. When done properly, influencer marketing is a great way to get your message to the right people and reach potential new customers.

4. Create Engaging Content

In order to attract and retain interest, your content needs to be relevant and engaging. This means that it needs to be well-written, informative and interesting. There are some key points that you should follow to keep your content fresh and engaging.

Write interesting headlines to grab the attention of your readers. The headline is the first thing that people will see, so it needs to attract their attention so they carry on reading. Be strong and decisive.

Use visuals in your press release, people have to make thousands of decisions every day, and in the consumer landscape, there are a huge amount of impressions on our brains. Many brands offer similar products, so the challenge is how to make your brand stand out from the crowd. One easy solution is visual content. Visual content is structured in a way that makes it easy for the brain to receive and process it. On average, the brain takes 0.1 seconds to comprehend a simple image, whereas a 250-word paragraph takes roughly 60 seconds. Visual content normally incorporates colour, which has been shown to help people take in the information more.

Be concise and succinct, so that you do not put off your reader with a long-winded article. Use simple language that is easy to understand and does not overuse keywords, as search engines may penalise you for doing so.

5. Create a Press Room

A press room with all your press releases can give visitors a picture of what has been happening in the company. Press releases are a great way to build trust and connect with your target market. Unlike adverts,  press releases enable you to direct your message to people who are going to be interested in your product or service in a non-sales way. 

Individual pages or press releases in a press room will be indexed on search engines on their merit. The content you create for your press room needs to be of good quality and have keywords that will get picked up when indexed. It should be one tool in your marketing plan, that you can use along with the other tools that we have mentioned such as well-written content and effective press releases. 

Contact us if you want to know how our easy-to-use,  press release software can help your brand.