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Small
Business, BIG Marketing™
by Will
Dylan ©2004
CHAPTER 2 - START
MAKING HEADLINES (con't)
More
News Examples
NEWS
: A rash of break-ins in the local area has residents
wondering about their safety.
Anyone
who owns a security company should be all over this one.
You could offer your local news station safety tips,
information about how home alarms can protect your home,
and so on. When something is in the news it gets
people’s attention, and they are much more receptive
to hearing about what they can do to avoid the problem
themselves. In a situation like this where viewers are
concerned about their health and safety, they will be
very attentive to any news item about securing their
homes. The newspeople know that if they interview you to
discuss safety, they’re feeding the public’s
appetite for safety related articles. Just remember you
are not on TV to pitch your product. Just talk about
alarms in general and general household safety tips. It
will add to your credibility and the phone will be
ringing off the hook the next morning.
What other
companies could benefit from this type of news. Self-defence
classes? Neighbourhood watch programs? Private security
patrol companies? The list goes on an on….
What
About My Small Business?
My
experiences with publicity center around the employment
market, as my company is mainly involved in the
recruiting business. I was constantly watching the news
for any story that was related to our business. Just
look at the following list of news topics that I used in
my business to generate publicity for our company. On
the left is the story that appeared in the news, and on
the right is the release that I sent out to gain
publicity:
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News
Item
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News
Release Topic
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Unemployment
Rate Increases
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Tips for
finding work in a tough economy
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Major layoffs
at a local employer
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Guide to
surviving layoffs, both emotionally and
financially
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Major
workplace accident occurs
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The importance
of workplace safety and steps companies can take
to ensure a safe working environment
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First day of
Summer arrives
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A look at this
year’s summer job market
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You
can see that as long as the news story pertained to
employment in any way, I could generate a news release.
In many cases, simple story ideas like these landed me
on local television or radio, where I gave a brief
interview on the topic…and naturally, I mentioned our
company name and how viewers could contact us for
further info. The switchboard always lit up on days when
I appeared on TV or Radio.
As
I mentioned, the news is much more likely to run your
story if it’s on topic. So when major layoffs
were in the headlines, I was on TV and radio and in the
newspaper giving interviews about what to do to protect
your job and your financial situation because I was the
local expert on the topic, and because I called and
faxed my local stations and newspapers offering advice.
I tied our company’s expertise and experience into a
local news story, effectively making our company into a
news story.
The only tools
you’ll need to increase your publicity are a knowledge
of local news stories and the ability to craft a decent
news release. The latter is not always easy, and if you
don’t fancy yourself to be much of a writer, you
should either hire someone to do the job for you on a
contract basis or use the services of a good writer that
you know. I’ve crafted news releases and appeared on
TV, Radio, and in newspapers, all because of the
releases I’ve written.
**Publicity
is a deadly weapon for you to use against your
competition. When your company’s name appears in print
or on TV, you get instant credibility and you get
noticed, at NO cost. Publicity should be a part of every
small businesses marketing strategy**
Continue Chapter 2 >>
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