Good publicity can make all the difference to an organization, helping to build up a favorable brand image and positive brand recall in target consumers. For start-ups that have a limited budget, fret not – here are some steps you can take for good publicity, without forking out big bucks for a full-scale campaign.
- Choose the right platform
Before introducing your company to the media and public, take some time to study your customers and their behavior so that you can target them through the right platforms. In doing so, you can save costs and time as you tailor a more effective and focused publicity campaign, as opposed to a more generic, one-size-fits-all approach.
For instance, the PMEB (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Businessmen) crowd would most likely be tuned in to the digital spheres, so a web campaign might work better than a newspaper article. Alternatively, a target audience of millennials might respond better to a social media-focused campaign centered on Facebook or Instagram.
- Select and nurture the right media contacts
Media houses and newspapers typically receive tens, if not hundreds of press releases in a week. Suppose you create a succinct press release, with all the relevant content such as dates, locations and names. It contains information on how it benefits consumers and is written in context. You might even have a winner of a product or service on your hands. But unless you know someone in the right place, chances are your press release will be lost in the crowd.
To avoid this, you need to build relationships with the media, focusing on those that are more important or relevant to your brand. For example, if you are in the IT sector, gadget websites and men’s magazines might be worth exploring. Relationships with the media can also be developed without spending a fortune. Simple things such as sending journalists a birthday greeting can make a difference. And with good contact management solutions such as Sansan, you needn’t bother trying to stay on top of this information – the system will do it for you.
- Build stronger brand associations
Finally, remember that consistent and easily identifiable branding and association can go a long way. Instead of continually coming up with new, exciting and expensively unique ideas for publicity, a more cost-effective and strategic approach would be to hold up key aspects of your brand as a cornerstone of your publicity efforts. It could be a logo, tagline or simply a color combination – the key is to pick something that captures the essence of your brand and to consistently integrate it into your publicity and branding efforts. This way, you can quickly and effectively build strong brand associations within your target audience.
Some well-known examples include Nike’s and Apple’s logos or Coca-Cola’s color scheme. These companies’ strong brand images help create associations in the minds of customers. In Nike’s case, the logo and tagline are synonymous with images of successful athletes and sportsmanship, while in Apple’s case, the minimalist logo is synonymous with innovation and style.
Your logo does not have to be super expensive; just develop your company’s identity and then find someone to work on representing it visually. As far as possible, get it done by someone within your company, since no one will know your organization better than you and your employees.
There will definitely be some costs involved in publicity, but they can be kept low. These strategies take time, so don’t be tempted to throw in the towel if you don’t see overnight success. Stay persistent, and in time you’ll see positive results.
