Gaining publicity doesn’t have to require throwing expensive events. You don’t need to buy advertising space, either.
Instead, you need to do look for new and interesting ways to attract news agencies, without spending too much. These can either be feel-good stories that attract local news agencies, or they could be big events that rock your industry to the core.
Knowing these 4 ways that you can attract publicity will help you rethink your marketing strategy, no matter what company you have.
1. Stun the Market
One of the best ways to get a lot of publicity overnight is to stun the market. Doing this is a huge gamble, but it can pay off successfully. As a bonus, it is also excellent for improving your SEO. You can be the talk of everyone overnight, which, for customers, translates to trust.
If you need to get your name out there, get the media talking, like how Smithfield Foods got everyone talking in 2013, after they were bought by China’s largest meat processor.
Doing this will, likely, make the market and your stocks shaky to begin with, as everyone reacts on instinct to the change, but things will settle. Once they do the world will know your name, investors will take an interest, and you can carry on with the best start possible.
2. Do Good for Your Community
For smaller companies, stunning the market might be out of your reach.
Instead of, say, buying a company or taking it over, look locally. You can get free press from creating outreach or other community projects that help your neighbors and your customers.
Not only will this get you good press, it will also improve your community for the better.
3. Publicity Stunts
If you want an overnight buzz, of course, you will have to perform a publicity stunt.
Make sure that your stunt is thought-through, though. You don’t want to do something that endangers others like those at the United Way of Cleveland did when they released 1.5 million balloons over the city.
As long as it is fun, safe, and can be easily cleaned up afterwards, go for it. The bigger, the better. Contact your local news agencies to get the story going. If you are lucky, it will go viral.
4. Champion a Cause
Another way you can gain press and prestige is to champion a cause.
For instance, if you are the leaders in responsible innovation and sustainability, you could give talks, provide reports, guidance, and other industry-leading information. This not only gets covered by the press, it is also followed by the global populace, meaning that the content you produce will gain traction.
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Gaining publicity is beneficial for two reasons. The first is the organic traffic. When people hear about your name, about your story, they get to know you. The more they get to know you, the more likely they will trust and therefore buy from you.
The second reason is to improve your SEO. This happens when news agencies and bloggers talk about you and link to your website. Combined, you will continue to gain traffic, get your name out there, and increase sales.