Good consultants help their clients recognize the precious marketing gems hidden right before their eyes. Publicity is one of them. We know that “getting our client’s name out there” is a good thing. With a few simple tips, you can create some good PR to raise their visibility. 

What’s the key to publicity? Tell a story that people will find interesting or useful. 

So what‘s news? Journalists receive numerous media releases every day, so you need to tell compelling stories to get yours noticed. 

You know the obvious ones: 

• Launching a new product, service or company
• Hiring a new executive
• Introducing a new product or service
• Winning an industry award 

Dig Deeper for Publicity Gems 

But there are many other opportunities for you to get your client’s name out there. Take a look at your client’s people. You might be surprised at what you find. People want to read about other people, not boring business announcements. 

Here are a few less obvious–but equally newsworthy–opportunities: 

• Community activities. Encourage your client to talk up their time or monetary donations. Don’t shy away from telling this story, or worry that it’s self-promotion.
• Profile an extraordinary employee. Take time to interview some of the company’s employees to see if you can identify someone with an extraordinary story. It may be someone who has overcome tragedy or achieved success against the odds.
• Connect with a social trend or bigger event. Anytime a company can connect what they’re doing with a national or international event, holiday, trend or special happening, you have a potentially newsworthy story. Help your client review their annual planning calendar to see if such publicity opportunities might already exist. 

Changing Role of PR 

Also consider the impact that blogging and social media are having on PR. You’ve heard the term PR 2.0. While the term might be a fad, the concept is not: The media is no longer the gatekeeper for one-to-many communication. 

Since it’s much easier to directly reach targeted groups of people, you can deliver targeted news more frequently to the people that find it interesting. Examples could include detailed customer success stories, commentary on industry news and special announcements to customers. Blogs, Facebook, PR Wire, Digg, Reddit and Slashdot are a few of the most popular direct distribution websites. 

Final Check 

Finally, here are some key questions to consider as you’re determining what “counts” as news: 

• Is the story compelling? Interesting stories deliver greater impact.
• Are we focusing on people? People want to read about people, not things. Tell people’s stories.
• Who would want to read this story? If the subject matter is interesting to a large audience, it is more newsworthy. If it’s interesting to a more targeted audience, try to reach them directly. 

Encourage your clients to repeatedly tell their most compelling stories. Over time, they’ll increase their visibility and conversation with the marketplace.

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Today I ran across PR 2.0, a great blog by Brian Solis. Brian is Principal of FutureWorks, a PR and New Media agency in Silicon Valley, and is among the original thought-leaders who paved the way for social media. 

Brian does a great job of covering the role of PR in new media. What is his main point? 

PR is changing, and it’s fueled by technology. The Web and social media have created transparency that allows PR people and their clients to truly engage with the public. 

If you’re stuck using traditional PR or working with clients that need to move (or start) a conversation online, devour his stuff. Check out his free ebooks, including

PR for Startups

The Essential Guide to Social Media 

If you’re new to social media, it can be intimidating and confusing. How can Facebook help me grow my business? What’s the value of a 140 character messaging system?  Who uses social bookmarks? Why should I create a wiki? 

All are great questions. I’m still learning, but everything started to click when I realized that all of the social media sites are about having one-to-many conversations on the web. Some sites focus on video, some on pictures, some on music, some on links, some on documents and some on personal profiles, but they’re all about sharing and communicating. 

For visual learners, Brian created a great graphic called the Conversation Prism that shows all the different social media categories and sites for the “conversation” on the web:

If you’re just starting, read his ebooks and focus on generating word of mouth online. 

The benefits are substantial: 

• Sell your expertise with content.
• Expand your PR.
• Generate leads.
• Strengthen your competitive positioning.
• Build your brand.
• Improve your customer retention.

While the names like Web 2.0, PR 2.0 and eventually social media may seem like fads, the essence of them will not fade away. 

It’s simply too powerful.

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