Grow Your Visibility and Sales Through a Solid PR Plan

Public relations is a lot more than getting a front-page story in the newspaper or going viral on Tik Tok. Publicity like this may get your name out there and capture attention, but the biggest mistake I see business owners make is thinking that this fleeting attention alone will solve their sales problems.?

The magic in PR is taking a big publicity win and building on it, creating ways to capture the contact information of those who Google you after seeing you on TV or following you on Instagram. Capitalizing on PR wins through digital marketing is the key to seeing bottom-line results from publicity. And ultimately, PR is reputational, so it doesn’t end after the article or news segment. It encompasses all of the ways you show up for your potential clients in the wider world.?

Planning your PR requires honing your message and defining your target audience. I often find that many people have never thought about who their target audience is, making it impossible to reach the right people. If you’re not speaking to your audience, your message will never be heard, or acted upon.

A PR plan is a strategic communications plan that works best when implemented into the basic operating structure of your business (this goes hand-in-hand with digital marketing). Effective PR requires strategy and intention. Having a good plan in place protects your time and energy, and invests in the future of your business because 70% of businesses that plan and stick to their plan see growth in sales year-over-year . Without a PR plan, you leave it up to others to define your voice, potentially sacrificing your sales and the power of your influence.?

Instead of PR living in a silo, PR works best as a funnel that incorporates digital marketing services. Utilizing the two together means more bang for your buck. PR builds your reputation, making your business be seen - while digital marketing makes it sought after.

One of the mistakes I often see when a company doesn’t link PR in their sales funnel is not having a solid, signature offer that serves as the entry point for clients who want to work with you. For example, if a potential client reads about you in the news or Googles you, they shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to hire you. If they do, they will likely give up before they even make it to your landing page. PR can only do so much if you don’t have a solid digital sales funnel to streamline the process for the folks you want to talk to?

After I was a guest on a podcast, we had an extra 50 more people download lead magnets from the Full Swing website . This was a direct result of having a PR plan (podcast guest appearances) that flowed into our digital marketing sales funnel (lead magnets). Those folks are now on our list and receive news of our wins, offerings, and PR and digital marketing lessons on a weekly basis.?

Successful PR makes it possible for your story to be shared with the audience that you want to reach. Once you start focusing on building and implementing your PR plan, you'll start seeing wins like:

• After regularly posting articles for our digital marketing client, their CEO’s LinkedIn impressions grew by 41% in the last 6 months.?
• A talented, experienced attorney who read about our law firm client in a regional business journal guest column and joined the firm, bringing a solid book of business with him.
• No more shaking trees and cold-calling. Now, prospective customers come to our design + build client as a result of them regularly publishing LinkedIn articles, winning business awards, and writing guest columns consistently for several months.

Join my free webinar on June 29th at 11 am MDT/1 pm EDT ? to learn how to create a winning PR plan that will help you make headlines, grow your brand’s visibility, and increase the impact of your PR.