How Leaders Use PR To Grow Business

Here’s how you as a leader can use PR to grow your business:

Become a thought leader.

Be a reliable, relevant and trustworthy news source.

Write great content.

Be honest.

Keep up with trends.

Build your media network.

Be consistent.

Seek out publications where you can tribute guest posts and industry events where you can speak.

Assert your position as an authority and expert.

Become a blogger.

Become a public speaker.

Publicize your writing and speaking engagements.

Consider starting a podcast.

Consider creating a brief video and sharing it on YouTube.

Become a contributor or guest blogger.

Pick a social media platform and focus upon it.

Develop a system to connect with referral sources monthly.

"Meet" at least one influential journalist each month.

Build media relationships.

Be proactive.

Be well-prepared for every meeting with the media.

Create case studies and success stories.

Tie in with seasonal themes, holidays and commemorative occasions.

Gather market data and develop analytical insights, so that even in the absence of news, you still have stories and angles to offer.

Create a newsworthy and memorable PR campaign that you can update, improve and repeat.

Focus upon your newsworthy unique selling propositions.

Leverage your key sustainable PR and marketing differentials.

Update all your PR and marketing materials and your website.

Tell your own story.

Set up your brand identity.

Use social media extensively.

Appoint a spokesperson as an authority.

Build up your media network.

Establish clear, measurable goals for your business

Determine the best strategy to achieve these goals

Follow through on the strategy

Determine your "why."

Establish your ultimate goals for your PR campaigns. 

Build your own media list.

Read what journalists are covering.

Find those that are talking about your industry and competitors.

Before you pitch any journalists, really make sure that what you're sending is relevant to what they write about, their publication, their audiences and their interests.

Create a strong, custom-tailored brand message.

Use highly personalized, short email pitches.

Research your key competitors and take note on how they are positioning their brand and how you can differentiate your own firm.

Study the kinds of news and stories your competitors are sharing with media.

Build up a rapport with journalists.

Realize that building great media relationships takes time.

Strive to be fast to respond to requests from journalists, offer them timely and personalized information and don't over-pester them with follow-ups.

Build up your social media presence.

Have a consistent brand and brand message.

Be sure you’re creating the right content uniquely catered to your audience.

Ask for help as needed from a PR consultant or PR firm.

A great PR partner can help your voice be heard and then use the right PR tools to help you communicate with your audience.

Publish and engage on social media sites.

Develop a robust presence for your business on social media sites.

Speak at events.

Give to charity.

Use mobile and the web.

Form strategic PR alliances.

Consider teaching workshops, seminars, adult education or other types of classes.

Serve as a paid speaker or columnist.

Do regular email newsletters.

Publish regular hard copy newsletters.

Always be networking.

Stage and harness special events.

Do email campaigns.

Use Facebook apps and ads.

Do digital advertising.

Speak and exhibit at trade shows and conferences---and publicize what you do.

Get and give referrals.

Put on seminars.

Issue catalogues.

Issue free white papers.

Offer eBooks on your website.

Offer free trials of your products or services.

Engage in traditional advertising as well as advertising online.

Leverage social media and content marketing.

Do and publicize community & civic involvement, philanthropy and charity work.

Have great voice mails.

Do webinars.

Do podcasts.`

Be passionate about your business.

Become expert at networking.

Cultivate your ability to sell and promote your products and services.

Develop the ability to communicate your vision effectively to investors, customers and staff.

Project a positive business profile.

Develop a well-framed PR narrative.

Cultivate a strong industry point of view as a thought leader.

Build an email marketing list (and send announcements of news value to your subscribers).

Review your PR results and establish new a new PR strategy once your goals are attained.

If one PR pitch doesn't work, be patient, wait and try a new PR angle when you have something truly novel and newsworthy to share again.

Create a PR plan with small, manageable sequential action steps for you to take so you'll be able to follow through on it.

Get acquainted with your customers individually.

Keep your business customer-centric.

Become well-known as an authority and expert.

Create a sustainable competitive PR advantage with a clearly defined unique selling proposition.

Invest in your business and yourself.

Be transparent and accessible.

Establish a rock-solid reputation.

Sell benefits.

Be selling the benefits associated with your business.

Become active and philanthropic in the community that supports your business.

Follow-up constantly.

Hire a public relations advisor & social media advisor to advise, guide & inspire you!

P.S. What would YOU add to this?

The author, Dr. John B. Charnay, CEO of Charnay and Associates in Greater Los Angeles, is a leading and award-winning public relations advisor...and a top social media advisor. He has been a strategic PR advisor to many famous celebrities and Fortune 1000 CEOs. He is also a leading leadership coach who has groomed some of the top leaders in key industries. He has extensive experience teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels at leading universities throughout the greater Los Angeles area, including USC, UCLA, CSUN, FIDM, Woodbury and Pepperdine. To meet him and ask for his support, invite him to be LinkedIn (email in profile) and contact him today!