Unlike Elon Musk and regular haircuts, public relations is showing no signs of losing relevance.
While it’s had a reputation for being somewhat of an industry secret, public relations is an effective way to spread your message at all stages of your business’ timeline, and it’s going to continue to be a great tool throughout and post-COVID.
We love running PR for new venues (see some releases here and here), but existing venues also have plenty of opportunity to take advantage of PR’s wide reach—read on for a crash-course on PR, and how (and when) to make it work for you.
PR and marketing— what’s the difference?
While we could provide you with a long-winded explanation of each, we think it boils down to: marketing concerns ideas for increasing sales (and the execution), and public relations is using other people’s platforms to share the news!
While marketing relies on your owned platforms and spaces (like socials, EDM databases, in-venue collateral etc), public relations is all about sharing your news and assets with other platforms (like magazines, blogs, radio shows), so they can do the work for you!
We focus on the food and lifestyle space, so we’re often looking to web-based publications, print publications including newspapers and magazines, and industry publications. Some PR campaigns we’ve seen great coverage for existing venues includes Great Friday by One Fish Two Fish, and Riverbar and Kitchen’s Cuban Nights.
Is PR still important?
We think so! Post-COVID, PR is going to be invaluable to remind people outside of your existing audience of your offering, and will remain a crucial tool to access more traditional mediums like print media, television, and radio.
Additionally, reminding editors, coordinators, and publishers of your business and what you’re offering can make them more likely to contact you for future press opportunities! We recently saw great PR results for Brisbane Distillery’s hand sanitiser, accessing coverage on Channel 9 news, as well as in Gourmet Traveller’s digital coverage.
Can you DIY PR?
You can… but bear in mind that PR as an activity is heavily relationship-based. PR professionals curate their media relationships like a precious menagerie and have established the relationships that make gaining coverage for a client much easier.
That being said, it’s always worth a shot to pitch in your news. If you do, give them everything they need! You’ll see that our releases include relevant links, images and contacts for further information, making it that much easier for the receiver to push publish with minimal back-and-forth.
Remember that while PR can be a cost-effective method for increasing your exposure, it does need an investment of your time to collate assets, pitch out to platforms, respond to further enquiries, and follow-up. Additionally, don’t be surprised if you get asked for spend in exchange for coverage, and consider whether that’s a good approach for your business.
If it all still sounds a bit muddy, send us an email on hello@liquiditymarketing.com.au to discuss whether PR is right for you, and how we can help!