Why small businesses don’t believe public relations are important cornerstone to growing their business is perplexing and troubling. At times, public relations gets enveloped within the marketing arm of business but they are not one in the same. Marketing is the promotion of goods and services to a consumer with the aim to make a profit whereas PR is the promotion of goodwill and communication between the company and its publics (clients, shareholders, etc.).
To simply, we’ve outlined the below benefits that come with PR’s inclusion to your marketing plan:
Shows legitimacy of your business
Ads are ads and if no one is vouching for your product or service, they’re less likely to be willing to try it out. That said, if a third party carries that information in an unbiased manner, consumers are more likely to give it a try for themselves.
Source of inbound links to your site
Backlinking is one of the oldest but most effective SEO tricks that can bring traffic to your business. When press carries your story and links to your page, it is the source of quality traffic to your site.
Awareness to new audience
PR gives you an opportunity to be exposed to an audience larger than just your immediate clients. And the more you implement PR strategies and get your brand out there, the wider of a potential net you’ll cast of prospective clients interested in your offering. But make sure you’re targeting the right publications that are relevant to your target market whether it be by industry or geographic location.
Support the sales efforts
PR can be used to support other sales and marketing efforts put forth by your business. In this manner, your business will be able to craft consistent messaging across all channels. While advertising can certainly build a surge of individuals looking for information about your company, PR efforts can validate those marketing efforts.
Creating an online reputation
If your business is mentioned in a PR article, the information will remain visible online longer, giving potential customers a starting point with which to research your company. Adding several media mentions will only build your online reputation and increase your visibility in search engines and with potential clients.
Read more from Ronn Torossian:
Ronn Torossian on Forbes
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Ronn Torossian on Business Insider
