Many companies equate PR (a.k.a. Public Relations) with press releases and media contact aimed at promoting a new product, a company acquisition, a new executive, a big sale for the company, financial reports, etc. This type of PR, with its singular goal of getting media coverage, can be a great marketing vehicle—as a tool for generating publicity. But there is more to Public Relations than publicity alone.

In fact, the Wharton School defines Public Relations as "communication with various sectors of the public to influence their attitudes and opinions in the interest of promoting a person, product, or idea." With this broad definition of PR, it is easy to see that while media coverage can be powerful, public relations should also integrate with, and become a bigger part of, your overall promotion strategy.

Here's a 3-step approach to efficiently and effectively integrating public relations with promotions:

1. Write press releases around a white paper and/or article. We've said it so many times...but it still warrants repeating...no matter your industry, value add content is a marketing treasure chest. If you haven't already, you need to write articles or white papers that educate and inform about your industry perspective, your technology or process, your customers' successful use of your products or services, and/or some positioning topics that illustrate your expertise. Then, write a press release (keep it to one page) summarizing the piece and announcing its availability on your website. (Example press release promoting a white paper.)
   
   
2. Share the announcement with your existing database (by email and direct mail). At the minimum, you need to send these press releases directly to existing customers. This is one of the best ways to reinforce customer loyalty. And for even more promotional impact, you should send these announcements to your target suspects and prospects, encouraging them to engage you by going to your website to retrieve a copy of the article or white paper in question. This should be done by both email and direct mail. The direct mail can be in the original press release format as a letter or as a postcard announcement, depending on your list profile and size. (Example postcard promoting a white paper.)
   
   
3. Post your Press Release over the Wire. The wires (such as BusinessWire or PRNewswire) are traditional mechanisms for distributing news releases to reporters in the media. In recent years, they have become much more than a media only resource and now are a way to distribute information to a broader audience. Here's how it works. Anyone can subscribe (for free) to certain wire feeds—by industry, subject, or location. After subscribing, they then receive the press releases that have been sent over the wire and fit the criteria they chose at sign-up. These alerts are received via RSS, news tickers and/or other electronic means. SO, by posting your white paper and article press releases "over the wire," you are promoting them to both reporters AND potential customers. This gets you exposure to your broader audience, even if the news is not picked up by a media organization for publication. (Example of RSS service from BusinessWire.)

Integrating public relations and promotional campaigns in this way creates credible lead magnets and captures quality leads for your sales team. What are you waiting for? Give it a try!

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