MessageWorks, Inc. - How can my company get its fair share of publicity?

How can my company get its fair share of publicity?

First, let's dispel a basic myth about publicity: it isn't free.

Yes, it's true that you don't pay for editorial mentions the way you purchase advertising space or time. But there is a cost to generate good publicity for your organization. And most of that cost lies in the time invested to:

Cultivate and maintain good relations with appropriate media

Remain current about the company's products and business activities

Find creative ways to make news about the company appealing to editors

Whether you use people within your organization or an outside source like MessageWorks, you do have an investment in publicity. But it's an investment that can pay great returns. You see, positive editorial mentions have greater credibility with your audience than any paid advertising, Web site content or sales message. This is because they are presumed to contain unbiased information that an editor feels is valuable to his or her readers.

So how can you make publicity work for you? Well, we believe getting effective publicity is a shared activity between you, the client, and a partner like MessageWorks. In this arrangement we both have specific roles.

Our responsibilities include:

Continuously learning about your products and markets

Establishing relationships with designated client contacts

Establishing and maintaining contact with relevant publications

Identifying and exploiting editorial opportunities

Researching and writing editorial as needed

Issuing programmed publicity releases

Placing original editorial in appropriate publications

Preparing press kits, planning and executing special press events

Tracking and reporting results

Your responsibilities include:

Establishing specific objectives for the public relations program

Giving us access to the people within your organization who are most knowledgeable about editorial subjects

Sharing marketing goals and strategies

Responding promptly to editorial requests

Together, we can ensure that your organization gets the editorial recognition it deserves using such publicity tools as:

Product releases are appropriate any time there is news about a product or service. This means new product introductions, existing product improvements, line extensions, new applications or markets, new accessories, and new warranty, distribution or service policies.

Informational offers include new product literature, technical or white papers, transcripts of speeches, specification guides, posters, videotapes, Web sites and more.

General business news includes personnel changes, promotions, awards, facility expansion, new distribution, etc.

Design/manufacturing stories discuss the design of a new product or how it is manufactured. This information can be as newsworthy as the product itself if it involves some new approach or technology.

Bylined articles help position the company as a leader in its field. These tutorial articles typically deal with application, installation, specifying, maintaining, operating or troubleshooting the product.

Industry commentaries such as interviews and editorial round-ups position a company as a leader. So do addresses to industry conferences, participation in panels, trade-show symposiums and the like.

Case histories tell readers about real companies using your products. They have the ring of truth and acceptability because they focus on how a company like the reader's benefited by using your product or service.

Special events. A press conference can be a useful tool when you have something truly newsworthy to present. The more informal atmosphere of a press partly allows your people to meet members of the press one-on-one. And Press Days are opportunities to bring the press to your facility for tours and information sharing.

Of course, to enjoy the greatest benefit from these and other publicity tools you must use them consistently and well. Which begins by establishing an annual publicity plan including action items, completion dates and budgets. An experienced partner like MessageWorks can create and manage a publicity plan for you, or help you execute your own plan.

MessageWorks, Inc.
6077 Far Hills Avenue, #190
Dayton, OH 45459
Phone: 937-272-2051
E-mail