Richard Smith – therichardsmith.com

Judy Sharp – judysharp.co.uk

A little background

• There are about 5 -10 thousand journalists in the UK.

• 54% of all newspaper stories started from a press release, probably the same for the news/radio

• Irrelevant, untargeted, uninteresting stuff from self interested business owners

• No surprise that this PR lark seems hard• There is going to be some duplication

The Power of PR.

• Lord Sugar - has a view on everything.• Branson – is on everything all of the time.• Trainers• Flying to the USA• Lager• Allows me to eat Haribo and drink coffee

What does PR do for you?

• It creates leverage – do something once it stays out there forever.

• Puts you on massive pedestal• Allows you to build a tribe quickly.• But• It’s not always easy to do – if you behave like

the others you get the same as them.

Why Ad Agencies don’t advertise and how that can help you?

• My opinion – they do not do anything for you that can be measured.

• If it can’t be measured you are burning cash.• Pick up a local Yellow Pages/Thomson local- you

will not find one Ad Agency advertising.• No need because they have/use other methods.• High profile in your trade press• Direct Sales Teams• Referral Strategy

What do you need to work out• Where is your market eating/drinking/dancing• What are they reading and watching .• What is their pain?• Collect facts and information, store it, make notes,

pre prepare an opinion/documents.• Write, record, make content for them.• Joint Ventures/Interviews/Guides/Books• Find some easy wins/low hanging fruit• Make sure you are aware of your keywords and

phrases (Google).

Building a tribe.

• Build a tribe or a cult .• Information – Ideas – Solutions.• Right Bait in front of the right critter.

In advance

• Prepare a pack which contains all of the important information about your business – a media pack.

• Get some angles – your opinion (blog about it in advance – just don’t publish them).

• Be prepared to ask – Don’t Ask Don’t Get.

A plan.

• Work out where your target market is hanging out.

• Reading, Listening, Watching• Work out what their pain is?

(forums/publications)• Find out what the story is?• Use alerts/social/watch/listen• Find out who the contact point is (use social

media)

Steps to take

• Low hanging fruit.• Focus on one or two targets initially.• Work out the kind of stories they may need

(pain).• Make it a story/case study make it stand out.• Once you have found a vein of gold repeat it.

MOT – advanced (ish)

• You must meet this standard• Moment of Truth• Evidence• Alter |Adapt | Measure

Points to remember• They are humans.• Right story | Right Time | Right Pitch and a little bit of faith,

with a little trust.• It’s not all about relationships – remember no sex on a first

date.• You need to know who is who try a little research, start with

linkedIn.• Trick - make sure you place the key phrases in the subject line

of any email and follow up with a call or better still call in advance of the email 99% of press releases don’t get read. 99% don’t get followed up.

• Always support your story with at least 2 resources that relate.

Now you have done it tell everyone.

• Put the story on your website/blog/tell your customers.

• Use the online PR sites to further boost the presence.

• Youtube, Twitter,

Who are the people who can help?

Even Easier

1 news story I broke recently.

How did we manage that.

• 2 Tweets.• 1 email.• Featured BBC 4/Surrey/Sussex/ South East

News.• How it all went wrong.

Member Case Study.