As a small business owner, you might believe that effective public relations and social media management are a distant dream, reserved for businesses with expansive budgets. I’m here to assure you it’s not. You can generate remarkable publicity, create engaging content, and leverage organic social media even on a shoestring budget. Here’s how:
Step Up Your PR Game
Publicity revolves around storytelling. Compellingly presenting your business’s story will make journalists and, by extension, the public, take notice. Start by identifying your unique selling propositions, business values, milestones, or customer success stories that will resonate with your target audience. Tell us your origin story, why your passion turned into a business, and who YOU are. People buy from people.
Reporters write stories. Tell them why your story is newsworthy – find the relevant media outlets for your niche, research the outlet, blog, website, or podcast, and find out what they have covered in the past. Write your pitch and send it over with a concise, captivating press release — engaging headline, compelling narrative, and quotable content. While well-known publications are worth targeting, don’t ignore smaller, local niche publications — they often cater directly to your target audience. Re-share the stories on your owned media channels – social media, blogs, websites, and even a framed print of your news story resonates with your audience.
Engage with local community activities or sponsor local events to increase visibility. Be proactive, maintain relationships with media personnel, be responsive, and accommodate requests wherever possible.
Crafting Your Content Calendar
A content calendar provides a strategic, structured approach to content creation for your blog and social media. Begin by identifying key holidays, industry-specific events, and other important dates relevant to your business. Then, brainstorm blog post ideas or social media content that ties into these dates.
The key to effective content is consistency and diversity. Mix promotional posts with thought-leadership articles, behind-the-scenes insights, customer testimonials, and curated content. Ensure regular posting—ideally, 1-2 blog posts per month and 2-3 weekly social media posts. Utilize scheduling tools like Social Pilot to automate posts for optimum times.
The Power of Organic Social Media
Organic social media might be slower to yield results compared to paid campaigns*, but its importance for small businesses can’t be understated. Organic social media enables deepening relationships with your audience, fostering trust, and community building. In addition, it is a great tool to encourage online engagement and dialogue with current and potential customers.
*Quick Note About Social Media: Paid campaigns are needed for social media growth. A healthy mix of organic and paid is the best strategy. As you build your business and budgets are tight, it makes sense to set aside a small amount of money each month for paid campaigns to help attract your audience.
Create value-driven content that resonates with your audience. Engage in conversations, ask for feedback, and respond to comments. Utilize all the features your chosen platforms offer — stories, post types, live videos, and more. Optimize your profiles using relevant keywords to improve visibility and discoverability. Include a link in your profile that leads to your website, your online store, other social media channels, affiliate links, and lead generation pages to capture emails.
Remember, every share, like, and comment can lead to a bigger network — a network of dedicated, engaged followers who see the value in your content and connect with you on an emotional level, as well as a professional one.
With the correct strategies and a little creativity, you can shine as brightly as businesses with more extravagant resources.
See you soon.
Michelle
