How to maximize your publicity

When you have a small business, publicity is your friend. With good publicity on your side, your business will develop a positive reputation and which in turn will bring you more business.

Once you have publicity, whether it is a profile in the newspaper about your business or an award you receive, you will want to maximize that publicity as much as possible. The more you do this, the farther your publicity will go and the more business you will attract.

The following are some tips for maximizing your publicity.

Learn how to write press releases.
Press releases are a great way to generate and maximize publicity. Not only that, but they're free; you simply write one and send it to your local publications or news rooms. Another reason they are good promotional tools is because they reach a wide audience.

You can write a press release for a number of different things, such as the opening of a new store, the introduction of a new product, your grand opening, or participation in a charity event. Call your local newspapers and ask who to direct your press releases to, and then make sure you write a well-written, error-free release. It's also important that you send it to the correct editor, or it will end up sitting on the wrong desk, or too much time will pass for it to be useful.

Jog memories
Another way you can maximize your publicity is by jogging people's memories about things like awards, articles you were featured in, and so forth. For example, if your dentist office was voted "Best Dentist in the City," put that on your sign to maximize your publicity. If you have handed out surveys to your customers and 95% of them would recommend your services to a friend, put that on your brochure or your marketing materials. If you were featured on a news program, put, "As featured on Channel 5 News." on your materials.

Be newsworthy.
The greatest way to get publicity and maximize it is to do things that generate publicity. So make sure you get your business' name out there. Sponsor events, donate time and service to causes throughout the community, and do other things that will get your business publicity. This will not only show that you care about your community and various causes, but it will also generate positive publicity for you.

This is a great promotional technique since you will most likely be getting free publicity for your event as well. Make sure you advertise, send out press releases, and call local news stations to cover your event. Pass out information about your company to those who attend.

Get your timing right.
Timing is often everything, so consider what you sell and when you are selling it when trying to maximize publicity. For example, don't publicize your store's great deals on room fans or air conditioners in the middle of winter.

Make sure you're targeting the right audience.
You will need to have a plan in place to make sure you are targeting the right audience. Otherwise, your maximized publicity will be useless. Identify the audience who will be the most interested in your services and events, and make sure you publicize in places they will see.

Positive publicity can be a turning point for your small business. It will increase awareness and promote a good reputation for your business. These are a few tips on how to maximize publicity.