PR vs. Advertising – Why Publicity is So Valuable

Sir Richard Branson, multi-billionaire of the Virgin Brand has been quoted as saying, “Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front page ad.” The reason for this is that an ad is something you pay for and it’s a message you are putting out to the world. Publicity comes from someone else so it has credibility. It’s what they call earned media. It’s not you telling the world how great you are, it’s someone else telling the world about you.

Here’s a great example. Everyone probably has a Joe’s Pizza in their community. Say you are flipping through your local paper and you see an ad for Joe’s Pizza that says it’s the best pizza outside of New York. Then, you flip back a few pages and there is an article entitled, “Hidden NY Pizza Gem,” and it’s written by someone from Brooklyn who moved to your area three years ago and they are telling you this is the best pizza they’ve had since leaving New York. Which one is going to make you want to go to Joe’s, the ad or the article? Of course the article because it’s someone else giving Joe’s Pizza credibility.

This is what Richard Branson meant. The value of that third party credibility is incredible.

So how do you get publicity? You need to make your business newsworthy. Right now and for the next five weeks, anything you can relate your business to the election is newsworthy. That’s all anyone is talking about so tying your expertise into that, increases your odds of getting free publicity.

Here are a few examples:

Realtors – what impact will either candidate winning have on the real estate market, property values, or interest rates.

Authors – what have you written about that relates to either candidate – honesty, body language, communication, or health & fitness.

Social Media Professionals – what impact is social media having on the election.

Speakers – what can we learn about the candidates from their speaking styles after the debates.

Brick & Mortars – what impact will either candidate winning have on small business?

The press has to fill news 24/7/365 so why not offer them a newsworthy story idea and let it be your business featured in their next story.

If you want to learn more about how to do this or anything else to generate buzz and visibility for your business, get our free video series at www.GMCTips.com.

To Your PR Success,