10 Best Ways to Attract Publicity
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A perfect brand or business is not so perfect without publicity or visibility. So even if you have a multi-million dollar business idea, you need to sell that idea. You need to attract publicity.
If you're wondering, publicity is creating awareness or visibility for your product, brand or business. Putting your business out there in public, selling yourself, your brand or your business is publicity, and every business needs this. And so, in this article, I have highlighted ten ways to attract publicity for your business and subsequently increase sales or patronage.
I will be focusing on those seemingly little things that, in an actual sense, bring good publicity for your business, so read on.
Below are 10 Ways to attract publicity for your business
1. Choose your brand name wisely
Maybe after reading this article, some people would have to go and change their business names. To imprint your brand or business in the hearts of people, you need a good name. Your business name should be short, simple and easy to remember. It should at least tell a little about your business because this is what you would be known for by the public.
Let me give you an example. Let's say I sell Zobo drinks of different fruit flavours, my business name could be *Zobolicious drinks*. The name is unique and hearing the business name, you'll have an idea of what I do. A restaurant named Food Mattaz is also a good example. For more on branding, read the 5 Secrets of Branding.
2. Use of social media presence to attract publicity
You can attract publicity for your business through the use of social media platforms. With platforms like Scrollforth, Facebook, Twitter etc., you have the opportunity to sell your business or brand to the public. Using business pages, posting good content (basically giving value), using the right hashtags and so on are all activities that could help you build a solid social media presence and that exactly, is good publicity.
And believe me when I say that a solid social media presence means more publicity, more sales and more money for you.
3. Attract publicity for your business with discount offers or bonus sales
I understand that it doesn't seem easy or sensible to give out your products or service for free or sell them at a lower price when you haven't made enough profit. But do you know that this would help create good publicity for your business?
Most vendors have confirmed that they record the most sales turnover during bonus or discount sales and it's a good avenue to increase your list of potential customers. This is because many of your customers would refer you to their friends just because you're having a bonus sale, and these referrals would end up being your loyal customers soon enough.
4. Sponsorships or affiliations
Sponsoring events or working with other businesses, brands and NGOs to organize events would help you reach a wider audience. However, if your business cannot afford a big event for now, then stick to a mini-event. All that matters is your business is out in front of a wider range of audiences.
I have seen the big brands or businesses like Coca-Cola, First Bank, and Indomie adopt this method. This proves the effectiveness of this method. You have to sponsor a mini-event with a wide range of audiences who are your potential customers, sell yourself to them during the event, and watch the sales conversion rate.
5. Use promotional materials to increase publicity
Using promotional materials is one of the best ways to attract publicity for your business. This method of creating hype for your business could be a bit expensive, but it is worth the try. If you're following a low budget, then make use of cheaper gift items like note pads, writing pens or umbrellas, something you can afford and imprint your brand name and logo on those gift items.
You can give out these gift items to loyal customers to appreciate them for supporting your business. You can also give it out as a thank you gift to those that patronize your business or as a gift for those that refer you. Before you know it, everyone has a gift item with your brand identity on it. Those people would act as ambassadors for your business and help you to increase publicity for your business.
6. Flaunt good customer reviews for your business
After selling your products or delivering service, cultivate the habit of requesting reviews from your final consumers. Let them know that they can tell you sincerely how they feel about your product and service.
Every good customer review you get, flaunt it on your social media platforms for everyone to see. Let your potential customers see that you are good at what you do. Good reviews speak louder. They help people trust your business and give an excellent public view of your business.
7. Efficiently handle bad reviews or bad publicity
Most business owners often think that a bad review is the end of that business. But No! That is not true. Instead, how you handle that bad review or that bad publicity determines how much harm it does to your business.
For customers that give a bad review, all they need is reassurance that they can still trust you. Talk to them politely, do not give excuses but apologize for the error or misunderstanding and promise that it will never happen again. And if you can, provide a replacement or issue a refund. Never ignore lousy publicity. Instead, confront it and seek redress. See also 3 Ways to Deal With Negative Criticism.
8. Make use of brand ambassadors to attract publicity
We all know that Influencers have a large audience or followers who trust and respect them. These people have many engaging audiences who could become your customers if they promote you. You would only need to pay a sum of money to them to promote your brand or business or give them a commission for every sale you make through them.
If you can't afford the service of full-blown influencers, you could find brand ambassadors who believe in your brand or business vision or objectives. These people would help you to gain publicity for your business. You only have to make sure to pick a person who has a good image in society and not someone of questionable character who would give your business a bad reputation.
9. Learn from other brands
It is funny that some business owners see others in the same line of business as their competitors as enemies. If you are among those that think that way, your business will most probably not grow. Your competition is not your enemy, you should learn from them.
If other brands are more popular than yours, study and adopt their methods. Find out what they are doing right that you are not. You don't have to copy them outrightly, be creative with your own ideas. But be open to learning from others, even your so-called enemies (competitors).
10. Let your work speak for you
It would be a huge waste of effort if, after working so hard to attract publicity for your business or improve your brand visibility, it is damaged because you offer inferior products or services.
Sure it might take time, but if you're excellent at what you do, your work will speak for you and create that good publicity your business desires. So even as you strive to attract publicity for your business, find new ways to improve your business, product, or service. Read also How to Become a Master in Your Field.
And so with these few points of mine, I hope I have been able to show you good enough ways or methods to attract business publicity.