
Every business owner would love to believe their offerings speak for themselves. But it often takes more than mouthwatering dishes or a well-curated product line to create buzz in the media and among potential diners or shoppers. And that’s especially true for the delivery side of your business.
It takes creative thinking to tell your business’s story compellingly. This is where public relations—or PR—can really help.
DIY public relations
Many small to midsize businesses lean on the insights, advice, and services of PR professionals to get their stories told in magazine pages, news segments, and influencers’ Instagram Stories. But if bringing a professional agency or specialist onboard isn’t in your budget, PR activities can be handled in-house. Here’s a handy checklist to help get you started:
√ Think about what your business is (and is not) and what you want your brand to represent.
Then make sure every story, PR effort, offer, or initiative speaks to this identity. This will strengthen the individuality of your business and help it stand out from the crowd.
√ Set realistic PR goals based on timelines.
Establish clear outcomes and deliverables. Measurable goals will help you assess a campaign’s ultimate success and tell you where you need to make changes and improvements.
√ Share newsworthy announcements with local outlets, critics, and bloggers.
Keep your business top of mind. Think like a customer, and reach out to publications (or personalities) you know that local diners or shoppers already trust for learning about the latest trends and announcements.
√ Consider guerrilla marketing tactics and guest articles for industry magazines.
Get your name and brand out there to deepen your online SEO presence. Brainstorm quirky, unconventional, or surprising ways you can get your business’s name in front of potential customers.
√ Seek out collaboration opportunities.
Give your message more media clout and reach. For example, maybe one of your local suppliers would like to team up with you on a PR initiative to get more press for each of you.