How To Create A Standout PR Campaign

10 B2B PR Practices Guaranteed to Boost Your Business

Introduction

With so much information coming from so many sources, there’s an awful lot of noise in the marketplace – and not just from traditional media sources. So the challenge is:

• How do you make your business/product/brand/service stand out from the competition? What is new/different/exciting, and how can you play that up?

• How do you get the attention of the media? Of bloggers? Of social media users?

• How do you create and tell a compelling story about who you are and what you do?

• Who is your audience and how do you reach them?

This webinar will explore these questions in more detail

Best Practice #1: Trumpet HowYou Solve Business Problems

Identify key aspects of your company’s solution focus

Develop creative ways to communicate how you solve business problems

Highlight benefits clients will derive from your “solution” – cost savings, increased sales, efficiency gains, etc.

Best Practice #2: Play Up What Is New or Different About Your Company or Offering

Pick a business or technology innovation, or a trend you are in front of, and use that as the foundation of your PR campaign

Tell a personal story that highlights what makes your company stand out

Develop a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) that makes you stand out. Think FedEx and Domino Pizza’s service guarantees. What can you offer that your competitors don’t? What will fill your prospects’ needs?

Best Practice #3: Tell a Compelling Story About You or Your Company

Talk about your company’s founding, its growth, the trajectory of the business, etc.

Identify something worth promoting about your background or career

Include standard storytelling elements: characters, plot, story arc, tension and resolution

Make it exciting or interesting for your audience

Story Telling Tips from SalesForces’ Marc Benioff

SalesForce went from an idea to a $1 billion company in less than a decade

Benioff credits its success with classic story telling: “We positioned ourselves as revolutionaries and made a story about change.”

Benioff says to make your own metaphors: “Salesforce.com is Amazon.com meets Siebel Systems.”Salesforce.com’s ApExchange is the eBay of enterprise software.”

Best Practice #4: Build Case Studies Highlighting A Problem-Solution Approach

Identify “success story” clients willing to be referenced Gather all the relevant information, data, metrics, etc. related to the

implementation, project, product, etc. Again, use a storytelling approach to convey the details of the case

study in a readable fashion Include key graphics that clearly display the results Identify media targets for the case study – either as a bylined or a

staff-written article

Best Practice #5: Use a “Teaser” Campaign to Generate Curiosity, Interest

Think of the successful Sharp Aquos “see more” campaign

Parse out tantalizing bits of information over time Raise questions in the minds of prospects Create an air of anticipation, mystery and expectancy For B2B surveys, informational videos, podcasts

Best Practice #6:Find and Land a Celebrity Spokesperson

Do some research to identify which celebrities (local or national) may have an interest in your market, your product, your sector, your focus, etc.

Approach them about becoming an official spokesperson for your brand, product, company, etc. Or becoming a member of your board of directors.

Play up the celeb angle to local media For B2B, can be a brand-name customer or regular “Joe” customer with

credibility.

Best Practice #7:Find and Develop a News “Hook”

Play off something in the news: a trend, an event, a happening

Develop a message and copy that ties your business or offering into the news “hook” to convey relevance

Offer expert commentary/perspective, provide significance, relevance to your target market

Best Practice #8: Develop and Promote a Contrarian Point of View

The media loves contrarians, those mavericks who speak out against the status quo or conventional wisdom

Think Ross Perot ’92 and ’96, or “Have a cigarette – it’s the best thing for you” in Woody Allen’s classic “Sleeper”

Develop a contrarian point of view that upsets the applecart of public or business expectations

Caution: Be prepared in

advance to defend

your contrarian position

Best Practice #9:Add Social Media to Your PR Equation

Integrate social media with all of your PR Ad social sharing icons to your press releases, emails

and content Create and maintain a blog, and promote it through other

social media channels Don’t forget about video and multimedia, which gets

shared more than other media

Best Practice #10:Don’t Be Afraid to Don the Guerrilla Suit

Especially if your audience is a younger one, consider an attention-getting guerrilla marketing campaign

Use employees, friends, relatives, etc. as extras and stage a mock demonstration, street theater, march, etc. – and have some fun!

Make sure to distribute

product samples, cards or

various forms of tchotchke

emblazoned with your logo

and contact details

Questions and Answers

Thank you for your time

Marx Communications

Wendy Marx, 203-445-2850

wendy@marxcommunications.com

www.marxcommunications.com