Raising awareness about your brand is an essential part of any company’s success, but this is especially true with smaller brands. We’ve mentioned in previous articles that PR has the power to create perceptions, shape opinions and create buzz. As publicists, we help tell the story of your company and products – reaching not only tastemakers, but also your target audience – whether that be your immediate community or the overall general public. In simple terms, we strategically get the word out!

Here are a few other key reasons:

• As a small brand, your budget may be limited, but moreover, you are most likely wearing many hats. By investing in a PR agency, you can take the time-intensive task of promotion off your plate and hand it over to professionals who have the know-how to navigate the tricky waters of editorial outreach and have established connections. You can now take this extra time and invest it back into other areas of your business.
• Public relations is more authentic and more economical than advertising. Consumers place more value on third party endorsements because they know that the message portrayed was not paid for by the brand. It is also more economical since advertising in multiple mediums is typically quite expensive.
• As publicists, we have an insider’s eye to what is currently trending editorially and can provide feedback on any product development.
• Because PR agencies are constantly working with long lead times, we can advise on when product samples are needed for certain editorial deadlines, ensuring that you do not miss crucial opportunities for press.

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Recently, we asked Daniella (of Dress, Design & Decor) to design a set of postcards for our thank you needs, since we write many each month. Postcards make the thank you process very quick, easy and painless. Daniella totally understood our aesthetic of modern simple elegance, and produced some beautiful designs. Below is a peek of one!

When we speak with potential clients, we can usually tell very quickly who can articulate their vision and has clearly defined their brand. Thinking about certain questions and formulating concise answers can not only help your company move forward, but can greatly help others who support and strengthen your brand – such as graphic designers, photographers, retailers, showrooms, the media, and of course, PR professionals.

Here are a few questions every business should be asking themselves:

1. What is my company’s story? What makes the brand unique?
2. Who is the target consumer and what do they care about?
3. Who are the current customers and do they align with my target? If not, what needs to be adjusted to reach the target market?
4. Is the product, packaging and messaging consistent with the overall vision for the brand?
5. Which media outlets are good fits to reach potential target customers? (A PR agency can provide guidance here.)
6. What are the goals for this year? 2 years? 5 years?

Have more questions about PR or interested in how a PR agency can help you? Contact us!

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• Blogging allows your consumer to get to know the “real person” behind the brand. When your brand has a “voice,” it allows your consumers to develop a personal and possibly long term connection to your product or service. Essentially, this helps build a following for your company. Just remember to be personal and professional.
• Be creative and engage your reader. For instance, offer exclusives such as sneak peeks or contests on your blog. Incorporate images, video or audio. It’s a wonderful way to interact with your target consumer and get them excited about your company.
• Boost your company’s SEO. Your web presence increases each time you blog and interesting content can be linked from other websites or blogs to yours. Overall, it helps build more traffic to your website.
• Share the latest news, events and accomplishments of your brand. People who are interested in your brand may share that same excitement you feel.
• Establish yourself as an expert. Take a step toward being viewed an industry leader by sharing your experience, tips and advice with others.
• Editors and bloggers are also consumers, and may be constantly reading blogs for exciting content and products. What you blog about could spark interest and possibly turn into press coverage for your brand!

PR is the practice of actively creating and managing the perception of a brand. It can shape opinions, inspire action and influence beliefs. As publicists, we are not only strategically creating buzz for your company but also consistently shaping and strengthening the messaging for your evolving brand.

We are often asked what the difference is between advertising and public relations. Here is a simple explanation:

• Advertising is a paid placement where you have complete creative control. Savvy consumers know that an ad is paid for by a brand.
• Public relations is a free placement such as a newspaper or magazine article written by a journalist. A brand (nor their publicist) cannot control what is said in these placements. It is viewed as a third-party endorsement with a journalistic slant, and thereby, creates credibility for your brand.

At Moderne Press, we strongly believe that every PR campaign should be well-rounded and touch all aspects of the media, including print, broadcast and online. (That’s another topic that we’ll expand on at a later time!) Brand recognition helps everyday consumers connect to your product or service; over time, a strong brand identity is formed, which leads to increased sales over the long term.

While our PR campaigns are customized to each client’s needs, on a day-to-day basis we are reaching out to key editors to secure editorial placement for the brands we represent. We also plan events and media tours, conduct social media outreach, secure product placement, develop press kits, and consult on a brand’s image.

Have more questions about PR or interested in how a PR agency can help you? Contact us!

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• Helping provide interesting and unique home-grown content – As traditional media continues to experience downsizing, editors and producers at local newspapers and TV stations have begun to rely more heavily on their community for original content in terms of “who’s who” and “what’s new.”
• People want to buy from and support local companies - The growing movement to support local entrepreneurs and buy goods produced within a 60 mile radius of where you live, has allowed many small boutique brands to take the first steps in growing their businesses. Consumers rely on their local media to inform them of these small businesses in their own community. When small business, media and consumers agree to buy more locally produced goods, the community as a whole becomes stronger and more sustainable. Everybody wins.
• Local articles can be picked up by national magazines - Editors at national magazines have been, on occasion, known to look locally for content. For instance, freelancer Wehtahnah Tucker, writes for The Coast News, a weekly community newspaper covering the North County region of San Diego. She has written several articles that originally ran locally and then went on to be picked up by magazines such as Parents and Parenting.
• Increasing your level of credibility as an expert - Many brands are first written about in their local newspapers. Building a relationship with your local media helps you become familiar with the “media process.” Take these opportunities to hone your interview skills and become a local expert.

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FOR THE MEDIA
The purpose of a virtual press room is to streamline relevant press materials and make them easily accessible for an editor. It should anticipate what a media representative would be looking for and address those needs.

Overall, you should keep these three elements in mind: easily searchable content, contact information and an uncomplicated layout. (If you prefer to keep press materials private from the general public, we recommend setting up a media-access only area on your website.) In more detail, this is what should be included:

• Contact information for your press representative, including an email address and phone number
• A simple layout showcasing recent press
• Press kit materials in a PDF format that the media can easily download
• Linesheets/ lookbooks in a PDF or flipbook format

Bonus Features:

• Hi-res images of your products, as well as photos of key company executives
• Any images of celebrities with your products
• An archive of news and/or press releases
• Video content that can easily be linked or embedded
• Quotes from key company executives
• Story ideas, if applicable

FOR THE CONSUMER
An online press room can create a larger overall feeling of validity for consumers who are considering purchasing your product or services. It shows that your company cares about how they are viewed in the public eye. It also assures consumers that time, energy and resources have been invested in your company’s image and that your brand has been well-received by its target audience. If a consumer sees that your products have been included in their favorite magazines and blogs, you have a better chance of capturing that person as a customer because someone (ex. their favorite magazine of choice) also validated that your products are unique and worth buying because they chose to include it in the pages of their magazine over hundreds, even thousands, of other products.

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• The most important thing is to develop relationships with bloggers that truly love and appreciate your brand! Write personal emails, leave comments on their blog, etc. - Chelsea from {frolic!}
• I think what’s key to approaching a blogger is to know their audience. I, for one, will only post about modern pieces or weddings for my site.  Other sites will exclusively post about vintage, or DIY or traditional. It’s a good idea to take a look through the site to get a sense of their aesthetic, and then if your product fits that aesthetic, by all means email away. – Vane from Brooklyn Bride
• Make sure your product is a good fit before approaching a blog, otherwise you’re wasting your time and theirs. If you can somehow relate it to a past post, or give your product a unique story twist, all the better! I once had someone advise me (since I come from a PR background) that really the media wants you to do the work for them. I can now say that that’s absolutely true. We want quick facts and we want to know what makes you unique. Think about it this way – chances are that unless your product is TRULY the first of it’s kind, we’ve probably seen some version of it before… so why would we pick you to feature? Connect the dots for us. Maybe we come from the same city? Maybe we know someone in common? Maybe your product has a great story behind it? Tell us that – briefly. – Cassandra from coco + kelley
• Always include photos! Bloggers get a lot of submissions and it’s great if they can quickly glance at a photo or an easy link to get an idea of the style. And on that note, have great photos! If you can’t afford a professional photographer, take photos in natural light (next to a window) with clean backdrops! - Chelsea from {frolic!}
• As a blogger, I depend on great images of a product, so my number one tip to new businesses pitching wares would be to send publish-worthy photos. They can definitely be in a smaller file size format for the introductory email, but high quality photos are priceless. I recently had this situation with a designer whose dresses were definitely blog worthy, but the photos made them look horrible. Invest in good photography! And, while we’re on that topic, I would recommend sending 2-3…maybe 4 photos at the most. Select a good variety and your best pieces. – Cassandra from coco + kelley
• PLEASE please please proofread who you’re sending the email to…I can’t tell you how many times someone has sent me an email addressed to someone else! It’s just embarrassing and guarantees that I will not email back! – Vane from Brooklyn Bride
• I won’t blog about something just for a random giveaway. However, when it’s relevant to my blog and readers though, a little gift is a great way to spark some interest and excitement. A lot of people have yet to discover the power of this online design “community” we have – news spreads fast! – Daniella from Dress, Design & Decor
• I am bombarded with pitches daily. It usually takes me at least 2-3 days before I respond to one (unless I’m really excited about it, or it happens to fit perfectly into a story I’m working on). If we don’t respond right away, don’t get frustrated. Send a simple follow up email in a few days, and maybe another one in a week. If you still don’t receive a response, we’re probably not interested. Don’t take it personally! And, don’t stop trying. If you add pieces to your line, are involved in an exciting event, have been featured in a magazine… those are all great reasons to send a follow up email later down the line. If we really don’t want to hear from you, we’ll probably ask to be removed from your list. Otherwise, keep ‘em coming, but at a reasonable pace. – Cassandra from coco + kelley

If you’re also a blogger, please share your tips with us! If you’re a brand, ask your questions! We’ll make sure to get answers to you in another post or directly via email.

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