From Journalism To PR: What Have I Learned During My First Month At Source?

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It’s been roughly a month or so since I started my role as an Account Executive here at Source, and the time has flown!

So, with that in mind, I’m going to try to give you a brief synopsis of what I’ve learned during my first month.

One thing has become immediately clear since moving over from journalism and into PR and marketing – I’m having to employ a high level of proactivity that, perhaps, my previous roles didn’t necessarily require.

I’m no longer reacting to press releases appearing in my inbox, interviewing business leaders, or hounding the phones for potential news stories.  Instead, I’m having to think outside of the box a bit, juggle different client needs, and deliver on the campaigns in place – all of which is an enjoyable challenge.

What does that involve then?

Well, rather than searching for stories, I’m searching for publicity opportunities for my clients at Source. For example, interview or feature opportunities for client businesses or submitting awards as they’re a great way to enhance their reputation and build credibility.

Social media is also increasingly important to client businesses and to ignore it would be suicide for a company looking to broaden its customer base. At Source, I research and create posts for my clients that cover a wide variety of topics, from industry news, people developments to charity initiatives.

Writing social media posts is a small contribution, but a few posts a week can keep your followers in the loop with regards to what’s happening on the inside, and what a company is doing to either improve its reputation or give back to the community.

It’s also been rewarding to get a better feel for some of the company’s software which helps identify and target key journalists or influencers and the social media scheduling and analysis tools which ensure we target the right post at the right time and to the right audience.

Time allocation

At the moment, I still feel like I’m getting to know Source PR, how we operate and, of course, my clients, but everyone here has been really helpful since I’ve arrived and I’m certainly starting to find my feet!

So far, I’ve also spent time has been spent writing blogs and building content for client websites, which has also really helped me get to know them. Curating the weekly social posts for the clients I look after is another great opportunity for me to familiarise myself with them, their industries, and the top industry publications.

But, because of the more proactive nature of PR, I’m starting to realise that the sooner the more ‘scheduled’ tasks can be done, like the socials, for example, the better! This then allows more time to look for new client opportunities or to add value to campaigns which helps cement existing relationships.

How’s it going?

In summary, I’m really enjoying it so far! I know which aspects of the role I can make my own and where my strengths lie, but I also know what I need to do to become a proficient Account Executive. Hopefully, with the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, I’ll be able to head out and meet with some of our clients, too – it will be good to put some names to faces! So, as far as I’m concerned, it’s onwards and upwards from here.

 

5 REASONS TO USE A PPC MARKETING AGENCY POST-LOCKDOWN

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As the UK eases out of lockdown, and more businesses open their doors again in the ‘new normal’, many are likely wondering how to get customers to trust it’s safe to visit again, and how to boost sales after months of inactivity. The truth is, there are many ways in which you can rebuild your brand’s trust and also introduce it to new potential consumers. One thing you might consider, is a PPC marketing agency.

PPC is otherwise known as ‘Pay-Per-Click’ and is a paid advertisement where the fee is worked out by the number of times a link has been clicked on. Most commonly, PPC is seen on Google, which merges with YouTube too. PPC usually works well when running alongside paid social, another method worth considering for your marketing strategies.

PPC can be an effective marketing tactic, no matter your budget. It’s also an advertising option applicable to most, if not all businesses. You could be a small company, or large-scale corporate, and PPC would still likely bring about measurable benefits to your business.

5 Benefits Of Using A PPC Marketing Agency

So, why use PPC? And moreover, a PPC marketing agency? A PPC marketing agency is a business that offers PPC advertising services to other businesses. They sometimes also offer other services too, such as paid social, SEO and more. An agency can sometimes be utilised instead of an in-house team, or can work alongside them. Here are 5 reasons why you might consider PPC now your business is back up and running…

  1. You’ll get easy-to-measure results

One of the best things about PPC advertising, is that you can measure and track your results, pretty much from the word ‘go’. If utilising PPC through Google, you can use data studio to record KPIS such as clicks, goal completions and conversions. If you marry your PPC strategy up to your Google Analytics too, you can also check bounce rates and more. You can see what elements of your campaign is working and also see the results right before your eyes – putting more faith in PPC.

  1. You can reach your target audience

PPC is also a popular marketing choice as you can target your audience with algorithms. With keyword research, you can identify what your potential consumers are searching for and then target them with your PPC strategy. This is particularly worth thinking about when 95% of clicks go to the top 4 results on the search page – 3 of which are ads. A PPC marketing agency will know how to effectively locate target keywords and then utilise them within a PPC strategy.

  1. Refining your strategy is easy

As mentioned above, tracking your PPC results is easy. As such, refining your methods are too. If you find out something isn’t working, then you can turn that element of the ad off. You can use trial and error to test keywords and home in on the tactics that are succeeding and driving the most conversions.

  1. Learn from other businesses

A big benefit of working with a PPC marketing agency, is that they will likely have experience in a wide range of fields. If you opt to work with a company that has B2B as well as B2C clients, then you can discover what’s worked well for them, and how that could benefit your own PPC strategy.

  1. Work with experienced professionals

Lastly, one of the main reasons why companies choose to use a PPC marketing agency, is because they are experts in their field and have a wealth of experience. When working with an agency, their bread and butter is the service they offer. Furthermore, there’s usually more than one person working on your account.

PPC marketing agency statistics for 2020

Credit: Econsultancy

Other Marketing Strategies To Use

Marketing works best when you focus on more than one tactic, working towards the same outcome, using different strategies. This is what’s known as a marketing strategy, and it can be the key to a successful business in a post-lockdown world. Whilst there are many benefits of using a PPC marketing agency, you might want to consider an integrated agency that offers the whole hog. Other tactics well worth considering, and all for different reasons, include…

If you’re looking for a PPC marketing agency, that has experience in the fields above too, then why not give us a call? We are a PR, marketing and digital agency with a whole range of skills – we can help with your PPC advertising goals, as well as use our other expertise to help your business thrive in a post-lockdown world. To get in touch, give us a call on 01829 720 789, or contact us online.

9 WAYS TO GENERATE PR FOR SMALL BUSINESSES & SMES

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Getting publicity for your business, especially in times such as these, is important. A sound PR strategy can help to increase your leads, boost your sales, widen your consumer base and also improve your overall brand awareness. If you’re a small business or SME (turnover of around £1.5m+) it’s important to communicate with your stakeholders and spread the visibility of your brand, so you can turn your SME into a larger scale operation. Chances are, you won’t have a fully-fledged internal PR team to guide your strategies, you might be looking for a PR agency to support your organisation, but until then, we’ve put together 8 easy tips around how to get PR for small businesses and SMEs…

Why Bother With PR For Small Businesses & SMEs?

But first, PR (Public Relations) is the function of protecting and improving your brand visibility and reputation.

Not only does it work in safeguarding your brand against any public backlash and handling your communication strategies in a crisis, but a great PR strategy will also help to grow your reputation and make your business name more recognisable amongst your target audience.

This can be through growing your social media following or generating awareness of your business in relevant media outlets – both of these, along with other PR tactics, work to an overall aim of making your small business name more recognisable. They include:

We will touch on them further below.

Some very large organisations may have an in-house PR and marketing team, others, as well as SMEs and smaller businesses, may utilise the support of a PR agency, like ours.

9 Ways To Generate PR For Small Businesses & SMEs

There are a number of ways in which you can generate media attention and publicity for any brand, we have covered them here. With smaller organisations, you may have to work a little harder to get your name out there – there will likely be some degree of competition no matter what industry you’re in, so you need to make your brand memorable.

From our years of experience in PR and Marketing, here’s 8 ideas we would recommend you test to generate PR for your small business

1. First, plan

Know what you want to say and mostly importantly – to whom. What are your USPs, strengths and benefits? How do you want people to see your business? This vital planning will help shape your communications that can be consistently delivered via a number of channels, be it media, social or online.

2. Turn your business stories into news

If you’ve done something amazing as a business, turn it into news and let everyone know about it. For example, if you’re supporting a cause this can help to strengthen your reputation and position you as a responsible business if you spread the word. Likewise, trade titles are often interested in appointments of senior staff. You may be surprised at what makes a good PR story. Start by publishing information on social media, and then perhaps get in touch with the local papers with a press release, to see if they’d like to write about you.

3. Be chatty on social media

One of the best ways to build your brand reputation is to maintain an active voice on social media. PR covers online presence as well as getting media coverage in print, making sure you’re putting out great content on relevant channels and engaging with your customers is a key PR tip for small businesses and SMEs.

4. Communicate consistently

Even in hard times such as the Coronavirus outbreak, it’s important to keep communicating with your consumers. Don’t let them forget about you, and then turn to your competitors instead. As a business, a loyal consumer base is vital so ensure that you remain a consistent flow of communication through avenues such as social media, media appearances, email marketing and so on.

5. Be friendly with journalists

Even if you have no news to share, you can still get PR coverage for your small business or medium enterprise by remaining friendly with journalists; they might be looking for a business to feature in a round up piece – and could opt to use you if you’re on their radar. This tip is better matched with a PR agency, who will have a large database of journalists that they have built.

6. Make use of PPC & social ads

It’s worth considering PPC and social media advertising in your strategy, a great way to generate guaranteed exposure of your organisation. You’ll need to read up on the best keywords to target and then make sure you’re utilising the channels that your target audience frequent the most, but as with any other step, it’s important to remain consistently visible.

7. Consider influencer marketing

Working with influencers is still a viable way of generating PR for your brand, influencers are often trusted sources of information, with around half of Gen Z and millennials saying they trust their opinions. Create a database of reliable accounts and negotiate with them to promote your product or service.

8. Support charities & the local community

Everybody loves a good, positive story… So, make one. You can generate PR for small businesses, SMEs and multi-million-pound businesses by working with and supporting local charities and your community. Whether this is through fundraising, sponsorship or perhaps providing free goods and services to worthy causes. Doing fantastic things is a sure-fire way to achieve regional PR coverage for your small business at the very least.

9. Track & share your coverage

Most importantly, it’s crucial to track any PR coverage you might have achieved and share this to further strengthen your brand’s reputation. If you’re finding it hard to place where your brand might have been covered, you can set up Google Alerts for the name of your business. Be sure to share coverage on the relevant social media channels to further reinforce the integrity of your brand.

If you’re in need of further PR support, then why not arrange a free consultation with us to see how we can help strengthen your reputation and grow your brand. The Source PR is a PR Agency in Cheshire, North West, with over a decade of experience in supporting SMEs to larger corporations with PR, social media, marketing, SEO and more.