One of the most talked about new products last summer was the KFC Extra Crispy Sunscreen. Yes, that’s right, sunscreen that smelled like chicken. Actually, the product never reached retailers. But thousands of samples were sent to the media and given away free online. Within days, there were hundreds of news articles and tens of thousands of posts being shared on social media—free mentions that reinforced the KFC brand.
Funny as it may be (and a little gross!), fried chicken sunscreen was a brilliant use of a time-honored strategy for business growth: publicity. The world’s most successful companies are all masters at it—from Coca-Cola to Apple to Starbucks. And yet, effective publicity does not require a lot of spending, especially if you leverage the opportunities for press exposure that abound in our industry.
So what can publicity do for you and your business?
In a nutshell, publicity will markedly fuel your company’s growth—and your career success. By appearing frequently in the press, your sales will get a sizable lift, regardless of whether your company is a start-up or a well-established industry player. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. Here’s how publicity works to grow your business:
1. Publicity drives traffic to your website, which helps you move up higher in Internet searches.
2. It also helps you create a strong, well-known brand—both for your company and yourself. It establishes you as an expert in your field, so people know who to call first if they have a question or need a problem solved.
3. Once you’ve established yourself as the go-to person in your business, prospects are pre-sold when you cold-call them.
4. Prospective customers who are on the fence about working with you become willing buyers.
5. Clients are willing to pay higher prices and remain as clients longer because of your reputation and credibility.
6. People recommend you to others, which fuels even more growth.
7. You establish yourself as a cut above your competitors who don’t get publicity.
8. You attract a higher level of partners who want to work with you, and more partners will want to promote your services or carry your products.
9. You’re in demand as a speaker at seminars, conferences and workshops.
10. Reporters reach out to you instead of your competitors when they want a reliable source, which generates even more publicity for you.
11. You build morale at your company. You attract better people who want to work for you, and your employees are proud to represent you and stay with you longer.
12. You attract investors to your company.
Want to see what publicity can do for you and your company? Try us out for a month. We are confident you’ll be impressed. Just reach out to me at Info@StrategicVantage.com. I look forward to hearing from you!
By Rosalie Berg, President, Strategic Vantage