Marketing Insights: B2B Marketing Deadly Sin #5 - Misunderstanding Public Relations

In our continuing series, "The Five Deadly Sins of B2B Marketing," let's look at Deadly Sin #5, which is: "Misunderstanding Public Relations."

Public Relations (PR) is about generating coverage in the media that reaches your target audience. And yet most B2B PR programs spend their budgets papering the walls of editors’ office with news releases. And that paper is intense. Most publications receive thousands of news releases each day – and publish just a few. Sure, the basic element in the PR food chain is the news release. But it only represents an opener that starts the editorial dialogue.

Successful PR placement requires continuous contact and relationship building with editors – over the phone and in-person. Most are overworked and underpaid. Like the rest of us, they appreciate people that make their jobs easier. Editors naturally gravitate toward companies that answer questions fully, provide executives and technical experts quickly, and furnish photos and illustrations that breathe life into complicated stories. Frequent editorial contact and relationship building forges the trust and awareness that pries open story opportunities and secures expanded news coverage in your target publications.

And another thing. Some mistakenly call public relations “free advertising.” First, it’s not free.

You’ll need a PR budget to hire the experienced PR professionals who can generate great editorial coverage. And it’s not advertising. It’s better. Editorial coverage comes with third-party credibility that carries significant weight with readers. Effective public relations can be a great brand building vehicle that takes the pressure off your advertising program (and cuts the cost).

Put most of your PR dollars into media contact, placement, and fulfillment. An appropriate budget ratio would be 30% for news releases and 70% for placement, case studies, and white papers. This approach will produce dramatically more effective news coverage. And can mean the difference between a mention in the “New Products” section, and a cover story.

- - -

There are more Deadly Sins, of course. Want to see the entire series? We've developed a free white paper to help marketing executives avoid these money-wasting, product-killing, and even career-ending mistakes.

Download a free copy of “The Five Deadly Sins of B2B Marketing,” from http://www.tizinc.com/DeadlySins. Or, call us at 781-793-9380.

# # #