You might have an incredible brand or business, but what good is it if no one knows it exists?
Like one of my past PR expert guests, Ulyses Osuna, said on the Entrepreneur Before 25 Podcast, “The most common pitfall people fall into when it comes to media is they don’t feel like they’re worthy enough to get PR.”
At some point in our journeys, I’m sure we have all felt this way. But it’s simply not true. Each of us has a unique story that needs to be heard, no matter where you are in your writing that story.
We need to get over that limiting belief in order to get our story out into the world. Today’s article will share the top key PR principles to increase your brand’s exposure.
Disclaimer: For simplicity reasons, I will primarily be talking in terms of your personal brand in this article. However, all these same principles can be applied to your business’s brand as well.
CRAFT YOUR STORY:
What is the story you want people to hear about you? There are many ways to go about crafting your story. You can ask yourself the major wins you’ve had in life, the trials you’ve had to overcome to get to where you are today, the significant life events that have molded you into the individual you currently are, and the list goes on.
However, the important aspect to remember is that you control the narrative. You can decide the impact you want to make on people and position your story to fulfill that need. It’s up to you to organize your truths in the fashion that you want to be known by.
For example, when I was crafting my story, I asked myself who I wanted to impact. In my case, I wanted to impact and speak to the younger generation of entrepreneurs. So, I always highlight and focus on the parts of my story that highlight that best. In all of my bios, interviews, and articles, I put a high emphasis on the ages I started my businesses, the things that I faced specifically as a young entrepreneur and the mindsets that I had to have because of my age. As a result, my brand is positioned to be a millennial entrepreneur thought leader who speaks out about calling yourself to a higher standard of greatness and living a life of whole life balance while chasing your entrepreneurial dreams and goals. That is much more niche than being known as a young business owner which would have been the case if I hadn’t been intentional about crafting my story.
BRUSH UP YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT:
In 2018, if you don’t have an online presence, you essentially don’t have much credibility or authority in the online space. Essentially, you don’t exist to a certain extent. As much as I don’t like to point this out, it is reality. And this reality is only going to become more and more real as time goes on.
Think about it, when you first hear of someone that piques your interest, what is the first thing you do? You look them up on social media or google. What you find there is the first perception that you develop of that individual.
One of the first, basic things you should do after you define the story you want to be told about you is to brush up your digital footprint. Once you build yourself a solid online presence, credibility and authority in your space will come along soon after you get a spotlight on your name.
Don’t worry, you don’t have to have millions of followers of visitors to your online platforms. But you need to have a funnel for people to go to.
Where do you start with this sometimes daunting task? I’ve narrowed it down to two key items.
Spruce up your social media
This is something we can all do relatively easy. Decide where your audience is hanging out the most and focus on building that platform first. Then start posting content that aligns with your story and how you are positioning your brand. Post this written content along with quality photos. Quality photos are highly underrated because they can make or break your online presence! Get some good professional headshots/action shots taken of yourself and start posting away. Be consistent with this and start connecting with your target audience in a meaningful way.
Build a website for your personal brand or business
Building a website doesn’t have to be complicated. It could simply be a landing page with the key information you want people to know on it. A website is important for SEO purposes. If someone types your name into Google, what comes up first? You want it to be your website and your social media/any main publications you’ve been in. Use those professional pictures that you had taken to build a simple landing page. Wix and Squarespace are super easy platforms that almost anyone can use for this.
BECOME A CONTRIBUTOR:
Now comes actually getting your name out there! Where do you start with this? Because the reality is, starting is the hardest part when it comes to getting press. But trust me, if you are doing something worth noticing and you start getting your name out there, pretty soon the interviews, articles and press features will start flooding in and you’ll have to start saying no to them!
One of the best ways to start getting this result is to become a contributor. If you start contributing/writing for different publications on topics you’re defining yourself as an expert in, it will become highlighted to other media outlets and pretty soon instead of you writing the articles, people will be writing articles on you. Heather Desantis, one of the PR experts I’ve had on EB25, says that this is one of the most effective and powerful tools for getting the ball rolling on obtaining more brand exposure.
Reach out to HuffPost, Inc, Entrepreneur, Influencive, or any other publication that interests you and pitch your article idea to them. Be persistent and eventually you’ll hit the jackpot. When your name is attached to these articles, it will bump you up in google and accomplish all the above keys as well- Getting your story out there, brushing up your digital footprint and overall, increasing your brand’s exposure.
Don’t underestimate the power of PR for your brand and your business. You have a story, share it with the world!
