Best of 2014: Top 5 Public Relations and Branding Posts

Best of 2014: Top 5 Public Relations and Branding Posts

Here are five amazing resource posts and guides that will help you take your public relations and branding skills to the next level in 2015.

diy pr
1. 10 DIY PR Tips That Will Help You Become Your Own Publicist

When you’re thinking about starting a business your checklist and budget may include finding employees, manufacturing, leasing an office and getting a website designed. If public relations or marketing end up on that list, they’re usually listed at the bottom, which is a huge mistake.

With the barriers of entry to starting a new business so low there is a lot of noise in the marketplace and a ton of competition, which makes it hard for even great businesses and brands to get noticed. But if you don’t have the money to retain a PR firm or publicist right now, that doesn’t mean that all hope is lost.

With the tips in this post, you can take matters into your own hands, empower your team and start getting the press and recognition you want for your business.

[READ] 10 DIY PR Tips That Will Help You Become Your Own Publicist

quit job in godaddy commercial
2. The Ultimate Guide to Quitting Your Job To Pursue Your Passion

Four years ago, I quit a great job to pursue my dream of owning a PR firm, so I’m inspired by anyone who wants to make that move. One of the questions that I get a lot these days from people who are looking to start a business is, “What should I do before I take the leap?”

Looking back at my own mistakes, if I could have done things differently, I would have definitely followed the tips in this post!

[READ] The Ultimate Guide to Quitting Your Job to Pursue Your Passion

(Dave M. Benett/ Getty Images Entertainment)
3. How To Request Product Samples From Brands

At some point in your career, you’ll be tasked with a project that requires you to reach out to brands to request product.

In my lifestyle PR role, I often receive requests for my client’s products and as a lifestyle blogger I’m the one making the request.

Having been on both sides of the equation, I’ve made and seen my fair share of mistakes from people who don’t quite understand how the process works. Recently, a friend of mine who runs a rapidly growing consumer product business shared her frustrations with me about the types of requests she’s getting from people who haven’t actually researched her company or from people who approach with a sense of entitlement; thinking that because it’s a small biz, they can make certain demands.

The tips within this post will demystify the whole process.

[READ] How to Request Product Samples From Brands

robert daly
4. 5 Reasons Deskside Meetings Should Be a Bigger Part of Your PR Strategy

Desksides are one-on-one meetings with reporters at media outlets where a brand or executive wants to get coverage. We typically look to book a deskside appointment when a client is launching a new product, making an announcement that warrants the one-on-one or simply to introduce an executive or brand to a particular outlet and/or reporter.

These meetings, which can last anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour (longer meetings are rare), are an important part of our firm’s media relations strategy because they greatly increase opportunities for coverage, especially for some of our lesser known clients.

If you’re not scheduling face time with the reporters who cover your client’s industry; start now. 

[READ] 5 Reasons Deskside Meetings Should Be a Bigger Part of Your PR Strategy

Terrence J at a P&G Influencer event in 2013. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
5. 4 Things to Consider Before Selecting Influencers for Your Next Brand Campaign

Brands aligning themselves and their product with relevant celebrities or tastemakers through product placement or endorsement deals is an age old practice.

However, over time, celebrities have begun to take a more entrepreneurial approach to their careers, shunning the traditional endorsement deal in favor of ownership stakes, licensing deals, equity investment or developing and selling their own products altogether. The rise of digital technology and social media has leveled the playing field by providing regular people with tools to amplify their own voices and increase their influence; thus, making themselves more attractive to brands.

Even as the lines have blurred, and debates about who among the celebrity or blogger set wields the most influence, the fact remains that strategically working with influencers is still a great way to get people talking about or purchasing your product or service.

[READ] 4 Things to Consider Before Selecting Influencers for Your Next Brand Campaign

– –

Comment Below: What PR + branding topics would you like me to cover on Hashtags + Stilettos in 2015?