PR For Small Businesses — Website Design In Columbus, Ohio
PR Communications for small businesses doesn’t have to be scary. In today’s episode, I interviewed Yiema John, a PR specialist located in Columbus, Ohio, and helping entrepreneurs nationwide.
“Communication is something that we all need to be good at,” says Yiema, “...whether we're communicating with friends and family to a C level executive.”
For her, the way that people communicate, such as why they say the things that they say or why they connect with what they connect with, has always been interesting. She started her career as an intern with a local radio station while attending Ohio State and focusing on strategic communications.
After years of corporate experience, Yiema has been freelancing and helping others hone in on those communication strategies she’s acquired. With all the craziness of 2020, communicating with intention has been at the top of Yiema’s mind. So she launched a blog that showcases her passion for teaching people and assisting in any way she can.
What is PR?
Yiema describes public relations as “...building up the affinity that the public has with you and your brand. She also dispels the myth that PR and social media are the same things. They’re not. Public relations is publicity. It’s the attention that your brand earns, whereas advertising, and sometimes social media can be bought.
When it comes to a small business, what you're going to want to do to help be intentional with your public relations is figure out who you're trying to talk to and speak to that person directly.
Pro Tip: “The biggest shift that I have seen in the past few years has been this movement away from what is curated, and perfect.”
People want a narrative. They want to hear the the the nitty-gritty. Ultimately, they don’t want the pretty and proper - they want authenticity. “So when it comes to how you're using that, in your publicity in your PR strategy, you want to share why you're in your business, you want to share what is so important about the service that you do?” Yiema goes on, “Because chances are, there's probably a million people who do the same thing that you do, what makes you different?”
For a small business, being able to differentiate itself from others is crucial. You have to tap into who your audience is, what interests them, and when they want to interact. Then ask yourself if you’re providing value.
When it comes to PR, everyone has a story.
Many small business owners get stuck in the day to day that they don’t see how they have a story that’s truly worthy of promoting. Sometimes, it could also be based on culture. We don’t want to seem conceited, but, as a small business owner, you are your own biggest cheerleader.
Yiema knows everyone has a story. Whether you sell sponges or a service - it’s about honing in on that narrative. From there it’s about the best places to feature the service or product.
Is PR just about getting magazine features?
No. Although that may work for some businesses, there’s a lot of ways to get your brand, business, and story out to the public. Whether it’s a celebrity swag bag or a television promo. The ultimate goal of PR is to get people talking about you and see the heart of your brand or your product. “That's what gets people to say, all right, I feel comfortable giving my money to XYZ company here,” says Yiema.
How can entrepreneurs hire the right PR partner?
Yiema states that understanding how the PR investment will work for you is key. You want an advocate for your brand and business and avoid being just another client on the list.
“You also have to be really realistic about your expectations,” she says. “It takes time, you have to build the relationships with the media, you have to be able to find the right people to present a brand to so whether that is pitching to different brands, building up those databases, doing the research, finding the bloggers who would even want to cover your stuff.” Essentially, there’s a lot that goes into laying a foundation before being featured in The New York Times. So you need to be willing to wait for the ROI to come.
Although there are the random businesses that get found by a celebrity - that’s uncommon. Most businesses need to grind to get in front of those people. That can also be where your story comes in. “Everybody loves a good Cinderella story. It's inspirational. It's aspirational. And it's those things that make you feel like, oh wow, I can do anything I want.” You want your PR partner to “mine for gold” within your story.
Make time to connect with your PR person. However great your public relations partner is, they can’t support you if you’re not providing feedback on strategy or answering questions.
How does a small business PR specialist start working with a small business?
It all starts by talking about goals. When you’re ready to hire a PR person, you’ll sit down with them and see if they understand where you want to go. Think about where you want to be 6, 12, and 18 months from now. Dive into the research and understand your target audience from the inside out.
Don’t take a PR contract that’s less than 3 months. You want to give time to build that foundation, and “...that you have a solid database, that you have those contacts in the media, local or national, or that you at least have a game plan and storyline pitches that you can send out to these people too.”
What are the red flags when choosing a small business PR partner?
Don’t work with someone who is too forceful with you, especially if you’ve never worked with a public relations person or agency. Yiema says, “...some people will try and put some heat on you, right, and I think that anybody who isn't going to be empathetic to the investment, the time or just the newness of you, is not somebody that you want to work with.”
Don’t work with a PR person who will shut you out. “...you want a partner, someone who's going to look at your business as their own, someone who's going to adapt to your brand, who's going to love your brand, and let you do so be willing to share that excitement,” says Yiema. “If they can't get on board with it, if they're not truly about it, if they're not about that life, then they need to keep it going.”
Don’t choose a PR professional when they aren’t willing to collaborate with your team. This is for the small businesses that have their team in place, even with a point person.
Ultimately, you want a PR pro you trust that loves your business because “...it takes a lot of heart to get the rejection, and bear the brunt of pitching to journalists…”
Lessons from 2020.
“I think that 2020 shook us to our core on a monthly basis. Personally, financially, mentally, we were pushed to the edge,” says Yiema. She believes that it’s completely normal to be ending the yeara bit shell-shocked.
“But the thing to remember is that there are lessons here, and there are things to apply into 2021.” Small businesses need to take hold of these lessons instead of running from them. Don’t avoid them.
Quoting her dad, Yiema says, “You know what? 2020 just kind of amplified, who we already were, for better or worse.”
Whether you were a positive person and dove into it, was a person of faith and went that route, or already had a shaky business at the beginning of 2020. “If you were just kind of hanging on by a thread, well, it exposed you.” Knowing this, Yiema suggests being intentional with our strategy including public relations.
Remember why you went into business, and it wasn’t’ to wear a million hats.
“No one goes into business for themselves, because they love doing a million things,” says Yiema. She’s right. We go into business to do what we love and serve others. Whether it’s a product for babies, a candle that smells divine, or a wedding photographer - it’s because we love what we do. But it’s after taking that leap of faith into your business that you truly realize what it’s like to wear multiple hats - even all in one day.
“So with that being said, for a small business, to be intentional with their communication can translate into generating more sales, reaching out to the right customer, as well as just saving their own money and their sanity.”
Yiema believes that because we’re so busy, that we end up throwing something up on Facebook without a second thought - and again, she’s right. Or we sign up for all the different social media platforms which only adds even more to our to-do lists, makes us non-cohesive, and confuses our potential audience.
Be intentional with everything you do, including social platforms.
The temptation to be the first on a platform is high. Ultimately, it comes back to whether you want to add it to your list. Does it make sense for your business, or you? And if you want to test it out, do it - but with a plan. Know what the goal is and how you’re going to figure out what you’ll use the platform for.
Stop looking through lists of small business marketing tasks (or at least take only those that apply).
Just like being the first one on a new platform or the business on ALL platforms, small business owners also need to stop looking at marketing tactics lists on the internet. You know the ones. They usually have a title like “The Top [insert ridiculous number here] Marketing Ideas For Your Business.” Be intentional and only apply the ones you truly believe will move the needle forward.
About Yiema
Yiema John is a freelance PR/Communications guru in the Midwest, Columbus, Ohio, She’s on a personal mission to inspire you to live a more fulfilling and intentional life.
You can find her on her website and catch the latest event here.
