• Promotion. The press release is dead. (Long live the press release!) Except in formal situations to make public announcements, the press release is a relic of the past. Instead, share your stories (case studies and testimonials) by blogging. Google loves quality original stories posted on blogs. The stories on your blogs can be sliced and diced into bits and posts, along with photos and graphic imagery, all of which can be posted on your social media sites. Pitch your stories to the press. There is no greater credibility than getting authentic news coverage.
• Perseverance. Now here is the hard part. People who do good works might think that if they do one or two things once in a while and haphazardly, it’s enough to constitute a PR campaign. The use of the word campaign is derived from war, and winning a war requires strategy, discipline and perseverance. You need to schedule your activity on a calendar. All of these elements —branding and messaging sessions, writing a messaging platform, writing case studies, testimonials, blogs, social media posts and pitches to the press — belong on a calendar.
There are plenty of free and low-cost strategies to promote your good works. All it takes is time put into strategic planning, the discipline to stay on task, coupled with high quality writing to keep your story alive.
Patricia Vaccarino gets her clients maximum media coverage of the highest quality. She has written extensively in every professional format, including award-winning film scripts, press releases and press materials that get picked up by media, articles, speeches, website copy and marketing collateral. She has more than 20 years of expertise working with a wide range of national and international clients in all areas of public relations, managing worldwide campaigns for global companies and developing strategy for small firms, startup ventures, nonprofits, foundations and individuals. Vaccarino owns Xanthus Communications and its subsidiary, PRforPeople. In her spare time, she writes books, essays and articles. (Her complete bio is located in her press kit.)