Public relations is often discussed with respect to big business: the very term PR may have come to imply corporate hegemony, calling up images of large communications firms hired by even larger conglomerates to shape public discourse, perhaps in bad faith. If you’re a small business owner, these things might seem to belong to an alien world.
But hold on a minute. For one thing, public relations is simply a form of communication, only as nefarious or virtuous as the parties involved. Yes, PR in business can be a means of deception, but it can also be a means of telling the truth, of reassurance, of expressing sincere gratitude or pride, and of strengthening the relationship between a business, its customers and its partners.
For another thing, small business PR is by no means unheard of; it’s a well-established and valuable specialty. You don’t have to be CEO of Walmart to take advantage of a good communications plan, which is why we’ve drawn up this list of savvy tips for public relations for small business.
The Importance of PR for Small Businesses
The benefits of public relations for small business are endless — from gaining exposure and creating emotional connections with your target audience to positioning your business as an industry leader and cultivating brand trust. Public relations for small business owners also offers the opportunity to collaborate with other brands and cast a wider net than your current audience — attracting more business leads and generating buzz to entice savvy talent hires.
But the most important element of public relations for small business is the hard-won trust and credibility it can produce. Brand recognition, trust and affinity can’t be achieved overnight — it requires a thoughtful approach that will pay off in dividends when your small business builds legitimacy and grows faster.
The bottom line is that PR will help you scale your small business and achieve your overall goals, and an effective PR strategy doesn’t require a large budget or huge staff to execute.
The Top 10 Public Relations Strategies for Small Business Owners
1. Know Your Audience
If communication, such as PR, is the bedrock of a good relationship, then knowing your audience is the bedrock of good communication. Is your small business PR campaign B2B? You need to understand where your partners, clients, etc., are trying to go with their own endeavors. You need to think about what their businesses require to flourish and help them see how association with you promotes those outcomes. Is your campaign B2C? You need to climb inside the minds of the individuals who patronize your company. Are they choosing you for convenience? For price? For cachet? For lack of alternatives? Small business owners with a PR strategy that works have this in common: a keen intuition about the emotional and pragmatic motivations of the people receiving their message.
2. Invest in Earned Media
One of the most powerful public relations tactics for small business owners is aiming for recognition in media unaffiliated with your company. Traditional ads work, but people trust them less than “earned media,” i.e., promotion by sources without an interest in your business’ success. Old-guard media like print and TV news, though beleaguered by competitors in the digitized world, still convey credibility and rigor not yet matched by their all-digital counterparts. That authority can do a lot of work for you as part of a small business PR strategy.
Don’t let fantasies of front-page praise inflate your expectations though. News media typically don’t cover highly promotional stories, and in any case their audience may not intersect much with yours. To have a chance for placement in such sources, ask yourself: does my business relate to a larger theme in my community, such that media outlets might see a public good or a public obligation in talking about it? Let this larger theme be the focus of your small business PR pitches.
As a salient example, let’s say you own a health food store during a pandemic. Why not pitch a story to a reporter about improved health outcomes from immune-boosting foods, many of which you just happen to have to put on sale at the front of your store? A big part of public relations for small business owners is connecting yourself to ideas and movements that have traction already.
3. Seek Out Testimonials
As one would expect from the ubiquity of social media today and the general preference of earned media to paid media among consumers, testimonials carry a lot of weight in modern marketplaces. More than 90% of people check online reviews before making purchases. Small business PR campaigns built around positive reviews, customer satisfaction surveys, and other accounts of individuals’ experiences harness the energy of these trends.
4. Work with Influencers
This is really an extension of the previous point. Today the so-called influencer — a person with a lot of followers on social media — is a powerful ambassador for companies looking to raise their brand visibility. Of course, having someone like Beyoncé brag about your company would be nice, but if you’re a public accountant in Iowa, that’s probably a long shot. This is where micro-influencers come in.
Micro-influencers have between 10,000 and 50,000 followers. They’re typically more affordable to work with and more available than bigger names, and their audiences are often clustered around a single pursuit, profession, or interest — maybe the same one your small business serves! In many cases, working with influencers in any capacity will not make sense for your company. However, in 2024, no piece of PR advice for small businesses would be complete without acknowledging the impact of social media magnates on consumer behavior.
5. Analyze and Learn from Competitors
An easy-to-overlook public relations tactic for small business owners is competition research. Find out what kind of public relations your competitors are putting out, discard the parts you think won’t work, and imitate the parts you deem advantageous. Don’t be shy about borrowing from others’ good ideas when devising your small business PR strategy.
6. Be Funny
File this one under “High Risk, High Reward.” When you think it’s appropriate, adding a little comedic edge to your small business PR could make your campaign seem more authentic. If your audience is surfeited with traditional business communications, a conversational style that doesn’t play it safe could come across as invigorating and trustworthy.
Best case scenario, your PR campaign goes the way of the Wendy’s Twitter account, and you can immediately quit your real job and write snarky posts full time. Worst case scenario, your attempts at humor blow up in your face, and you actually lose business. Weigh the pros and cons carefully, and when in doubt stick to a less controversial tone.
7. Tell A Story
Effective public relations for small business owners requires crafting a narrative linking the business’s life and the lives of its customers and partners. Whereas a larger company’s PR campaign might have room to assume that their audience already knows all about the company, focusing more on the prestige they’ve already established, small business PR campaigns are usually an exercise in gaining trust rather than maintaining it.
Instead of incorporating themes in your PR in a haphazard or experimental way, make individual items of communication conform to a predetermined central idea, a story. This consistency will make it easier to help people see the value in investing in your endeavors.
8. Create Content, Not Ads
You may have noticed a pattern running through this list so far: artifice, disingenuity and in-your-face sales tactics are discouraged. The modern consumer has deep familiarity with advertising; this seems to have produced a cynicism that will defeat your small business PR strategy if you are not careful to make your representations match the facts.
The best PR comes down to sincere messaging. Share what you’re proud of and what excites you. Remember that audiences crave real, genuine stories over curated, unattainable perfection.
9. Take Part in Community Events
Consider taking part in community events, such as fairs, festivals, celebrations, etc., whether by sponsoring them or by participating. These events often get local news coverage, which presents a great opportunity for earned media, and they allow you to connect with your customers, face-to-face, and demonstrate your company’s involvement in their everyday affairs.
Make your business a fixture in your local culture, and you’ll enjoy a host of benefits including word-of-mouth traffic, community support during hard times and better opportunities for future PR.
10. Write and Distribute Press Releases
An effective, direct way to communicate with local media outlets, a press release is a short news announcement that a spokesperson from your organization writes and distributes to local news sources.
Create a list of go-to, relevant press contacts from local newspapers, news channels, magazines, radio stations, trade publications as well as notable influencers and bloggers in your industry to have on hand when your small business has news to share.
Which pieces of news are press release news-worthy? Consider writing a press release when you’re:
- Launching your business
- Opening a new location or changing locations
- Unveiling a new service or product
- Hosting a local event
- Sponsoring a charitable endeavor
- Rebranding
- Revealing a new innovative technology
- Achieved a notable milestone
Debunking Common Myths About Small Business PR
Public relations comes with a host of misconceptions, but we’re here to assure you not to let them deter you. Let’s debunk the most common myths about small business PR:
Myth: PR is the same thing as advertising, but less glamorous.
Truth: Advertising can be expensive and only exists for as long as you pay for the ad to run. PR, on the other hand, is the thoughtful strategy of influential messaging, which can be accomplished with any budget and doesn’t have an expiration date.
Myth: Every business needs a whole newspaper or magazine article written about them.
Truth: Not every piece of news warrants an entire news story or magazine article. Effective public relations is about telling your small business’ story through the appropriate and strategic channels that will deliver results.
Myth: PR agencies are too expensive for small businesses.
Bonus: Top Five DIY PR Tools
Small businesses don’t always have the resources for a formal in-house public relations team, but the good news is, there are a myriad of affordable PR tools waiting to be leveraged. Here are our top five:
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- Muck Rack allows businesses to search its database of journalists and media contacts, and offers features such as media monitoring, inbox alerts, direct email pitches to journalists and media list creation and organization.
- PRWeb publishes press releases across the web on search engines, blogs, major news sites and websites. They also offer a library of resources to help you write an effective press release, including free tutorials and press release examples.
- Google Analytics lets you monitor your small business’ online presence for free. Simply create an alert — such as the name of your business, competitors, industry and other related keywords. These Google Alerts are then sent directly to your inbox at your choice of frequency.
- Hootsuite is a social media management tool that lets you manage multiple social media accounts in a single dashboard to help automate social media marketing while increasing engagement. It also helps you find leads and discover social media influencers, and monitor top content, likes and shares, traffic sources and other metrics.
LinkedIn’s business social media platform shouldn’t be overlooked as part of your small business PR strategy — it boasts incredible potential for finding journalists and other professionals who can help you get your PR campaigns off the ground. LinkedIn also serves as a free publishing platform to build your small business’ online presence and establish thought leadership..
Ready to Elevate Your Small Business with Expert PR? Visit us today!
Communications Strategy Group (CSG®), specializes in transforming small businesses into recognized and respected brands. If you are looking for experienced and professional PR support, reach out to us here.
Frequently Asked Questions about PR for Small Business
When Do Small Businesses Need Public Relations?
Small businesses need public relations when they want to achieve their growth goals faster, build brand trust and affinity, boost awareness, establish thought or industry leadership and generate consumer demand. By aligning PR efforts with marketing objectives, small businesses can ensure a consistent message across all platforms, fostering trust and loyalty among consumers.
What is small business PR?
Public relations, or PR, is a strategic communication process that helps small businesses build and maintain relationships with its target audiences. While advertising is paid messaging about your business, PR is earned messaging.
Why is public relations important for small businesses?
PR is critical for building trust, promoting brand affinity and cultivating loyal enthusiasts for your small business who will become repeat customers again and again.
What are elements of PR?
Public relations takes many forms and can include:
- Strategic communications
- Media relations
- Community relations
- Internal communications
- Crisis communications
- Public affairs
- Digital and social media communications
