5-PART SERIES: PR MYTHS DEBUNKED
If I was to tell you that you can pitch yourself to journalists and secure media coverage by spending just one hour per week on PR activities, would you believe me?
Would you do it?
Or would you try and tell me that you haven’t got 60mins per week to spend on raising brand awareness, building an audience and driving traffic into your sale funnel?
The notion that PR takes too much time is a belief that’s created by people who have either tried to do it themselves but didn’t know what they were doing, took a scatter gun approach and gave up after a few failed attempt at responding to journalist requests
Or, you’ve based it on what you’ve heard, so it must be true if that’s what Susan told you, even though you’ve not tried it yourself and can’t prove or disprove this theory.
My question to you: Do you believe everything that you hear, or do you give yourself the right to reserve judgement until you’ve tried it yourself?
WHAT IS TIME?
The urge to ask the question ‘what is time’ is at an all-time high at the moment, but I don’t want to scare you off with any theories that time is measured by a clock, that society has taught us we need to live by, when in fact we’re working on our own timeframes…..so instead I’ll take it on face value and talk about time in relation to PR
(Just remember the addage: All good things come to those who wait!)
Now, in most instances, how much time we dedicate to learning a new skill is deteminded by how much we desire the skill in the first place.
If you want to bake your own wedding cake, for example, then you’re probably going to dedicate the time you need to produce a saliva-inducing cake that’s worthy of being captured in your wedding pics
If you’re having to learn how to file your own tax return but you really don’t want to do it because it’s boring, then chances are you’re not going to give up your free time to learn how to file your own tax return.
The desire to bake a scrumptiously gorgeous cake far outweighs the desire to file your own tax return.
So, my next question to you is: how great is your desire to learn how to get your business featured in the press?
If your desire is high, because you appreciate all the incredible things tht PR will do for your business, then how long it takes to learn becomes irrelevant
If your desire is low then you’re not going to commit to showing up and doing the work. Or if you do, you’re not going to enjoy it because you don’t know what you’re doing and therefore it takes too much time
It’s not necessarily that PR takes too much time, it’s that not knowing what you’re doing is taking up your time (and quite frankly wasting it too)
So really, if you want to get the results that you desire without spending too much time figuring it out, then this is where you need to be calling in support from PR experts who can give you a shortcut to media success (I’ve created a few ways you can do this, BTW….)
RESULTS TAKE TOO LONG TO ACHIEVE!!
In most instances it’s not that PR takes time, it’s that you’re not making it a priority and finding the time you need to pitch yourself to the press.
I see it time and time again. We live in a very fast-paced, on demand society where we want everything NOW! But it’s not realistic and it certainly isn’t sustainable.
Social media is a fantastic tool, but it has a lot to answer for when it comes to expectations.
We all post updates on social media so we know that it’s possible to share content in a matter of minutes. But if you delve a little deeper, that content will remain relevant for as long as it takes someone else to post in their news feed and be positioned above yours.
When you post on social media your post will only be seen by those who happen to be scrolling through their phone at that exact moment, or several moments later.
On social media you’re constantly having to fight for attention, or continually post to ensure that you’re being seen. And don’t even get me started on whether you’re being seen by the right people!
Be honest…..
…..how much time do you spend scrolling on social media each day? It’s so bloody easy to get distracted on social media and get pulled down different rabbit holes. All of a sudden, the 5mins it took you to post something has resulted in an hour of time spent getting distracted. (I guess that’s why it’s called doom scrolling!)
The thing is, that 60mins of time is prime real estate! In half of that time you could have focussed on elevating your expertise, cultivating relationships with the journalists with the power to catapult your credibility, and securing publicity for your brand.
But you didn’t. And there’s no shame in it. Hell, I do it all the time. But don’t tell yourself that you don’t have time to get in the media when actually you do.
IS IT TIME, OR IS IT THAT YOU DON’T KNOW HOW OR WHERE TO START?
If you don’t know where to start, welcome to the club! Most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t know where to start – you haven’t ever been taught, so how are you supposed to know?
This is where you have to commit to learning how, and seek advice and support from a PR consultant who does know (hello! 🙋♀️)
OR…..you can try and figure it out yourself if you don’t want to invest in help and make life easier (or get results faster)
For the past two years I’ve been following a food plan because it’s easier for me. I don’t have to think about what I need to eat, I simply follow the plan that’s been created for me (by someone who has more knowledge of nutrition than me!)
The amount of calories I can eat has been worked out for me. The macros I need to hit have been worked out for me, and I’ve even been given a list of foods I can choose from. That means that I can take the guesswork out of what to eat to reach my goals, and stops me from going off track or feeling overwhelmed by all the choices I could make.
For me, this is way easier than staring in the fridge for 20mins hoping that I’ll be inspired to cook something. Or (god forbid) grabbing the first thing in sight because I’m already starving and haven’t got the headspace to create something from scratch. It’s too much brain power and I’d rather invest that power elsewhere!
Getting featured in the press is exactly the same. Yes, you can give it a try based on the knowledge that you already have, or by asking your friend who has tried it before, but if you really want to make it as easy as possible then you need to follow a roadmap (or at least have. adirection to go in)
A roadmap that will show you which path to navigate. A torchlight that will illuminate the way and stay with you to guide you forward, to keep you heading in the right direction.
DOUBLE THE RESULTS IN HALF THE TIME
Once you’ve decided to commit to securing your own media features and make PR a priority over social media (it doesn’t have to be forever, but give it a good three months) then pitching to journalists, or responding to journo requests becomes second nature (it can even become easy!)
Repeat this behaviour every day, over and over again and soon you’ll be elevating your expertise with ease. And the more confident you become the quicker you’ll be.
I’m going to ask you a question again:
❓If I told you that you can secure your own media coverage in 60mins a week, would you believe me?
❓ Would you want to find out more?
There are different ways that I work with brands and business owners, so the easiest thing for you to do is select what stage you’re at: Starting, Stepping Up or Scaling
And discover how we can help drive your business forward using the power and potency of PR
