Insanely Clever Marketing

Let this be a lesson in public relations. A simple ‘Thank You’ will be appreciated.

Many of you will know that I write for Reed Gift Fairs, Australia’s premier exhibition for gifts and homewares with four massive trades shows annually. Their blogs and magazines are seen by tens of thousands of people so I am delighted to be producing content for them.

Last month I wrote a piece on petrol blue and rose-gold interiors with great images from interior designers and also some art and jewellery designs. This public relations exercise was designed to interest readers, give them some design inspiration and show how different artisans are using petrol blue and rose-gold in their work.

I contact Louise Ambry at Xada Jewellery in Melbourne because I knew she worked with semi precious stones and different metallics, including rose-gold, in her handmade jewellery. Louise was delighted to be asked to contribute some images because she’s very pro-active about her brand.

A third party endorsement equals strong marketing and is the cornerstone of public relations.

Instead of Louise telling people how great is Xada Jewellery, I am telling people how great is Xada Jewellery –  because that’s been my experience of her business, and that’s part of the public relations value.

advertising versus public relations

I also contacted another business that supports local artists; a retail store with beautiful stock. As a small business supporting ‘struggling’ artists, they may have ceramics or textiles in petrol blue and rose-gold to illustrate how artists are using these colours, I thought.

They sent me 10 – 12 images in various sizes of landscape and portrait of textiles, ceramics, glass and jewellery. I chose several images which I then had to format correctly, label, write about and insert. Not a five minute job. The artist was acknowledged both in the body text and on the image. The retail outlet was also named in the body text.

When the article was published, to be seen by tens of thousands of people, I sent an e-mail to all those who had provided images – bearing in mind I asked for no money for the promotion.

Louise responded with a very cheery and grateful ‘thank you’ PLUS she promoted the article on her social media AND on her website in her ‘Press’ pages. Thanks Louise 🙂

However, the retail store expressed their disappointment that I hadn’t included their full name under each photo credit. YOU’RE WELCOME!

If you are receiving FREE publicity to thousands of people in your target audience then a simple ‘Thank You’ is appreciated.

If you are paying a Public Relations consultant then you have a say in how you are promoted. And even then, if that PR company works with a third-party and they are not being paid then you DON’T have a say around certain aspects – such as timeline and exactly what is published.

Journalists are not dictated to by PR consultants. Public relations is at the mercy of the end publisher – print, digital, social media, etc. This is why media releases are so important. See more on that with How To Write A Media Release here on Insanely Clever Marketing.

So if you want to maximize your public relations, be grateful for exposure and especially grateful for exposure you haven’t even paid for. Say ‘Thank You’ and find ways to work with that PR consultant on future projects.

Insanely Clever Marketing can help you with your public relation and marketing needs. Please ask us how.

For more information on how to create public relations opportunities for your business, see a mini checklist for writing a media release, story ideas for gaining media interest and putting public relations into the marketing mix.