While many marketers spend big on paid advertising methods to build brand credibility and awareness, one of the most influential methods that is often overlooked and totally free is public relations. Called the art of influence, “public relations is about influencing, engaging and building a relationship with key stakeholders across numerous platforms in order to shape and frame the public perception of an organization,” according to Public Relations Society of America. You may be asking, isn’t that definition also advertising? The difference between public relations (PR) and advertising is night and day, or in this case earned credibility versus paid promotion. Think of the difference this way: You’re at a dinner party and I come up to you without knowing you and say, “I’m the best artist of all time.” That’s advertising since I’m promoting without any credentials you trust. At the same dinner party, a friend comes up to you and says, “He is the best artist of all time.” That’s PR as it comes from a reputable source. So PR can shape and frame public perception to build a credible reputation. Content contributed by Scott Carpenter, Florida SBDC at USF

1. MEDIA DATABASE
Build a database of key media contacts that cover your industry (such
as a trade journal or news site) or region (such as a newspaper or TV
station). Contacts can be found on the media source’s website.
MEDIA RELATIONS
When you have real news to let your key stakeholders know about, send
a news release to the database. News could include major contracts
won, important new hires or business financial success over a
previous quarter or year.
EDITOR/ REPORTER OUTREACH
Today’s newsrooms are roughly 25 percent of what they were a decade ago.
With less staff to discover new stories on their own, reporters are looking
for companies to send them news ideas to cover.
BYLINED ARTICLES
For business-to-business (B2B) companies, trade journals offer a
terrific platform to share your expertise on certain subjects that are
related to your business. Each year, journals share an editorial
calendar of their topics for each issue they publish.
WEBSITE BLOG ARTICLES
While most corporate websites are used to promote and sell a product,
the blog section of the site can be used to educate, inform and
persuade stakeholders on subjects important to your brand.