Go beyond celebrity endorsements.
We have often mentioned the importance of others vouching for your business; when the media vouches for you, that’s the ultimate testimonial– and online press releases are a great way to make that happen.
One of the most important marketing strategies for your business, after you have created an optimised website with a sales funnel in progress, is to “up” the exposure you are getting; this will enhance your expert status, provide free advertising and start to send more traffic your way.
The Value Of Testimonials
- Testimonials for your business can come in one of several ways:
- Customers – most are happy to say some good words about you.
- Celebrity Endorsements – expensive if you need Tiger Woods!
- Experts in your Niche – Interviewing them creates the “halo” effect for you
- Media and Other Organisations
You should try for all of the above, of course; but the one that stands out and will do the work of all the others is if you are regularly mentioned in the media in a positive light; this is truly the gold standard endorsement because it shapes the public’s perception of you and your business.
Media organisations are considered to only deal with experts. You benefit from the “halo” effect of being featured in the media, because it is perceived as a reliable source of information and it generally can’t be faked or bought, unlike with marketing (though some media organisations do try to disprove that theory!)
So you achieve instant expert status in your field that you can “dine out” on, for years to come. Newspaper articles, interviews and video clips can be featured on your website and elsewhere, giving you instant authority and positioning you as the expert with very little effort on your part.
Press Release Strategies
Bear in mind when you are thinking about crafting your press releases that all they really want is a good story!
Online press releases need to be based around something that people will want to read, otherwise a news organisation is not going to be interested in publishing them.
The key requirement is for a big hook than can grab the reader; often it’s good to focus on a big story that has recently broken and give it a unique “spin” or “twist” or “angle” that relates to your business.
In this way it can be pretty easy to bathe in the “glow” of the publicity this story has and, what’s more, reporters are often looking for a new approach to a story that has already broken and has people interested.
A great strategy for keeping up with what’s big in your business and in news in the general media is to use the following tools:
- Google Alerts
- Yahoo Answers
- Popular blog posts
- Survey your customers to find what they are interested in
These tools can help keep you across what’s going on and inspire topics for your online press releases. You can find loads more great marketing ideas in the Competition Crusher workshop, which you can watch completely FREE by simply clicking here.
