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Lakeland Public Relations

How Much is Too Much for Lakeland Public Relations Press Releases?

When you’re handling press releases for Lakeland public relations, you have to wonder how many press releases is too much. After all, doesn’t it make sense to consistently update the press with whatever’s new with the business or company that you’re handling?

However, if you’re handling the Lakeland public relations of a company, and they require you to send a high number of press releases every month, then you may be risking your company’s credibility.

While it’s important to maintain a presence with the press, you have to understand that sending a high amount of press releases makes it seem like every press release you send to the press contains irrelevant information because of the constant stream of information that comes from your company.

You have to only send press releases when something really important happens. If you send in a press release during these events, then it shows them that your press releases are always relevant. At most, you should only be sending a press release only once or twice a month. Here are some tips to keep in mind when sending out press releases.

Make sure you select the content you send to the press carefully

As we’ve mentioned before, it’s important that you screen the content that you send out to the press. If you send out a press release every single time that something happens, then the press will stop taking you seriously when you send out a press release.

Carefully choosing the Lakeland public relations content you put out guarantees that your press releases are always relevant and have something important to say.

Make sure it’s straight to the point

Remember that reporters and other media outlets are very busy. So if you’re sending out a press release, avoid flowery language, and adding too many unimportant details to the press release.

Instead, make sure that the content you create for your Lakeland public relations press releases contains the information that is needed, and gets straight to the point. Following this consistently guarantees that the media will know that the information that you provide them is always relevant.

Quality will always trump quantity

Like with plenty of aspects in like, quality will always be better than quantity when it comes to press releases for your Lakeland public relations.

Guaranteeing that the information that you provide the media is relevant and high quality guarantees that all press coverage involving your company is always of good quality as well.

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Lakeland Public Relations

Ways That Small Businesses Can Benefit From Lakeland Public Relations

Being a small business owner isn’t something that just anybody can do. You need hard work, dedication, and a mind for business. And that’s just for the initial setup. When you have your actual business, you need to work hard to make sure it succeeds, and that word gets out about your business. This is where Lakeland public relations comes in.

Some business owners don’t understand the importance of using Lakeland public relations to boost their businesses, instead choosing to rely on word of mouth. Others prefer traditional advertising, as they feel like they would get a more immediate response compared to using public relations to tell their story.

However, there are plenty of benefits to making use of Lakeland public relations, especially for small businesses, and here they are.

You get more bang for your buck

Some small business owners balk at the idea of having to hire a Lakeland public relations firm, especially when they feel like the money could be used for something else. However, you have to understand that public relations gives you the best value for your money.

Unlike advertising where you have to pay for every ad you run, you rely on the PR agency to send out your press releases, and handle your public image. It’s an easier way to get your name out there compared to other forms of marketing.

You have the chance to tell your story better

Using Lakeland public relations to tell your story guarantees that you have the chance to tell your story better, as you are allowed to say more in a press release.

This is completely different from advertising where you have to condense your points into short, snappy sentences, depending on how big your ad space it. This rather limits the amount of information you can provide, which can make it difficult for you to get your point across.

Customers will trust you more

Generally speaking, customers are more likely to trust information that they encounter on reputable sources, like the news. This is in direct opposition to advertising, which plenty of consumers don’t like.

This is because consumers like being in control of the purchases that they make, and advertising makes it feel like they’re being coerced into purchasing a product. If they see information about your business through media outlets however, they are more likely to trust this as a source of information, and be more interested in taking a look.

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Lakeland Public Relations

Lakeland Public Relations Vs. Advertising: Which is Better?

When it comes to promoting your business, you might have explored numerous options to help boost your business’ visibility. Among these, you may or may not have encountered Lakeland public relations and advertising.

These are two industries that tend to get mixed up quite a lot, mainly because of their rather similar nature. Both of these involve reaching out to media outlets to get more exposure for your business and your brand.

However, while they do have similar channels, there are significant differences between the two. It’s important that you learn what these differences are so that you can make the right decision and choose which one is best suited for your needs.

Cost

In the long run, Lakeland public relations is much more cost effective compared to advertising services. When you make use of public relations, you pay the public relations company to handle your press releases and public images, and that’s it.

With advertising however, you have to pay money every time you want your company’s ad to run in a magazine, newspaper, or any form of media outlet. And if you want it to run for a longer amount of time, you have to pay again.

With Lakeland public relations, the media chooses whether or not to run your story, which means you don’t have to pay them to choose to run your piece.

SEO

SEO is very important now, more than ever. We live in an age where all kinds of information is readily available to us in as little as a few seconds, and consumers readily make use of that technology.

When people search for your company, the more accurate and up-to-date information they can find about your company, the better. Hiring a Lakeland public relations firm helps increase your company’s visibility online.

Customer reception

When it comes to customer reception, customers are more likely to trust something that they stumble upon organically, like in a news outlet.

Advertising is received less favorably by consumers because to them, it feels like businesses are shoehorning their products and services into what should have been a seamless online experience.

Better stories

If you choose to run your piece through Lakeland public relations, you’ll find that you’re able to convey your story much better, because you’re allowed a longer piece length, which gives you more freedom to tell your story.

In advertising, you’re only limited to however big of an ad space you’re allotted, which means you have to make your point in as little words as possible, which is where copywriting comes in.

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Lakeland Public Relations

What Exactly Does a Lakeland Public Relations Agency Do?

Lakeland public relations are seen and referred to in many Hollywood movies. You see celebrities making a huge mistake, and suddenly their managers are rushing to, “Get PR on the phone to put out a press release”.

But what exactly is public relations? When you ask somebody what they think public relations are, chances are that they’ll say that public relations is something like advertising.

Advertising and public relations tend to get mixed up with each other a lot. However, if you’re looking to hire a Lakeland public relations firm to handle your PR needs, then it’s important that you learn exactly what they do. Here is a simple rundown on what a public relations company does.

They help shape how your company is perceived by the public

This is, first and foremost, the very first priority of any Lakeland public relations company is presenting your business in a positive light to the general public.

How the public perceives you and your business can make a significant impact on how well you’re going to do in terms of business. The main difference between public relations and advertising is that PR is free publicity, while advertising is paid.

A PR a fancy creates press releases and sends them to media outlets, and if the release is compelling enough to be released, then your story will be told.

They handle any PR crisis

There may be times when your company might be forced to do something necessary, but neccessary, like having to lay off employees because of downsizing or redundancies.

A PR firm helps the public understand the reasoning behind unpleasant events like this and why certain actions had to be taken. They take the negative news and presents it to the public in a way that is accurate and still presents your company in a positive light.

They help tell your story

Lakeland public relations also help tell your company’s story.marketing that you see about a public is helped by a public relations firm.

Everytime you hear about something new out out by a company, or even read a news or magazine article, chances are, there is a public relations agents helping out, every step of the way.

Media relations

Because Lakeland public relations relies heavily on media communication, a large part of public relations involves cultivating good relationships with the media. PR professionals have to spend a lot of time with the media, as they have to pitch ideas to them all the time.

They also research and understand different viewpoints by different media outlets, and understand how one story can be pitched in different ways to different outlets.

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Lakeland Public Relations

Common Mistakes You’ll Find in Lakeland Public Relations

It takes a lot to craft a good Lakeland public relations strategy. After all, the goal of a good PR strategy is to make sure that in the public eye, the company looks good.

We live in an age where anything you do can be put up online for the entire world to see forever, which is why a good Lakeland public relations strategy is needed.

However, because of the nature of the Internet, even the smallest mistake can tear the whole strategy down. It’s very important that you learn about the most common PR mistakes so that you can learn how to avoid these.

Not knowing how to follow up

Sometimes a certain media house will take interest in your story or press release, and contact you for more questions or a follow up to your initial story.

Remember that reporters or journalists are very busy, if you waste their time by failing to follow up, then they may be less likely to take your press releases in the future. You can’t just give them the story and leave it at that, you have to be able to provide them with a follow up.

Coming off as too good to be true

It’s always a great thing to be positive about your brand, after all, the mark of a good Lakeland public relations strategy is a favorable view of the public on your business. However, some people take it too far and end up coming off like they’re advertising their businesses.

When it comes to press releases, journalists want the facts that come with the story, not how great you and your business are.

All around poor creation and application of press releases

Press releases are an integral part of Lakeland public relations. Do it wrong, and you are seriously hurting your PR.

Press releases are expected to be straight to the point, and full of the relevant information that the media house needs to get your story out there. If you end up fluffing your press releases of irrelevant information, then the local media will be less interested in publishing your story next time.

Timing is everything

One of the biggest factors of a successful Lakeland public relations strategy is timing. Some people choose to send out their press releases too late for the information to be worth anything as a PR strategy.

If you’re interested in putting out a story, then you should have all the relevant information sent to the media in a timely manner. All of the information should be given to the media as soon as possible.

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Lakeland Public Relations

Two Ways To Create News For Lakeland Public Relations

It is important for any business to understand the nature of news as it pertains to Lakeland public relations. There are basically two ways to create news for your Lakeland public relations business: one is to create a story and two is to follow a story. Both of these are highly effective at what they aim to do: promote a business and boost the business’ reputation.

You can’t be on the front page of The New York Times simply because you want it or you have the money for it. Getting a story published, especially on an important portion of the paper, just because you want it doesn’t matter.

Journalists, bloggers, editors, and influencers are all going to ask one thing: What’s in it for me? Why should the journalists care about your story and your Lakeland public relations business? What’s in it for them and their audience?

Do you want to make news? Here are two ways you can do that:

Create a story

This works if you have something you want to introduce to your public. You can create a story if there is a new car, a new app, a new market, a new CEO in the company, a new merger, a new business plan, a new award, or something of this nature.

You can make the front page and the headlines through many different means and that include a press conference or a written press release, or other means of Lakeland public relations.

You can use these platforms to persuade journalists to write about your story or for editors to write about your company on the opinion page. You also need to persuade bloggers and influencers to talk about your company and your products on social media.

If you have the budget for it, you can host a big press conference that will allow you use your Lakeland public relations to speak before a group of stakeholders. If you’re a small-time business with little resources, you can do a simple phone and email survey of peers, clients, and suppliers, as a small, yet effective form of Lakeland public relations.

Follow a story

Sometimes, when you are lucky, the opportunity will knock and you will simply have to respond. If there is a story out there that made it in the news, you can hinge your goals to that story and follow it.

Journalists often need experts to comment on their news pieces. For example, there was a plunge in the stock market and you’re a stock analyst. You can send a press release about your own analysis of the situation.

Journalists would pounce on that as long as it’s accurate and you have the authority to voice your opinion about the stock market. Businesses can insert themselves into the story, making themselves relevant through current issues that plague the nation.

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Lakeland Public Relations

How A Crisis Plan Can Help Lakeland Public Relations During Controversies

When scandals, bad news, and controversies hit, what is the first thought in your mind? You’d want to melt into the ground and just forget about the world, right? But good businesses, the ones that survive a scandal, will keep moving forward and will handle their Lakeland public relations nightmare professionally and expertly.

Emphasize your business’ positive track record

This would only work if your business has a proven positive track record. You need to remind the public that the problem is a one-off issue and that it is not part of your company’s tradition to make mistakes like these.

In Lakeland public relations, it is important to put the situation in context and remind the public that this never happened to your business before and you will do everything for it never to happen again in the future.

Leaders must take responsibility

You cannot spin a scandal, even with the best Lakeland public relations. The key components to a sound communication strategy and crisis plan in your Lakeland public relations are honesty and accountability. People are looking for someone to explain to them how the crisis happened and how it will be handled differently from now on.

You need to issue regular statements either at press conferences or in a written form to address the scandal that is rocking your company. People want answers and you have to give it to them and use an emphatic face that they could connect with.

Talk to your customers

You cannot assume that just because you haven’t addressed the issue, your customers won’t pounce on it like vultures. The opposite will happen. The more you try to neglect to address the issue, the more people will jump to their own conclusions.

By the time you decide that you should talk to them, they would have already formulated their own theories about what happened. Your customers deserve to know the truth from you.

Avoid vague and impersonal responses

If there is an issue about your company, you need to address that specific issue in your Lakeland public relations and create a response tailor-fit to explain to the viewers what the issue is all about and how the company is dealing with it. You cannot be vague with your answers and expect your customers to just believe what you said, hook, line, and sinker.

Your audience would presume the worst about your company since your response is bordering on the defensive and you failed to address the issue on hand. Whatever the issue is, respond to it by addressing the key points and personalizing your response.

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Lakeland Public Relations

8 Lakeland Public Relations Tips From Experts

If you own a business but could not afford to hire a Lakeland public relations consultant, that does not mean that you cannot do the Lakeland pubic relations stuff yourself. Though this is a highly technical job that requires people with great knowledge and experience, you can follow through some of the tips you’ll find here from Lakeland public relations experts to engage with the public (your audience) better.

Solidify your key messages

Your key message will appear on all kinds of marketing strategies and platforms. It will also affect the way you communicate with employees, reporters, investors, customers, board members, and industry analysts. Your key messages should remain consistent and they should emphasize your core strength.

Identify what is newsworthy

If you want reporters to cover your business, there should be something newsworthy about you. What would be of interest to the people? That’s the first thing that media ask itself when vetting a story out.

Know your journalists

You should know the journalists who cover the industry you are in. Read their articles and get to know them through their LinkedIn and Facebook accounts. By familiarizing yourself with the stories they do, you will be able to get an idea of what stories sell and what do not.

Write a press release

A press release should inform rather than sell. That’s the most critical component of a business owner. He should realize that the press release should be interesting and should be informative. The sell will happen once you have informed (and persuaded through this information) the target market. Work with local Lakeland public relations firms to achieve this.

Be responsive

When an email pops up on your screen, answer it as soon as you can. If you cannot give a definitive answer, simply respond that you will get back to the sender as soon as you have the right information.

Work with local Lakeland public relations firms or freelancers

Local Lakeland public relations firms and freelancers know more about the area than any big PR corporations. They are also cheaper and they are willing to do the hard work to impress any client.

Build relationships with bloggers

Not so many years ago, bloggers don’t have this much influence on your target market. But we’re living in a different world now and your marketing strategies should change with the times. Don’t be so focused on journalists that you forget about the bloggers, influencers, and freelancers.

Make use of social media

Finally, make use of social media. You could not survive today’s marketing industry without using social media. It’s free. It’s effective. It’s the fastest way to get your message across to the audience and measure their feedback.

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Lakeland Public Relations

Why Work With Local Lakeland Public Relations

When choosing a Lakeland public relations agency, you have to consider two options: a big corporate PR firm or a local PR agency that hires people from the local community.

While we tend to side with the big PR firms thinking that they have better knowledge and they will craft better strategies, it might be better for our small businesses to work with a local firm. A local firm would know just how to handle the issues because they are closer to the community and they have an ear on the ground.

They know the area better

Local Lakeland public relations firms know the area better than anyone else. No one knows the locality much like a PR firm that is based there. They have studied and researched about the area and the market there. They know the people and the community.

They know what they like, what they want, what their lifestyles are, and what kind of backgrounds they came from. Building a strategy would require that the PR firm would have a good grasp of who the strategy is for and that means knowing the target market.

They will work hard to impress you

It’s not that big corporate PR agencies are less passionate about their work. It’s just that local Lakeland public relations firms are working doubly hard to impress clients because they want to be on the big stage in the future.

They are still making a name for themselves, so they will work twice as hard to gain your trust and your recommendation. They want to be known in the state and maybe even in the country, so they are extra passionate about impressing you with the quality of their work.

They have a close relationship with the community

Local Lakeland public relations firms care about the community you are living in. They want the best for the community, too, so they won’t try to hoodwink your target market with false advertising.

On the other hand, the community might trust your business better if you will also use a firm that they are more familiar with. They know the people behind the agency so they will trust your advertising and marketing methods more.

They offer cheaper services

Local Lakeland public relations firms are, of course, cheaper than the big corporate PR agencies. They haven’t made it yet, so they can offer their services for less the price than those big ones in the city.

If you are just starting in the business, this is a good opportunity for you to test the waters and see what kind of strategies would work for your business without shelling that much money.