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How to do your own PR

Trade Fairs and other events.

On paper these events can promise a great deal but are often very expensive to get to and exhibit at, as well as rather hit and miss in terms of results. Melissa told us, “I’ve had several clients who’ve exhibited as consumer fairs and found that the return just wasn’t worth it. They did boost awareness of their brand, but it had little impact on sales. I’ve had other clients who’ve gone to the same shows and seen massive sales that easily pay for the cost of the event. Similarly, I’ve had some who go to trade fairs and got nothing out of it, while others have managed to secure interest from big retail buyers. It really will depend on your product, who you’re trying to reach and what you’re trying to achieve by going. Start out by asking yourself what your objective for going is. Be brutally honest with yourself - don’t get seduced by the glamour of having a lovely stand at a show if it’s not likely you’ll recoup the costs. For the same money, you could probably pay for a freelancer to do several days worth of PR work for you over the period of a few months, resulting in plenty of publicity”.

The best kind of press and publicity I can get?

According to Melissa, “the best publicity is an unsolicited bit of praise from a customer – or word of mouth. One mum recommending a product to a friend will have a far greater impact than any ad or article can ever have. A huge amount of my business comes from word of mouth referrals. Make sure you have an excellent product and excellent customer service and the praise should follow. You can help encourage word of mouth by getting active on different online forums”.

My PR work has been a roaring success, surely it’s time to relax and start counting the cash?

Melissa is quick to stamp out this common inclination -“No, you should always be planning ahead for the next thing you’re trying to achieve. Even if you’re busy, make sure you’ve got a good pipeline of customers/activity ready for the months ahead. Unless of course you’ve made wads of money and are ready for a break. Then sell up, book a trip to a tropical island and have a daiquiri!”

If you have a specific question for Melissa we’d be happy to pass it on, for more information on Peek Communications or any of their clients go to: www.peekabooscoms.co.uk

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More pages

Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: The secret of good PR is…
Page 3: Trade Fairs and other events.

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