The beauty of adding publicity to your marketing arsenal is that it is free. In difficult economic times, publicity becomes particularly important to small businesses. Small businesses are trying to cut costs and taking advantage of publicity rather than expensive promotional activities is a smart idea for small business owners.
1. Issue Press Releases
If you are just opening your business or expanding it, write a press release. Most local newspapers will include it in their newspapers as they are always looking for newsworthy topics. If you will think about it, you can think of many ideas for press releases. Have you hired a new employee? Has your business won an award? Has your business participated in a community service project? Issue a press release. Those are only a few ideas you can use to get this free marketing exposure.2. Close your Business One Day a Year
Close your business one day a year (or more often if you want) and give a day to charity. You and your staff could use the entire day to work for a charity of your choice. This is a newsworthy even that would get covered by the media. If it doesn't, write a press release.3. Give an Award to the Best Customer in your Industry
Give an annual award to the "best" in your industry. If you are a supplier of a particular product or service, find your customer that uses it in the most advantageous way for the community and give an annual award. This will be considered newsworthy and should give you lots of publicity.4. Sponsor a Community Service Project
Communities need support and service. If you are a veterinarian in a community, for example, sponsor a "spay and neuter" day for dogs and cats. Many people can't afford to pay for this service and your business will be widely publicized in the local media. Tailor this type of community service project to your own business.5. Tie your Business in with the Holidays and Publicize it
Tell the media how your product or service helps your customers during the holidays. The holidays don't have to be just Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Yom Kippur. They can be some of the lesser known holidays that occur during slower news times for the media. If your product or service provides help to your customers, it is newsworthy and will garner publicity for your firm.
