How to Harness the Power of PR to Grow Your Business
- emily4478
- Jun 18
- 4 min read
In today's dynamic media landscape, business leaders need to master the art of PR to gain significant media exposure. By adopting a proactive and strategic approach, you can become your own PR agency, cultivating relationships, identifying compelling narratives, and directly engaging with media outlets to amplify your brand message.
After almost 30 years in the business, I know that authentic storytelling and consistent engagement are far more impactful than intermittent, one-off campaigns. CEOs, as the ultimate visionaries and experts within their organisations, possess an unparalleled understanding of their brand's unique value proposition and a genuine passion that resonates deeply with journalists and audiences alike. By leveraging this inherent advantage, you too can unlock significant PR opportunities for your business.
Here are my five top tips to enable you to become your own PR guru:
1. Define Your Narrative and Expertise:
It is essential you clearly articulate your brand's unique story and identify your core areas of expertise. Before approaching any media outlet, business leaders must concisely define what makes their company, products, or services stand out. This involves identifying key differentiators, understanding the one big problem your business solves, and pinpointing the unique insights you can offer.
By crafting a compelling and consistent narrative, you position yourself as a thought leader, making it easier for journalists to understand your value and frame their stories around your contributions. This foundational step ensures that every media interaction is purposeful and aligned with your broader brand objectives.
2. Cultivate Authentic Media Relationships:
Beyond simply sending out press releases, I always advocate for a relationship-driven approach to media engagement. I have built a solid network of media contacts who know me and trust me. They know I can pinpoint what their readers want, and supply a story to match it.
Research and identify specific journalists, editors, and broadcasters who cover your industry or area of expertise. Build genuine rapport by understanding their beats, reading their work, and offering valuable insights rather than just pitching a generic story. By demonstrating a consistent willingness to provide value, you transform transactional interactions into enduring professional relationships, making journalists more likely to turn to you for future stories.
3. Master the Art of the Pitch:
A crucial skill for any "self-made" PR professional is the ability to craft compelling and concise media pitches. Move beyond generic press releases and instead focus on tailoring pitches to the specific interests and audience of each media outlet. Pitches should highlight the newsworthiness of your story – a news ‘hook’ on current events - explaining why it would be relevant to their readership. Furthermore, understand media deadlines and preferred communication methods.
By providing all necessary information upfront, and not badgering a journalist when they are on a deadline, you significantly increase the chances of your pitch being considered and acted upon.
4. Leverage Your Platform and Content:
Create your own platforms and content as a powerful PR tool. Maintain an active company blog, produce insightful whitepapers, publishing industry reports, or host webinars and podcasts. By consistently generating high-quality, valuable content, you can establish yourself as an authority in your field, attracting media attention organically. This content can then be repurposed and pitched to journalists, demonstrating your thought leadership and providing readily available resources for their stories.
Essentially, you become a publishing house in your own right, attracting media to your expertise rather than solely chasing exposure.
5. Embrace Proactive and Responsive Engagement:
Finally, recognise the need for both proactive outreach and swift, effective responsiveness. Proactive engagement involves staying abreast of industry news – read the morning papers every day! - anticipating trends and offering expert commentary on breaking news stories. This positions you as a timely and relevant source. Simultaneously, be prepared to respond quickly and concisely to media inquiries, offering interviews, quotes, or additional information in a timely manner. I do this daily which is how I have established myself as a g-to for journalists looking for comment from a PR expert. Slow responses mean missed opportunities, the media operates on tight deadlines! By being both proactive in identifying opportunities and responsive to direct requests, you can maximise your media exposure and solidify your brand's reputation as a reliable and influential voice.
By adopting these five principles, CEOs, thought leaders and entrepreneurs can directly cultivate the media relationships and narrative control necessary to propel their brand forward. Establishing yourself in the media as the leader in your field is imperative for long-term growth and sustained brand influence in today's interconnected world.
Not got the time to become your own PR, but know you need media exposure? If you’d like to book in a call to discuss how PR can help your business, click here.
Fiona Harrold first hit the headlines 25 years ago as the author of the bestselling Be Your Own Life Coach which was serialised in the Daily Mail. Having built and sold her first business - a wellness product - before she was 30, using media exposure as a tool, Fiona carved a career in life coaching. She now runs one of London’s most successful PR agencies represents ongoing clients from the worlds of wellness, finance, leadership, beauty and more. Fiona's boutique agency deals with everyone from female entrepreneurs to global leadership advisors and finance gurus.
