Four Reasons Every Broadcaster Should Hire A Public Relations Firm
How many speakers do you know who have engaged the services of a public relations firm? Chances are, you don’t know many. What professional speakers don’t realize is that hiring a public relations firm can be extremely beneficial and can yield a surprisingly high return on investment. The amount of income that can be generated as a result of the activities of a public relations firm can easily exceed advertising. Why? Because public relations have a better reputation than traditional advertising. A consumer is more likely to buy a product or service because they read a third-party magazine, not because they saw an ad. When a consumer reads a review, it is usually unbiased and comes from a trusted source.
Also, public relations is less expensive than advertising. The cost of sending a press release to a magazine editor is much less than creating a direct mail campaign or buying a display ad in a trade publication. Some people are known to run elaborate direct mail campaigns, only to experience minimal results. Public relations is a much better way to spend your hard-earned money, especially when some of your competitors might be able to afford to spend much more than you can, but the difference is, you will see results!
Create your brand
There are many benefits of public relations campaigns, the first of which is branding. Speakers must think of themselves as brands. Donald Trump is a brand. George Foreman is a brand. Paris Hilton is a brand. They became brands because they were in public view for an extended period of time and became household names. Sure, it helps to have a successful boxing career or be the heir to a multi-million dollar fortune, but younger speakers can use public relations to start promoting their brand. Think of yourself as a corporation. Your corporation would hire a public relations firm to inform the public of its existence. This process is the same for speakers, authors, and celebrities. Branding is one of the most important aspects of marketing, and proper public relations can be the first step in creating a successful brand.
Increase your rate
Once you start developing your brand as a speaker, you will become more known in your industry and will soon be referred to as an expert. At this point, it is now appropriate to increase your conference fee. Many speakers decide to increase their rate because they feel they deserve more, but if you mark it successfully, you can increase your rate because it is worth more. Recently, Donald Trump was paid a hefty fee for a two-hour conference in New York City. He was able to charge such a high fee because he is a brand and an expert in his field. There are many real estate and business experts who can probably give a speech of the same caliber as “The Donald,” but they cannot charge a high fee because they are not as well known.
Sell more product
Another advantage of public relations is helping to sell products. Many speakers are also authors who have published one or more books. Getting your name in the media will generate sales of your products. If a consumer reads an article on a certain topic and later learns that the expert has also written a book on the topic, the consumer is likely to rush to the nearest bookstore to buy the book. Don’t think this only applies to books. George Foreman wasn’t selling books, he was selling grills, and although he was known to sell through his infomercials, one of the reasons he was able to sell so many is because the product was reviewed in the press and received a very high rating. qualification and was considered a luxury product.
Make people call you
When you are new to the professional speaking business, it is very difficult to make speaking engagements. After about a year of public relations, you will be surprised to see that people will call you and ask you to speak at an event, and not the other way around. I know people who cold call 25-30 companies a day asking them to sign up for their next conference and explain how good it would feel if they could just stop initiating the call. Instead of spending many hours trying to convince the event planners that you are the right person for their engagement, why not have the event planners call you?
So now, hopefully, you are convinced that you need to develop a strategic public relations campaign if your goal is to become a top-notch public speaker. There are thousands of people competing for the same positions, so it is essential that you stand out from the crowd. Before contacting an agency, develop a clear set of goals and objectives and make sure the company understands them holistically. Create the buzz!