While I'm sure all readers are familiar with the concept of advertising, many don’t fully understand the promotional importance of effective public relations - PR - and how it should be considered an integral part of any well constructed marketing plan.

In this article, I’ll attempt to differentiate between these concepts and demonstrate how businesses and organizations can use the power of public relations to their advantage.

It's important to note that while this article is primarily geared toward travel writing, many of the principles can easily be applied within other fields as well.

What is PR?
First, let’s define public relations by the book:
“Public relations is the methods and activities employed to establish a favorable relationship with the public.”

PR is all about working with the media and your internal audiences - stakeholders, trade associations, and other related fraternal organizations - to promote your business.

Different from advertising, public relations relies on relationship-building and proactively getting your information out. Credibility is the key here. Think about it this way; Are you more likely to believe what you read in an ad or an article on the same subject? After all, an advertisement is one-sided; it is inherently and appropriately biased, while a news story is at least ostensibly unbiased.

One long-term client says: “Good PR never sees the light of day.” If PR is working, it is largely invisible. PR is the behind-the-scenes work that establishes a positive public image - primarily through the media.

Fundamental PR Practices
Let’s define a term we PR people use a lot. We often talk about “pitching” stories to reporters or editors. Think of a softball pitch. What we’re doing is gathering our information, researching their publication or show and then “pitching” them our best, easiest hit out of the park. Keep the following in mind when thinking about your next pitch.

• Building relationships. This is as simple as introducing yourself to the public radio or newspaper reporter you see at your next public meeting, and putting a name to a face. If you know the person on the other end of the phone, it makes pitching that much easier. This can also apply to the way you relate to the media relations specialists within your trade or fraternal organizations, whom for most of your will be your primary conduit to national media. Keep them in the loop on what’s new with your business, and do so at any time, not just when they are actively soliciting information. If you have an established relationship with media relations specialists, they’ll know you’re interested in participating in PR opportunities and will have your information top-of-mind next time he or she is on the phone with a writer or editor.
   
• Understanding the media. No matter who you are pitching, know their publication or show, what they cover/their beat, their deadlines and production schedules, etc. This makes your pitch stronger and more likely to wind up in print or on the air.
   
• Working with the media. It’s important to work WITH the media not AGAINST the media. Make yourself useful. Respond quickly. Promise only what you can actually, personally deliver. It’s also important to have realistic expectations of what you will get from working with journalists. The downside of editorial coverage is that, unlike advertising, it is not guaranteed that your business will be featured. Understanding that there is an element of risk or that results may take a long time to materialize is important.

I’m sure you’ve all opened a magazine and seen something like this. This particular image was taken from National Geographic Adventure, and features a heliskiing lodge outside Valdez. No doubt when you see something like this you wonder, ‘why did this guy get featured and I didn’t?’

Make no mistake: there is plenty of dumb luck involved. But by taking advantage of opportunities that already exist and by understanding how to work with journalists, you stand a much better chance of getting this kind of exposure.

For many busy, cash-strapped small business owners, the idea of adding a media relations specialist to your business’ roster of employees sounds good in theory, but daunting - probably impossible - in reality. Today I’ll tell you a bit about how to position yourself to get media coverage in mainstream consumer and trade publications and how to use the resources at your fingertips to make it happen for very little money and without hours of additional work or training.

Working with Journalists
The stages of working with a journalist go roughly as outlined below:

1. Initial contact. You will either be contacted directly by the journalist or the request will come through your particular trade organization. At this point, the writer is trying to determine if your product or service is a good fit for the outlet or outlets for which they write or produce.
    
2. Freelance vs. staffer. Many writers are freelance journalists, meaning they work for several different publications and are self-employed. Staff writers or producers work directly for the publication or show, and it is much less likely that you will work with a staffer.
    
3. Expectations when assisting. Major metropolitan daily newspapers, the Associated Press and a small handful of major magazines do not accept financial assistance of any kind when developing stories. The rest of the editorial you read is based on someone, somewhere providing free or discounted goods or services to the journalist. This is the way the editorial world works, and if you understand and accept it, and even budget for it, you’ll be in much better shape to assist a journalist visiting your area.

The Story Process
The process of you pitching and journalist developing a story goes something like this.

1. First, either you’ve successfully pitched a story idea or you’ve responded to a query from a journalist. These story ideas are usually very focused and specific, and it’s important to work with journalists if they present an idea to you. Making their idea a reality will go farther than trying to bend it to fit your agenda.
    
2. Assignment and intent. Because many journalists are not staffers, they may or may not have a formal assignment. It’s important to screen people if they contact you to make sure they’re legitimate. I’ll go more into how to screen writers in a moment. They will either be on assignment or will be a reputable journalist who has produced reliably in the past and therefore you can verify their intent and likelihood to produce.
    
3. Travel and research. This is when they actually visit and conduct interviews. If it’s for a short story or blurb, they may very well do the entire thing over the phone.
    
4. Produce. After they return home, journalists will probably contact you for follow-up info as they work to craft their story or program.

PR and Your Industry
How do you position yourself to work well with journalists? Here’s a few key tips:

• Be a reader. As I mentioned earlier, there’s nothing more frustrating for a journalist than being pitched a story by someone who has never read their publication and isn’t familiar with the type of stories they usually write, or things they’ve covered recently. That doesn’t mean you have to subscribe to every publication out there. But before you pick up the phone, take a look at the most recent issue, note the regular features and think about where your products or services would best fit into the magazine’s editorial style.
   
• Study the trends. Websites related to your business or industry, can offer information on the latest trends in your related field. Know what the trends are and how you fit into the puzzle. Pitch yourself in the context of trends and you’ll see a broader perspective on what you have to offer.
   
• Budget. Plan in your annual marketing budget to provide travel and lodging to journalists. I often hear from Alaska businesses that they don’t understand why they should pay for travel and lodging when a journalist is getting a great story anyway. Trust me, the potential coverage gained by your business or organization is well worth the expense.
   
• Communicate with your local trade organization. Keep in touch on a regular basis with the media specialist at your local trade organization. When you add a new product or expand a service, don’t forget to let them know. Send updates via email, so he or she can easily forward the information to other interested parties. Try to keep things short and to the point. Journalists are very busy and often won’t go beyond the first paragraph or so because of the sheer volume of information they receive.
   
• Partner with industry peers. In this next case study, I’ll describe a business in Juneau that did this to great effect. Establishing relationships with complimentary businesses to create a well-rounded experience for journalists can go a long way.

Case Study: Glacier Weddings
In the spring of this year, a business owner in Juneau saw a huge amount of publicity surrounding her package offering that allows couples to get married on top of Mendenhall Glacier. While it seemed to come out of nowhere, a lot of well thought-out business moves contributed to the success of this PR promotion.

The owner had long offered guests at her high-end B&B the opportunity to trek and camp on nearby glaciers, which she booked for them through a local helicopter company. She began to notice that destination weddings were becoming quite popular, and decided to become certified to perform wedding ceremonies. She offered the glacier wedding packages as an all-inclusive package: ceremony, transportation, cake, flowers, photography, you name it. During the summer of 2004, when the Alaska Travel Industry Association was planning a film shoot for stock footage, the owner bent over backward to accommodate a film crew that would shoot footage for distribution to journalists. At the time, she did not know how the footage would be used, or to what effect, but she had already established a relationship with me and my firm and trusted us.

The following spring, my firm distributed the film footage to several networks, and thanks to a good pitch, a great product and a little luck, the footage ended up being used on TV stations across the country. About two weeks later, we pitched the national travel editor of the Associated Press on the glacier wedding story. The editor liked it and had seen the TV coverage, so she hired a writer to develop the story. It was distributed on the AP wire and ran in newspapers all over the country, including USA Today (above).

As a result, this single business saw a level of publicity that she never, ever in a million years could have purchased, and a resulting spike in bookings. Not only that, she got the name of her business out to millions of consumers, who may not be getting married but will probably remember the name of her business if they travel to Juneau.

PR Tools for Small Business
The previous example was a big one – what we took to calling a “perfect storm” of PR in our office. But what do you need at a minimum to be poised to make the most of opportunities when they land on your doorstep?

• A backgrounder. Create a short, concise description of your company history, philosophy and offerings. This should be no more than a page or two and offer journalists a broad look at who you are and what you do.
   
• Quality photography. Journalists often aren’t traveling with a photographer, so having photos available for editorial use is a good idea. They should be high-quality photos, preferably shot by a professional photographer and with rights negotiated that allow media publication.
   
• Press releases. Press releases can help get information out, but they are a highly misused tool. Press releases should be used sparingly, and only when you have legitimate “news” - a new tour, an expansion, an anniversary, etc. Keep them short and simple, and distribute them intelligently. Reporters get dozens of releases every day, and if you’ve sent yours to the wrong person it likely won’t get forwarded, it will be deleted. Follow up after you send out a press release - call each person to whom you’ve distributed to confirm that they received it. Don’t ask for a commitment as to whether they will use it, just make sure they received it and volunteer to answer any questions they may have. When you send out a press release, also send it to your local trade association so they are also up to speed on your business happenings.
   
• Solid web presence. Having a quality website is no longer an option but a necessity. Not only should your website pitch to the general public but to the media as well. Highly sophisticated is not necessary, nor is overly flashy. But it does need to clearly and cleanly portray what you have to offer and present a professional, reputable image.

Screening Journalists
Many have heard horror stories about someone who presented themselves as a journalist in order to secure complimentary or discounted goods or services, only to disappear into thin air with no resulting coverage. These stories are rampant because many are true – there is actually a small industry related to teaching people how to pass themselves off as journalists in order to travel for free. This means you have to be on the lookout, and carefully screen journalists before deciding to offer them anything for free or at a discount. How do you do that?

• Search engines like Google are a good place to start. Just type in the person’s name and see what turns up. If a journalist is established and professional, you should see at least a few results posted online.
   
• Ask the journalist to send you “clips” - or copies - of their work. This is a completely standard request and any legitimate writer should not hesitate to send you either hard copy of their work or web links via email to stories posted online.
   
• Letters of assignment. It used to be standard for journalists on assignment to travel with a letter from the outlet that had purchased the story, verifying their legitimacy. This is no longer standard. Some journalists will have them, but if they don’t, don’t immediately write it off. In lieu of a letter, another option is …
   
• Contact an editor via phone or email to verify a journalist works for their publication.

Common red flags when screening journalists include:

• Unwillingness to send clips. If a journalist is legitimate, they should be happy to send you clips.
   
• If you ask for clips and the journalist can’t or won’t provide any, that should tell you they haven’t been published any where, and therefore probably don’t represent a good investment from your marketing budget.
   
• If they don’t have a letter of assignment and you can’t turn up any previously published work, this is someone who is either at the beginning of their career (and therefore unlikely to have blockbuster outlets) or someone who is attempting to scam you.

Seeing it Through
Follow up with journalists after you meet to ensure they have the necessary info and resources to complete the piece. Offer to work with photo editors by providing photos as they lay out the story. Make it clear that you’re available to answer follow-up questions.

Keep in mind that each medium has its own work cycle, but it’s safe to say that reporters are ALWAYS on deadline. Whatever you do, respond quickly and professionally. If a reporter doesn’t specify when they need the info, ask. Remember, stories often run a year or more after the actual travel has occurred. Go into it knowing that the story will likely be months, if not years, away.

Reporters and journalists are always interested in is “what’s new” information. Just like you, magazines and TV shows are selling their product to readers/viewers, and they need to present their audience with options they can’t get elsewhere. Differentiate yourself, and again, ask if you have questions about what is newsworthy.

The bottom line
One of the biggest benefits over getting your name in print via editorial coverage (as opposed to advertising) is the inherent credibility in editorial: it is a third party’s endorsement of your product.

By understanding what public relations is and isn’t, how public relations is best used, and PR’s place in your overall marketing plan, businesses and organizations can use this often misunderstood promotional concept to their best – and most profitable – advantage.

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