Australians are generally not the best at self-promotion, likely due to Australia’s renowned tall poppy syndrome. Even business owners who understand the power of PR to build and grow their business tend to shy away from activating PR.

With the rise of social media, free publicity has become much more possible to gain exposure quickly.  A few years ago, as Facebook was on the rise, people gravitated toward the platform to spread the word about their business. Recently however Facebook has begun charging users to promote their wares. While thousands of businesses use Facebook today, business owners are now experimenting with other social channels to obtain free publicity. LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter are offering more ways to get free publicity for your business.

Dependent on your industry there are many online publishers who could be interested in your story or an article written by you – it’s worthwhile getting in touch with them and offering an article or an interview. Once published it remains online and often the publisher will promote it on their channels as well. Publishers such as Startup Daily, Startup Soda and social platforms such as IdeaSpies and other blogs and media publishers are always on the hunt for newsworthy ideas, stories and events.

We’ve all heard that today’s news is tomorrow’s fish’n’chip paper, but that no longer applies, even for cartoonists. This change means more opportunities for free publicity. With today’s massive social media use it’s surprising how many businesses are covered in the media but don’t then share the news via their channels.

If you’re lucky enough to be published in either digital or print media, make sure you share the story via both your personal and business social media channels to reach a wider audience and align yourself to the publisher who featured you. You should also feature it on your website in a media listing. One mention in an article or blog can lead to further media opportunities and more business if you share it far and wide. Free publicity is much more valuable than paid advertising.

So in summary my three tips on this subject are:

1. Be clear on your elevator pitch- the distinct competitive advantage your business offers customers that is newsworthy.
2. Identify publications and blogs that would be interested in your story and try to share it with them.
3. If you’re lucky enough to get published, share the story via both your personal and business social media channels as well as on your website.

Your customers like to know that your products and services are so good that they get publicity.

The IdeaSpies post featuring the Oroton personalised handbag idea was widely shared, including by Oroton.

Lynn Wood

Chief Idea Spy