This is the third part in our series on PR. In the first article we look at the various types of PR including about the company, comments on others and company generated. In the second article we chatted with Charlotte Ashton from AB Property Marketing in the UK about where she thinks property portals can get most value from PR. This third article looks at the infrastructure and what a company has to do to manage PR effectively.
PR is a core element of any consumer marketing strategy and if well executed will generate significant levels of traffic to the portal. However, for most portals, there is no consistent or well thought through approach to PR.
When looking at managing PR there are a number of things that a portal should do if they are to take PR seriously.
Have a PR budget
A dedicated PR budget is critical. This PR budget is needed to cover both the employment of dedicated personnel to the creation and management of PR as well as to the appointment of an external PR company to help with the development and distribution of PR.
Have PR as part of the consumer marketing team
Often a company doesn’t know where to house the PR team, however it should be part of the consumer marketing team as, at the end of the day, the reason for having PR is to increase awareness of the brand and to drive traffic to the site.
Appoint a single spokes person
It is important that there is a single spokes person for the company. The person needs to be articulate and able to think on their feet. They also need to be able to develop short, pithy quotes that the press can easily insert into their articles.
Appoint a data analyst / miner
All portals capture a range of data about listings and consumer behavior on the site. A good PR strategy needs someone to constantly mine the data and to develop a range of indices. Tracking these indices over time gives a solid stream of PR.
Run surveys on the site
Your site is a great source of survey results and thus company generated PR (the third type of PR). All you have to do is run a survey on the site and analyse the results. Your visitors won’t mind being asked to complete surveys and these insights (via a PR release) can get good coverage.
Consistent PR
Portals who develop good PR traffic generate high volumes of PR on a consistent basis. Having a PR calendar in which you are able to track which releases are going out when is critical. It also allows you to plot any official releases that you may want to comment on.
Distribute the PR widely
A good PR strategy involves the wide distribution of PR to as many sources as possible. Media such as Property Portal Watch are a good distribution channels for information about the company. You should research who are the well read commentators on your market and then form relationships with these journalists. If you have good relationships, the journalist is likely to call you for comment on other stories (the second type of PR) and thus help position you and your business as being influential in the industry.
Employ an External PR Company
Having a relationship with an external PR company is also an important approach. This is critical as they have good relationships and deep knowledge on what works and doesn’t work in the PR game.
Advertising Partner
-->
