The power of media relations: get noticed. Go public.

• Author: Costabilo, Frank P., Jr.
• Position: PERFECTLY FRANK

I wish more small- and medium-sized businesses appreciated the power of media relations.

Many of these firms lack the sophistication necessary to harness the power of the media and to that degree they are complicit in their own demise.

* What is media relations?

* How can it help my business?

* How can I measure its success and my investment in it?

What is media relations? Media relations is the practice of building relationships with publishers, editors, reporters and writers that lead to the publication of press releases, stories and, in some cases, investigations that educate the public about the value of your company's products and services. Media relations compliments advertising because it offers a third-party endorsement of your products and services. An advertisement explains the value of a product or service through the company that created it; media relations, through the critical eye of the publisher, editor, reporter or writer, explains why he or she believes this product or service is truly worthy of valued reporting space. This third-party endorsement is logarithmically as effective as any advertising message.

How can it help my business? Media relations can help your business by positioning your company's products and services as implicitly endorsed by a specific newspaper, trade journal, radio or TV program. When a product is positioned in such a manner, readers and viewers are much more likely to recognize the product or service and, eventually, make a purchasing decision specifically because of this placement. People do not buy what they do not know; media relations gets these same people to know your products and services.

How can I measure its success and my investment in it? An increase in quarterly or annual sales is often used as an acceptable standard of measure; however, this correlation is often loose and other variables can alter the final value judgment. A much more precise method is to survey a group of prospects prior to the media relations campaign to determine their baseline knowledge of your company's products and services. Once this baseline study is complete, then engage these targets in a media relations campaign. After 90 days, conduct a follow-up survey on this same group...