11 Simple PR Tactics to Help You Get Press Coverage

11 Simple PR Tactics to Help You Get Press Coverage

Payman Taei

Payman Taei

Co-founder at Respona

11 Simple PR Tactics to Help You Get Press Coverage

The world of public relations encapsulates a truly wide range of different tactics and strategies that are usually heavily focused on the different business goals a professional or a company has.

What’s more, the rapid changes in the tech industry are bringing more and more alternatives in terms of PR tactics, with 59% of PR professionals predicting that technology will bring drastic changes in the PR industry in the coming years.

We know PR well enough to understand that having a few efficient PR tactics on hand can be extremely beneficial for companies of any size.

For that reason, in this post we’re taking you through eleven tactics you can include in your PR campaign to make it a success.

Some of the strategies we’re going to discuss are:

  • Pitching the right journalists
  • Being creative and getting out of your comfort zone
  • Getting featured on podcasts

Plus, many more.

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PR Tactic Vs PR Strategy

The terms “PR tactic” and “PR strategy” are often used interchangeably, however that is a mistake.

Even though they are aimed at the same goal, these are two separate things, and it’s important to understand the difference between them.

A digital PR tactic is a specific action or tool used to fulfill a digital PR strategy.

Tactics are the means by which a strategy is implemented and can include activities such as a press release, media outreach and media monitoring, content marketing, events, and campaigns on social media channels.

Tactics are often part of a larger campaign, and can be tailored to suit a particular target audience or goal.

A successful PR strategy is a plan that sets out the goals, PR objectives, and approach to public relation activities.

It is a long-term plan for achieving success in PR, and involves developing messages, identifying target audiences, and selecting channels for communication.

It is important to have an effective PR strategy in place in order to effectively shape and manage an organization’s public image.

A PR strategy should be tailored to the unique PR needs and objectives of the organization, and should be regularly evaluated and adjusted as needed.

When Should You Use PR Tactics?

Public relations is an ongoing process and digital PR tactics should be employed whenever you want to establish or strengthen relationships with customers, stakeholders, or the general public.

Some examples of situations when it’s appropriate to employ a PR tactic are:

  1. Launching a new product or service
  2. Rebranding
  3. Crisis Management
  4. Responding to Negative Press
  5. Influencer Marketing

PR Tactic #1: Be Timely and Relevant

The first public relations tactic we want to bring your attention to is to be timely and relevant.

What we mean by that is to make sure that your digital PR efforts are aligned with the times in terms of the trends that prevail in a certain period.

The following example will help make this a bit more clear.

Example: Nesta Storage

Irish storage company, Nesta, is a great case study that you can take as an example of an efficient PR tactic performed in relation to a certain event.

Nesta storage PR example
Image Source: Nesta

Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic started, Nesta’s SEO ranking consultant, Gustavo Pelogia, was able to identify a trend in relation to the pandemic within the company.

He took this story and turned it into an engaging, timely, and relevant pitch which he shared with the local press, thus establishing media connections as well as generating buzz around the company.

Consequently, members of the local press picked up Nesta’s story and published it.

Have a look at this post from Dublin Live:

Nesta Storage feature in DublinLive
Image Source: Dublin Live

This is just a small example of how easy getting press coverage, AKA earned media, can be when you’re pitching to media channels and news outlets at the right time.

We can therefore see just how efficient it can be for startups and small businesses to share news stories that are related to current trends or other current events with members of the local press, whether they’re based in New York, London, Hong Kong, Dublin, or any other place on earth.

Author’s Note: The outreach email Gustavo shared with members of the press is quite an interesting one that you could also customize, personalize, and use for your company’s purposes.

Moving on to our second tactic.

PR Tactic #2: Pitch to the Right Journalist

Since finding and interacting with journalists seems to be one of the biggest challenges when it comes to a company’s PR activities, we understand that pitching to the right journalists or bloggers might be challenging too, especially when you don’t have a PR firm or PR teamm to do it for you.  

However, it’s also a very rewarding public relations strategy that we couldn’t miss covering in this post.

Let’s use an example to see how this one works.

Example: Blindlee

The dating app Blindlee, which uses Respona to efficiently perform its PR activities, has achieved some very good results with its PR efforts.

Blindlee home page
Image Source: Blindlee

More specifically, the app has been featured in a wide range of tech and lifestyle publications online, some of which include, TechCrunch…

Blindlee feature on TechCrunch
Image Source: TechCrunch

… Forbes…  

Blindlee feature on Forbes
Image Source: Forbes

… Marie Claire…

Blindlee feature on Marie Claire
Image Source: Marie Claire

… and many others.

How about taking a deeper look into Blindlee’s outreach strategy?

A dating app usually falls into various categories with some of the most prominent being tech and lifestyle.

Having said that, we can clearly see that Blindlee’s outreach strategy targeted tech and lifestyle sites, like the ones mentioned above as well as others, such as Esquire, Gizmodo, and so on and so forth.

We can only assume that the app’s success can be partly attributed to the fact that the company reached out to the right people.

How about having a closer look at one of the writers – Natasha Lomas – who covered Blindlee’s story on behalf of TechCrunch?

Here you go:

TechCrunch journalist
Image Source: TechCrunch

As you can see, Natasha has recently written about another dating app too, which might mean that the writer likes writing about such topics.

To put it simply, reaching out to the right people means that you do your best to find journalists and bloggers that generally cover specific topics which are relevant to your niche.

We probably wouldn’t be talking about Blindlee if they’d reached out to journalists that cover politics or economics, don’t you think?

To sum this tactic up, writing a great outreach email and finding the right journalists to pitch your story to should be your top priority when it comes to getting press coverage.

There are many tools available designed to help you connect with the right journalists, namely HARO (Help A Reporter Out), and, of course, Respona.

To get your product out there and make it popular, you naturally need to make the general public aware of it while building trust and promoting the unique features your product has.

This way, exactly how Blindlee did it, you’re far more likely to make the most out of your PR tactics and use PR to your advantage.

Keep reading to find out more about being creative with your PR.

PR Tactic #3: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Be Creative

You might not know it yet, but PR is all about being creative and finding imaginative approaches to stand out in a positive way that’ll help you create connections with others, generate media mentions and also raise brand awareness.

More often than not, being creative means that you need to get some distance from your comfort zone and find alternative ways of getting media attention and promoting your new product or messaging.

Let’s see how Dollar Shave Club has done it.

Example: Dollar Shave Club

If you don’t believe me when I say that letting your creativity kick in when you’re creating a truly interesting digital PR campaign that’ll make TV stations and each major social media platform to talk about you, then please have a look at what Dollar Shave Club has done.

Dollar Shave Club home page
Image Source: Dollar Shave Club

Back in 2012, Dollar Shave Club created an amazing ad that has since become an internet classic.

In fact, the video’s considered to be one of the best and most creative digital marketing campaigns a small business has ever run.

Here’s a screenshot:

Dollar Shave Club youtube video
Image Source: Youtube

We’ve highlighted the title and number of views to stress two different points:

  • To show you just how successful the video was – and still is
  • To underline the importance of creating interesting and unique content

The second point refers to the fact that the whole video – and the title of the video itself – include the right amount of humor that can show consumers and potential customers your creative approach in terms of your marketing strategy, thus giving you a competitive advantage and differentiating you from the competition.

This video is a truly creative piece of content that promotes certain lifestyle elements, shows confidence, and, as we’ve already mentioned, has a pinch of humor inside it!

The Google Trends graphic below says it all in terms of the success in raising brand awareness:

Dollar Shave Club search trend
Image Source: Google Trends

As you can see, the term “dollar shave club” started getting interest right around March 2012, when Dollar Shave Club published its now-infamous video.

What’s more, several years after the initial launch of the ad in 2012, there are still videos being posted on YouTube analyzing and explaining the ad’s success.

Here’s an example:

Dollar Shave Club commercial analysis
Image Source: Youtube

To put it simply, creating something special, apart from being an essential part of killer content marketing, is also a way to do successful PR.

Don’t be afraid of getting out of your comfort zone and being creative.

Let’s get to tactic number four.

PR Tactic #4: Offer Something Special Without Waiting for Something Back

When it comes to effective PR tactics, offering something special can be incredibly productive and help you achieve your PR goals.

This might be a special offer in relation to your product or service, or it could be a unique gift set, exactly like the one we’re going to see in our example below.

Here you go.

Example: PRG

Branded merchandise agency, PRG, is yet another example of a business that uses Respona for their outreach and PR activities and are doing great.

PRG homepage
Image Source: PRG

Because they’re obviously a swag agency, they’re able to take their public relations to a whole new level.

How?

By offering their prospects a little swag box, exactly like the one shown below, that’s actually been created by PRG for their employees and clients:

PRG incentives

PRG isn’t expecting anything in return, but we can only assume that people will naturally feel inclined to talk about the company and its products once they receive the package.

Doing so could help your business achieve a double whammy:

  • Establish an emotional connection with prospects
  • Increase outreach response rates

In fact, Outreach and Saleshacker were part of an experiment run by Kotis Design, whereby 1000 prospects were reached out to and half were chosen at random to receive swag – there was a 26% increase in responses from those who received gifts.  

That’s a pretty impressive stat that gives us important data on what a combination of PR and swag can do.

Let’s get to the next one.  

First things first, PR tactics and strategies usually aim at getting PR coverage for a company.

What’s a better and more efficient way to do so than getting featured in killer list posts that get a specific target audience to interact with the content?

Before we get into more details in regards to our example below, let’s just say that this tactic can be particularly effective for small businesses that need to boost brand reputation.

Here’s an example.

Example: Markup Hero

The example of Markup Hero, which is an online screenshot and annotation tool, will give you a clear idea of just how efficient it can be to use the power of PR, even when you don’t have a PR spokesperson, in order to get featured in recent posts.

MarkupHero home page
Image Source: Markup Hero

In one sentence, getting featured in list posts allows you to enhance your online presence, get the search engines to find you easier, and, ultimately, make more people aware of your products and services.

What’s really interesting about this tactic for the example we’re featuring – Markup Hero – is that many times these list posts might be written by competitor annotation tools.

Here’s an example from Screenrec:

MarkupHero feature on ScreenRec
Image Source: Screenrec

Reaching out to bloggers and journalists in order to get featured in a list post can naturally help you establish relations with other businesses in your vertical.

On that note, getting featured in list posts is not just a great PR strategy, but it’s also an efficient backlink strategy that brings an increase in a website’s domain rating (DR).

For the record, we need to mention that Markup Hero’s successful outreach gave many incredible results, including a significant increase in the site’s DR which went from 0 to 48 in just ten months.

Below is our sixth PR tactic.

Similar to getting featured in list posts, getting featured in podcasts can be particularly helpful for companies in terms of boosting the results of their PR campaigns and reaching new audiences.

The example that follows is a very interesting story that can be inspiring for many companies out there.

Example #1: 10to8

Appointment scheduling software 10to8 is yet another example of a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company making the most out of its PR efforts, thus boosting its brand awareness and, ultimately, getting more users through the door.

10to8 home page
Image Source: 10to8

To be more precise, the company’s marketing team focused on participating in podcasts as a way of doing PR and enhancing their company’s media relations strategy.

Here’s an example of 10to8’s Head of Marketing, Anna Kocsis, being featured in the SaaS Breakthrough podcast:

Anna's podcast feature on Demio
Image Source: Demio

Author’s Note: Participating in podcasts is a great tactic that can help you stand out from the crowd as well as build authority and brand awareness in your niche. You can position yourself as a thought leader and leverage the podcast’s target audience to spread the message about your product.

Example #2: Greenleaf Book Group

Outreach is firmly linked to any PR planning.

For that reason, scaling your outreach is an activity that PR pros can greatly benefit from.

This PR effort example focuses on podcast outreach, but the general rules around it can be adjusted to fit any sort of outreach.

Greenleaf Booking Group home page
Image Source: Greenleaf Book Group

Similar to the example we discussed a little further up, this one is about scaling your outreach in a way that you’ll hit the mark with landing your content and spreading the word about it.

That’s exactly what Greenleaf did with their writers’ podcast interviews.

For a book publisher and distributor, PR might be linked to promoting your writers and getting a wider audience to know them.

That’s why they’ve focused on getting their writers’ interviews and messages in a number of different podcasts.

Here’s an example:

Greenleaf upcoming interviews
Image Source: Greenleaf

In fact, Greenleaf has gone one step further and published a detailed guide that includes valuable information in relation to their podcast outreach campaigns and the results for each one of their current titles.

Have a look:

Greenleaf podcast advertising
Image Source: Greenleaf

The Greenleaf tailored podcast outreach campaign seemed to have worked just great in generating interest for their books.

Let’s get right into the next simple PR activity that can help you get press coverage.

PR Tactic #7: Launch a Waitlist

When you have a new feature or product coming up, launching a waitlist might be all you need to create buzz around your brand and get press coverage.

Let’s get into it.

Example: Robinhood

Robinhood home page
Image Source: Robinhood

Robinhood, a stock trading and investing app, was founded in 2013.

The reason we’re giving Robinhood this brand mention is because it did a very good job in terms of its pre-launch campaign.

More specifically, they managed to get viral traffic from a simple waitlist they did in preparation for their press release launch.  

Here it is:

Viral Loops wait list
Image Source: Viral Loops

As you can see, the waiting list is as simple as giving users a button that gives them the opportunity to sign up.

When that was done, users joined the waitlist where they could actually see how many people were ahead of them and how many people had joined after.

The reason why this waiting list went viral was probably because of FOMO (fear of missing out).

Why?

Because people have a natural tendency to want things that aren’t available to them or that are limited.

How did Robinhood’s referral marketing campaign work?

By bringing more and more people into it through sharing a unique referral code.

In other words, the more friends that you referred and got to sign up, the closer you’d be to getting priority access to Robinhood’s private beta.

This led to Robinhood getting mentioned in a number of blog posts across the internet.

Here’s just one of many examples:

Robinhood feature on TechCrunch
Image Source: TechCrunch

We’re now moving towards the final tactic we want to share with you.

PR Tactic #8: Use the Power of Interviews

A public relations campaign targets getting media coverage from a variety of media contacts.

It’s a kind of influencer marketing, but without the exchange of money in return for getting exposure to the influencer’s audience.

One of the most efficient ways to get media attention is to build trust with your audience and the press through the use of interviews.

The example that follows will help us illustrate this interesting PR effort.

Example: Ethos

Entreprenuer Ethos podcast
Image Source: Ethos

The Entrepreneur Ethos Podcast is an informative podcast run by Jarie Bolander with the goal of educating its audience and providing them with valuable information for a more ethical and inclusive – among other things – generation of entrepreneurs.

Listening to or reading the content of the following episode will give great insight on thought leadership and actions all entrepreneurs out there can take.

Here’s the episode we’re talking about:

Interview insights
Image Source: Ethos

The reason we’re showing you this is because this content is proof of the power of interviews in terms of building connections and getting to experience rewarding situations within your industry and professional life.

Whether you’re the interviewer or the interviewee, the process of sharing knowledge and exchanging thoughts with another person, that might or might not be from the same vertical as you, allows you to connect with them on a different level.

Trust me when I say that there’s nothing more efficient in PR than creating connections with others.

It can be anything from getting into press conferences and industry events to sharing human-interest stories and doing some non-spammy PR outreach.

All these give you the opportunity to create long-term connections and basically nail your PR.

That’s what all businesses want, right?

PR Tactic #9: Use PR Stunts and Controversy

PR stunts and creating controversy around your brand can be an effective way to get positive publicity.

PR stunts are often eye-catching and memorable, and can draw attention to your brand in a way that traditional advertising can’t.

Creating controversy around your brand can be a powerful way to get people talking. I

t can create an interesting story that is likely to be shared and discussed, helping to increase your brand’s visibility and reach.

However, it’s important to be aware of the potential risks of creating controversy, and make sure it is managed in the right way.

Example: Burger King

One example of a brand successfully using a PR stunt to get positive publicity is Burger King.

In 2018, the company created its “Whopper Detour” campaign.

Image source: YouTube

Its premise is hilarious – you had to drive to a McDonald’s (or get within 600ft of one), and order a Whopper in the Burger King app.

You would then have to drive to the nearest Burger King, where you could get your sandwich for 1 cent.

The advertisement for this campaign is comedy gold – and showcases clueless people (who didn’t read the rules of this promotion to the end) trying to claim their Whopper at McDonald’s.

What’s even funnier is that according to Burger King, they didn’t communicate about this promotion with McDonald’s, so the reactions of employees to people trying to get Whoppers at McDonalds’ spots are genuine.

This campaign has it all: humor, (almost) free stuff, and personality.

PR Tactic #10: Turn Negative Publicity Into Good PR

Turning negative publicity into positive PR is a challenge faced by many companies.

It requires a comprehensive strategy that focuses on responding to the issue, managing the messaging, and proactively engaging with the public.

The first step is to respond to the issue.

This includes addressing the issue head-on, developing a plan of action, and taking responsibility for the mistake.

Companies should be transparent and honest about the issue, and outline how they plan to fix it.

It is also important to apologize for any mistakes and to emphasize that the company is committed to learning from the issue and improving in the future.

The next step is managing the messaging. It is important to be proactive in this process and to control the narrative.

Companies should be careful to avoid deflecting blame and focus instead on taking responsibility.

Besides using owned media, they should also influencer marketing and engaging with journalists to spread positive messages about the company and its efforts to address the issue.

To start regaining trust, companies should take a proactive approach to engage with the public.

This may include hosting press conferences, running social media marketing campaigns, and participating in public events.

Companies should also consider using the issue as an opportunity to emphasize the values they stand for and the positive impact they have on their customers.

Example: Uber

An example of a company turning negative publicity into good PR is Uber.

In 2017, Uber was beset by a series of scandals, ranging from sexual harassment allegations to a massive data breach.

In response, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi took an active role in communicating with the press and public, apologizing for Uber’s mistakes and outlining steps that the company was taking to improve its culture.

Image source: Uber

He also shifted the company’s focus to its customer service, development of new technologies, and more ethical business practices.

The efforts paid off and Uber’s reputation started to improve.

The company is now seen as a leader in the ride-hailing industry, and is continuing to invest in customer service, safety, and technology.

Also mentioning that even though there was a data breach, there haven’t been any evidence of fraud or misuse is a pretty good crisis communication, don’t you think?

PR Tactic #11: Get A Brand Ambassador

A brand ambassador is someone who has a positive relationship with your company, and who is willing to promote your products and services.

They can help to spread the word about your business, and create a positive sentiment about your brand.

This can be a powerful way to increase brand recognition, and to attract more customers.

Example: Adidas

A real-world example of a company that has used a brand ambassador to great effect is Adidas.

The sportswear giant has tapped popular athletes such as Lionel Messi and David Beckham as ambassadors for their brand.

Image source: Adidas

This has helped to increase their visibility in the market, and to create a positive association with their products.

It has also helped to differentiate their products from those of their competitors, making them stand out.

The result has been increased sales and an even more more loyal customer base.

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Now Over to You

There you have it.

We’ve now completed our list of eleven PR tactics that can help companies get press coverage without having to spend money on a PR agency or writing a press release.

Being timely and relevant, getting out of your comfort zone, and offering something special can be very helpful PR tactics for product launches or any other event you might want to get press coverage for.

Additionally, when it comes to PR techniques, doing outreach that’ll get you featured in podcast or list posts can have a very positive impact on a company’s PR, even if they’re not working with a PR professional but are doing their own PR using modern PR tools.

If you want to see how the process might work and how efficient it can be, feel free to start your 14-day free trial with our PR tool, Respona, and reach out to influencers, media outlet publishers, journalists, or even traditional media representatives in no time.  

Good luck nailing your PR strategy!

Payman Taei

Article by

Payman Taei

Payman Taei is the co-founder of Respona, the all-in-one PR and link building tool that combines personalization with productivity. He’s also the founder of Visme, a DIY platform that allows everyone to create and manage presentations, infographics, reports, and other visual content.

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