Are You Making the Worst Publicity Mistake?

This post is contributed by Margie Zable Fisher, president of Zable Fisher Public Relations, which specializes in e-commerce and product P.R. and publicity. Her company offers free publicity opportunities and tips here.

Please don’t waste your hard-earned money and/or time on getting great publicity if you’re going to make this mistake.

What is the biggest mistake people make when they receive great publicity? Not leveraging it. A great publicity placement is something that can help your business, for many years, in many different forms.

Here are 3 ways to maximize your terrific media coverage:

1. 1. Add a prominent image reminding folks of your media coverage on the home page of your website – a great example is Nardo’s Natural Skincare, which was featured on Shark Tank:Why is this important? Every time someone visits your Web site, whether they know about your media coverage or not, she/he will be reminded that you were recommended by a top media outlet. It is the recommendation that keeps on giving!
   2. Send an email to your contact list, with a link to your coverage, and thanking them for supporting you and your organization.

1. Post your message throughout your social media channels. You can send it at different times and in several ways, but at least once do the smart thing and thank the media outlet and the writer/producer in your message. Use the @ mention functionality in Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to make sure that the media outlet and writer actually see it. Here is a terrific Twitter example:

@arielfoxman @bevysmith wow thank you! being featured is a true honor, u do such amazing work at @instyle — Jessica C. Andrews (@Ms_Andrews) June 24, 2013

Don’t make the mistake of wasting a great publicity placement. Share it often, in many ways, and it will keep promoting your business!