A major goal for any business is to create profit by selling its product or service. A source of frustration for many business executives is the sheer amount of time and effort it can take to convert a potential sales lead into a buying customer. While sales and marketing teams are the ones usually in charge of creating conversions and thus driving sales, neglecting the role of PR activities in the sales process can be a missed opportunity for many businesses.

PR can be a powerful tool to jumpstart sales. It can be helpful in improving response times from potential leads as well as increasing the probability of a sale.

Each year, the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity recognizes some of the best and most impactful PR campaigns that year. The entries tend to run the gamut in public relations, from fun interactions to creative engagement, to artful apologies, and recently recognized campaigns included all of the above.

McDonald’s debuted a new look in celebration of International Women’s Day when the company “flipped” its iconic Golden Arches logo, turning the internationally-known “M” into a stylized “W” in honor of women. And that was just the beginning…

Gaining and maintaining consumer trust is the goal of every PR professional. Consumer trust is invaluable to brands. However, recent data suggests consumers are growing more and more distrusting of traditional media. Additionally, with the spread of ‘fake news’, consumers are more suspicious than ever.

In this very confusing media environment, PR professionals face hurdles when it comes to earning trust through media efforts. So, how do we navigate this maze in a world where trust on a downward spiral.

When a message goes out, is it public relations or advertising? For a lot of folks, these terms are understood interchangeably. However, while there is some overlap, the truth is, each enterprise has a distinct purpose, priority, and metric for success.

Public relations is, essentially, a strategic communication program or process that connects brands or persons with a market or audience in a beneficial way. The key takeaways here are that PR is a process, not a one-and-done scenario. PR is connective, creating goodwill or a bond between the audience and the brand; and PR is supportive of and beneficial to the brand vision and mission.

Every industry has it set of myths that have stuck around throughout the years, despite evidence to the contrary. Marketing is also a victim of folklore needs to be addressed. Sometimes word of mouth can get out of hand by distorting knowledge and creating ideas that are not based on facts or reality.

When these myths start to inform our thinking and our actions, that’s when it becomes a problem. Misconceptions about common marketing practices can lead to misuse or even complete abandonment of marketing tools. As we say our goodbyes to 2018, let’s also bid farewell to the myths that are incorrectly influencing our decisions. Here are four marketing myths that need to be debunked:

Good events don’t just happen. They require intensive planning and a successful public relations promotion to get the word out, create interest, and compel action. PR will help increase the awareness of the event and, when properly targeted, will get that message to the people best positioned to help you generate the buzz you need to fill the venue.

One of the best ways to build buzz for an upcoming event, is to create and nurture an online community. This community could be connected by interest in you, your brand, or a common activity related to your brand.

Effective public relations is both an art and a science. It’s a combination of understanding your audience, the proper execution of a carefully designed plan, and the ability to adjust your message and approach on the fly as needed. Most of this work is done before the campaign is launched.

Too often, though, people and brands try to react to a situation, rather than planning for and responding to likely scenarios. Worse, people sometimes base their campaign narratives on assumptions or traditions, when the plain fact is “what always worked” may not work anymore. To avoid finding your campaign falling into these traps, here’s a pre-launch checklist for your next PR campaign.

Everyday journalists are inundated with pitches from business owners and PR professionals looking to get their products and services features in an article. They are fighting for a spot in the limelight because media exposure is a great way to introduce your product or service to the public. However, of the many pitches that journalists receive only a selected few make it onto the pages of their media outlet.

Pitching is an art form that requires hard work, attention to detail and creativity. So, if you want to craft a winning media pitch that catches a journalist’s attention, then it requires much more than just drafting a generic email. Here are a few tips for getting journalists to pay attention to your pitch: