Jane Tabachnick - The Virtual Assistants Guide to Publicity Services

Dearest VA,

I first fell in love with the practice of public relations years ago as a fashion designer. Operating on a shoestring, I was pattern maker, project manager, fashion designer, CEO, and publicist of my first company. I painstakingly learned, through trial and error, that failure is part of the journey. But once I uncovered a bit of success and found publicity in major fashion media, the doors began opening Clients heard my name and took my calls I was hooked on publicity!

Fast forward a number of years now. Inspired to help other entrepreneurs and small business owners benefit from PR as I have, I left fashion and got started applying my passion and skill in public relations and marketing. I began with an ad agency, developing their prospects and marketing materials from scratch sparking growth and igniting their bottom line. Next, I broke ground in my own strategy firm, helping entrepreneurs to launch their businesses online. Soon, I would write my own book, Plain Janes Promotional Planner .

I often hear from my clients that they would love to benefit from PR, but they just cant bring themselves to really invest the time and money into what public relations might or might not be able to do for them. I am a self-professed PR professional, and half-geek, so helping entrepreneurs and business owners discover what they need to take command of their PR is my domain. Of course, I began to wonder what more I could be offering my clients to help them feel confident enough to take the leap into PR. How could I help prepare or assist them? Then it struck me how pivotal of a role the Virtual Assistant could hold on a PR team.

Helen Keller once said, Alone we can do so little together we can do so much. Over the years I have learned that we should never try to forge it alone. Instead, we should aim to seek out support in the form of mentors and like-minded communities courageously exploring training opportunities and utilizing a wide array of tools to help us work smarter, not harder.

This book was created for you, dearest Virtual Assistant. This book is not a how-to meant to teach you to offer PR the way a full-service firm would. Instead, this book was written to show you a new realm of possibilities as a PRVA. It is my hope that this book will ignite those possibilities for you.

To your success in publicity!

Xo

Jane Tabachnick

If I was down to my last dollar, Id spend it on public relations. Bill Gates

According to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.

Public relations is a practice which garners great publicity, or public awareness, for a product, service or company via the media. From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion and marketing. Other elements in the promotional mix are advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing and personal sales.

Its safe to say that every brand or entrepreneur could make use of public relations and benefit from a healthy dose of publicity. Every one of these business-minded folk needs to stay out in front of their prospects, engaging their customers on a regular basis in order to generate potential business.

It doesnt even matter what type of virtual assistant you might be. Whether youre a generalist or you specialize in a niche industry, its safe to say your clientele will benefit from public relations.

PR is like a cog in a bigger machine of integrated marketing and advertising strategy. It crosses all borders and is utilized worldwide by every tongue and nation. At the core of its driving force is a proactive searching for media coverage opportunities and potentialities for garnering favorable mentions.

Many entrepreneurs and brands likely arent using PR as part of their current business strategy, but its certainly one that is equally beneficial to brands and companies of all sizes and industries. Each one, solopreneurs to small businesses and corporations, nonprofits and startups, authors, speakers can all benefit from PR in their own way. Still, many entrepreneurs, nonprofits, etc. arent taking advantage of PR strategies. Why do you think this is?

Hopefully were starting to get a little excited, imagining the prospects and possibilities when approaching our brands with a public relations mindset.

92% of consumers say they trust earned media, while only half trust paid ads. Nielsen

Nielsen conducted a recent Trust in Advertising Survey (TIA), identifying consumers three most trusted sources of information, in this order:

1.Recommendations from Friends and Family

2.Online Reviews

3.The Media

People and businesses rely on third-party credibility to validate and vet companies and services before doing business with them, and these survey findings demonstrate that the media is a high-ranking source in many consumers lives.

Media coverage will offer depth and substance to your brand by:

Establishing third-party credibility

Gaining greater visibility

Achieving expert positioning

Garnering instant credibility

Attaining celebrity status

Receiving implied endorsements

Pre-selling your prospects

The media technically doesnt endorse your business, but it can often be perceived that way when they mention or feature your company or brand. If the media selects you or your business and not your competitor, will people assume you are special, or the best? To understand this further, lets take a look at how public relations ranks in comparison to other types of media content.

Its helpful to look at all content as belonging to one of four different yet interconnected categories, or PESO .

Paid // Advertising, Paid Content Placement, Sponsored FB Posts

These examples hold the least amount of trust with consumers. After all, a company can, and sometimes does, say anything they want to about their business or product expecting the public to take them at their word.

Earned // Media Mentions or Features

This content is of the highest value. Specifically selected for a write-up or feature. (Remember, this content avenue is top three in Nielsens advertising survey.)

Shared // Social Media, Social Engagement, Co-branding

This is valuable content that creates consumer interaction and social sharing.

Owned // Your websites, Blog posts, etc.

This type of content can create thought leadership. Managing content while pursuing alternative approaches to gain visibility and help encourage brand engagement.