When should you start promoting your business?
One of the questions we get a lot is “when should I start promoting my business?” This can be tricky because there are a few things you need to consider before you can really determine your timeline. So my initial response is always something along the lines of “give yourself enough time for strategy preparation & launch, and enough time to build some buzz before the big launch day.” As you can imagine, this timeframe will vary for everyone. Big launch projects may take up to a year to prep for whereas a smaller project may need less lead time.
So how do you decide when to start your PR campaign? Here are a few questions you need to answer to help you build your timeline.
What are the important dates related to launch?
The first step in building a timeline is to figure out your end game. Always start with the official launch date and then work your way backwards. Once you have a launch date, here are a few other dates you need to add to your timeline:
If you are selling a product, when is product available? Two things to consider are when will it be available to send to media and influencers and when will it be available for your customers.
Are you planning a soft launch? If you, when is it? A soft launch is like a pre-launch where you test things out for a select group of people. This group tends to include people like friends and family, media, influencers, or VIPs that signed up early for a wait list. Soft launches can be great for businesses with a physical location because it gives you a chance to iron out any kinks before you reach the masses.
When will your spokesperson be available? If you want to get media interviews, someone needs to be able to do them. Whoever will be representing your brand needs to be available. It’s not going to work if they are away on vacation and you keep saying no to requests.
What do I want to accomplish with my PR strategy?
If you don’t know me by now… It always starts with goal setting. It doesn’t matter what you are doing, you need to know what you want to accomplish in the end. Do you want 3 solid media hits? Do you want 10 million media impressions? Do you want 10 influencer reviews on social media? Do you want to build credibility and trust within your target audience? What do you want? Remember to set SMART goals so you can track your success. However, the challenge with PR is that a lot of it is harder to track. How do you measure trust and credibility? For some it’s based on sentiment in media coverage, how many media hits you get, how many new conversations you have with people who didn’t know about your brand, etc.
Once you have goals in place you can attach a timeline to them. Do you want to accomplish these things before or after your launch? Add that to your timeline.
A word of caution: It can be hard to tie sales directly to certain PR strategies, so make sure you figure out what you want before you get started.
Do I have a social media strategy in place?
A lot of people think PR is just media relations but that would be publicity. PR is about connecting with your public (your target audience) as a whole. In order to connect with your target audience you need to have communication channels in place to do so. Social media is a big part of any public relations strategy. Not only can you connect with your audience, but you may also be able to use certain channels to connect with media, influencers, investors, etc. Different types of marketing are no long so black and white. We live in shades of grey because the lines are blurred and you need many touch points with your target audience for them to remember you.
So a great PR strategy is not a matter of whether you will use social media or not, but what platform(s) will you use. To figure that out consider:
Who do you want to connect with? Different types of people use different social media platforms. And it can even make a difference HOW you use each platform. Consider things like age, gender, occupation, location, etc.
How much time will you schedule for engagement? PR is all about starting conversations, so you need to be prepared to have them online. Scheduling time every day for engagement means you won’t forget to do it.
What kind of content will you share? It’s not enough to pick a platform, you also need to figure out what to share and when. Your content may be dictated by the platform (for example, you would share video content on YouTube), but it also depends on what your target audience likes to see. For example, if they prefer static images to video, then you may want to focus on that.
If you don’t have social media in place already, build that into your timeline. You should have a solid 3 or 4 weeks of social media teaser content leading up to the official launch.
Do I have a website?
It doesn’t have to be fancy, but you need somewhere people can go to get information about you. Having a website adds credibility when you are reaching out to media or trying to connect with your audience in different ways. If you are a new business, you likely don’t have a huge digital footprint, but strategically written content on your website can mean the difference of people finding you or not.
If you don’t yet have a website (yes, an Etsy store counts!), you should build one before embarking on a PR campaign, so factor that into your timeline.
Do I have a media kit?
If there was a question that could be optional, this would be it. Some campaigns do well with a full media kit – like an author with a book launch, a musician launching their album or going on tour, etc -and some don’t necessarily need it – if you looking to put yourself out as an expert for comment. That’s not to say that you don’t need any media materials if you’re not putting together a media kit. You still need to have a really well-written bio – both a short version and a long version, messaging to pull from for media pitches and interview prep, a one-sheet expert profile you can send so your contacts can keep it on file, at least one good headshot (it may be time for a refresh!), and professional (looking) product shots of whatever you are pitching.
Take the time to get these things in place before you get rolling. The last thing you want to be doing is scrambling to get photos for a journalist who has requested them on a deadline.
What are my competitors doing?
If you’re not sure where to start with your own PR strategy, have a peek at what others are doing. I am a huge advocate of knowing what’s going on with your competitors. Not only will it likely spark some creativity in you, but it also helps you do things that will make you stand out. When it comes to the lead up to a launch, have they done teaser content on social media? Did they work with influencers to build buzz with reviews? Did they get media coverage? Did they do a wait list sign up? Have a peek to see some of the timelines on their PR campaigns and see if those timelines would work for you.
Who is in my corner?
No shame in running this on your own, but if you have help it can cut down on prep time for sure! If you’re planning on putting together a team, will it be for strategy building or just for implementation? If you want someone (like me!) to work with you on your PR strategy it’s best to approach them a couple of months in advance at least. The right person will guide you on goal setting and figuring out what tactics are best to help you reach those goals (within budget!).
If you’re hiring someone for implementation, then you need to figure out your timeline first and then give them a little bit of time to get comfy with your brand before acting on your behalf.
What is my budget?
The dreaded question about money. Not everything costs a lot of money, but you do need to figure out what your budget for PR is. There are certain costs that could come up and you need to factor that in before you finalize a strategy. Your budget can determine how much or how little you will be able to do. Consider costs such as:
Product for sampling/PR packages
Product for prizing
Shipping materials for PR packages
Marketing materials like postcards, flyers, swag, etc.
Shipping costs
Tradeshow booth costs (both to pay for the booth and your set up)
Expert costs if you are hiring a team
Advertising costs
Influencer costs if you work with someone who doesn’t want to just do product exchange
Can’t afford it? Cut it out of your strategy and adjust your timeline. No one says you have to do everything at once and it’s OK to roll out with a smaller strategy in the beginning and grow from there!
What tactics will I use?
After figuring out your goals and determined the size of your budget, you need to figure out what tactics you’ll use to get your name out there. Social media, media relations, influencer marketing, experiential marketing, direct marketing, the possibilities are endless. Start with what would resonate most with your audience. And make sure you are building a strategy that is within your resources available.
Once you figure out what you are doing you can get a pretty good sense of how much time you’ll need for preparation.
What happens after the launch date?
Your strategy timeline shouldn’t end once launch happens. You need to build follow up campaigns into it so you don’t lose momentum. So, be sure to set up time for a launch debrief as well tactics to carry you through to the next phase!
Putting it all together
So once you have answers to all of the above questions, you are ready to build your timeline. High level you can look at planning quarterly, but when it comes to implementation, it’s best to set up a weekly schedule so you can keep yourself accountable – and you don’t forget what has to be done and when.
Still not sure where to start with building your PR timeline? Set up a free 20-minute consultation with me and we’ll chat!