Commercial Integrator January 2021 - 30

MARKETING Business Development
MARKETING TIPS
FOR AV INTEGRATORS:
PUBLIC
RELATIONS
Media coverage of your
integration business is
an often overlooked
but extremely effective
marketing strategy.
By Marsha Ann Marsh
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT the best ways
to attract the attention of customers and
prospects, you probably reflect first on tactics
such as social media, paid advertising
and email. These are all excellent marketing
strategies. However, there is one more that
is often overlooked - public relations.
Nothing has a bigger impact on a customer
than having someone outside of your
organization expound on your strengths.
Customer testimonials are an important
part of this strategy, but media coverage
can be as well.
I started my career at a high-tech public
relations agency back in the days when
MTV played videos and getting my client
Macromedia's Flash multimedia product
on it was a big deal. Boy, have many things
changed since then. But one constant is the
power of the media.
The definition of media has evolved
to include websites, blogs and YouTube
channels as well as traditional newspapers,
magazines and TV. There are a number of
considerations when determining your PR
strategy including:
30
National or Local: If you serve customers
around the country, you should include
national media in your outreach. However,
local companies can still get a nice business
boost from a call out in the town paper.
A few years ago, I worked for a life
sciences company that had a PR agency
for industry and national media outreach.
However, I created my own list of reporters.
I would send them a quick email with our
latest news and follow up by phone to offer
an interview with our executives.
My main goal with this outreach was for
our employees to see local coverage of
the company. It's a great way to generate
excitement and goodwill. For integration
companies that do a lot of local business,
you have the added incentive of reaching
potential customers.
Target Audience: Who are you trying
to reach? If you serve specific vertical
markets, you may want to compile a list
of media outlets that serve the real estate
or healthcare industries. If you are selling
to homeowners, where do they live and
Commercial Integrator JANUARY 2021
what media do they normally consume?
If you don't know, identify some existing
customers and ask them about their
media habits.
Format: Do you already have or could you
create some great video content of recent
projects or would you be better to stick with
written media? It's important to think through
your capabilities rather than pique the interest
of a media partner and then not be able
to deliver the video content they need.
Patience is the Key to Success
Public relations is a long-term play meaning
that it's rare to get quick hit coverage that immediately
boosts your revenue. More commonly,
you will need to spend months if not
years reaching out to your list of contacts.
As you build relationships with these
contacts, you will see coverage increase
over time. But don't forget one of the best
parts of this equation is that it's free. You are
trading your time invested in ongoing outreach
for free coverage that is often more
impactful than paid advertising.
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Commercial Integrator January 2021

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