Devoted to Managers and those that seek to improve their management skills

Jeff Cornwall
Director of the Belmont University
Center for Entrepreneurship

a

a

The director of the Belmont University Center for Entrepreneurship, Jeff Cornwall, used the recent success of their basketball team, entering the NCAA men's basketball tournament for their first time in history as a lesson in becoming "masters of their own P.R."

He said "It is a good lesson of the power of publicity. If a small school is able to gain the kind of publicity Belmont has gotten over the past week, amazing things happen. See this piece that was front page on USA Today on the 14th as a example. (My students tell me we are getting a news piece somewhere every thirty minutes over the past two days)."
 
Here are some lessons he offers that can drive your P.R. campaigns into the stratosphere:

Learn how to write a press release and how to use it effectively:

- Be consistent and focused in your message and who you target with that message

- Do your homework on what media like what kinds of stories. Many have business sections that are constantly looking for good stories.

- Include cover letter (e-mail) or relevant article to explain why your story about your business is interesting or trendy.

- Build relationships with local reporters so they get to know you and your business. You can expect multiple stories if you do this well.

- Create your own angle for them for the story.

- Send to newspapers, magazines, radio, television that have an interest in your local market or in your product.

- Follow-up with phone call to see if they have any questions. This is sometimes where the interest gets momentum.

- Be persistent and don't be afraid to break the rules.

- Quality counts, so write it well and write it like a real news story.

These are excellent guidelines for success in your marketing strategies. I think one of the key ones he touches on is the preparation before any campaign even begins. The two I think are especially potent are the research into finding out what your local media is looking for, and having relationships with reporters in place so that when something begins, you already have sources in place to help your campaign go viral.