How to “do” PR in 4 easy steps
Let’s start at the beginning, what does it mean to “do” PR?
PR is about building and maintaining a positive public image for a company or organization. Professionals in this field create media, from press releases to social media messages, that shape public opinion of the company or organization and increase awareness of its brand.
So how do you go a step further and start “doing” your own PR? Here are some important ways to start.
1) Make it easy to write about your brand
If you want press coverage, your company needs to do something worth writing about. As a rule of thumb, you want to make information about your business easily accessible.
A simple way to do this is by making a press information landing page on your organization’s website. This should include things like company basics, such as:
- a company and product description
- product images
- a video explainer
- links to all past press coverage
- contact information

2) Keep your fingers on the pulse of your industry
Public relations can change in the blink of an eye. A single tweet can send your brand into PR crisis management mode, a customer’s kind comment could go viral – all of this is to say that you need to keep your finger on the pulse.
PR monitoring tools can make this a lot easier. These platforms can provide important alerts, insights and spikes in conversation.
BuzzSumo has its own monitoring tool which scans blogs, news sites, forums and other online communities across the web, to show you what’s being published about the things most important to you and / or your brand.
See how the BuzzSumo team uses its own tool to monitor different forms of PR, and generate a 108% uplift in free trial signups.
Conducting some level of PR monitoring can help you find quick-win media opportunities, avert brand crises, and get ahead of your market.
3) Know your area of expertise
Own what you know. Everyone in your business is already an expert. They know the ins and outs of what you do and whatever that area may be should be the north star for all of your content.
Whether it’s your CEO talking to a top tier media outlet, or your CTO writing a blog article for a industry publication, use your company’s area of expertise to frame the conversation. That way you can gain credibility in your industry and with an audience of potential customers.
This also has the added benefit of promoting your brand while building real press relationships beyond product pushes.
Why not try:
- Submitting company experts as contributors to publications (ie. If you’re in SEO or Marketing, that might be as a Search Engine Journal contributor)
- Putting experts forward as interviewees during PR email pitches
- Submitting experts for awards to raise the profile of both the person and the brand
- Putting experts up for industry talks
- Featuring company experts as guests on webinars and podcasts
4) Strike while the iron’s hot
Keeping with the idea of industry content, it’s smart to offer leaders from your company as experts to comment on news stories. It’s an effective way to establish relationships with reporters.
For example, if you worked for an SEO company, it’d be fair to assume that your leadership team would have something to say when Google updates their algorithm.
Reporters are always looking for experts that can give their stories substance and new angles. If you’re looking for inspiration and stories you can jump on, why not try:
- Subscribing to relevant newsletters
- Setting up topic alerts
- Monitoring Twitter trending feeds
- Integrating trend stories into your most used platforms / workflows (ie. Use Feedly for curated newsfeeds)
- Switch on social notifications when important trend spotting influencers post
For more information, read these top newsjacking tips from a former BBC Journalist.