I’ve read a few articles in recent days about smart PR and marketing, including this one by Jackie Nagel on ‘The New Normal‘.  Smart PR and marketing is, to my mind, effective PR & marketing – it delivers the right message to the right audience at the right time in order to achieve the desired outcome.  In the case of public relations it is to build and sustain a mutually beneficial relationship; with marketing it is to get the audience to take action on your behalf, because they want to.

I gave a presentation at the end of last year that looked at why the traditional – media-centric approach to PR is, if it ever was, no longer smart.  Take a daily publication with a circulation of 300,000 per week and apply the direct marketing 5% rule and you find that you are actually talking with about 7.5 people.  This is without factoring in the added complexity that your target audience may read the paper on a day that you’re not in it.

Apply the same rule to a website with a similar weekly audience but with a 15 minute news cycle and you can see the chances of you getting in front of your target audience with editorial coverage is even more unlikely.

I’m not saying nobody will see it.  Neither am I saying that nobody will click the link or Google you.  But how many of those people are likely to be become your customer, or make the investment you’re seeking?  Sure, it could happen – but I could also win the lottery this week.

Smart PR and marketing takes a different approach.  It identifies the audience, understands why they might be interested in your company or product.  It works out what you need to say to them to start a conversation that gives you the opportunity to influence them – whether it is investing in your business, buying your product or telling somebody they know about you.  It understands what the right time to start the conversation is – for them.  Too many PR and marketing programs assume, incorrectly, that the right time is when they are ready.  Smart PR and marketing also understands that the delivery channel is critical to getting the outcome you want – and that, in many cases, social media is not the right one.

Still not sold on smart PR or marketing?  Ask yourself how many planes you’d be prepared to get on in order to get to your intended destination?  How many randomly dialled telephone calls would you make to try to find the person you wanted to talk with? Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?  But that’s what the majority of companies do with their PR and marketing every day.

If your business deserves smart PR and marketing give me a call on 647.773.2677 or email me at lyndon@thinkdifferently.ca We’ll help you deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time and using the right delivery mechanism.