Welcome to the Control the Narrative: How to Use Publicity to Boost Your Brand mini-series, where I give you five vital tips for taking control of the stories told about your brand through the media.
Delivering a clear, impactful, consistent message to a large audience can catapult your business.
While building your brand, you must understand the power of being intentional with your publicity strategy and know how to implement it. As a media coach, I teach my clients that the stories and messages they put into the world direct how their audience will think about them.
People tend to dismiss “storytelling” as unnecessary to business, but it’s at the core of everything we do. Narratives are how we communicate ideas and motivate action. It’s why interviews are so compelling: it’s human nature to be drawn to the how and why of what someone does.
Craft Your Message Intentionally
Publicity isn’t just about getting on TV. It’s about knowing what you want to say, whom you’re saying it to, and why you’re saying it. It’s about using the media intentionally to build a reputable image.
When you create a brand, you are putting messages and stories out into the world, whether you know it or not. Every social media post, media engagement, interview, and client interaction contributes to your public image. So, to communicate most effectively, know what you want to convey.
What kind of persona do you want to express? Smart and logical? Passionate and emotional? Fun and laid back? What kind of narrative do you want your audience to understand? In another post in this series, we discuss the importance of expressing what transformation you’ll help your audience undergo. Lean into this.
Grow Brand Awareness
Every interaction with the media adds a drop to the bucket. When you consistently share an exciting and attractive message with your market, you grow a loyal audience and develop true brand awareness.
In your publicity strategy, you should be targeting the same audience over and over, in whatever spaces they occupy. When you show up consistently with the same message and delivery, you’ll eventually be remembered–and being remembered is vital.
Think about it like this. When you see a major software brand advertisement, you don’t immediately buy the product (usually). But it does put the brand’s name and image in your mind. So later, when deciding what to drink, you’ll be just a little more inclined to reach for that particular brand. This is what you want for your brand.
Publicity is about more than just getting on television or in a magazine. It’s about crafting an intentional message and consistently delivering it to the masses so they remember you. Take time to think through exactly what you want to say and start building a publicity strategy.
