What is PR and How Can it Help a New Business

Every business is crucially dependent on its reputation. It is not only customers that have an impact; so too do suppliers, investors, employees, and the media. Each of these will have an opinion regarding the business and it is this opinion that will determine how they interact with it, for instance whether they purchase from it, invest in it or work for it. 

The aim of PR is to manage that reputation in a positive way so that these stakeholders gain and maintain a viewpoint that is beneficial to all parties and that achieves the corporate aims of the business.
A PR campaign

There are many aspects to a PR campaign. The traditional approach is the press release, which is a succinct news item describing interesting information on a business or product and which is circulated to journalists for publication in the media. In our digital age this is now known as a news release, and it is likely to be published online.

Although news releases are still an important aspect of PR campaigns, over recent years social networks have become increasing important. This is a very different approach than the traditional one of just presenting people with information and hoping that this will elicit a response. It involves two way communications and can be very effective. Today many PR professionals spend much of their time getting involved in conversations within social media and news releases written for the social media are designed to encourage customer engagement, sharing and conversation. 

A PR campaign is often the best way to launch a new business

New businesses need to manage cashflow with care. Sales need to be generated quickly and there may not be sufficient funds for extensive advertising campaigns. In such circumstances PR is a highly cost effective way of getting the business message across; not only is it considerably less expensive than advertising, when it is done correctly it can have a greater impact. Just a simple placement in the media can have a significant positive impact on sales.

PR owes its effectiveness to a number of factors:

• People tend to respond more positively to a third party endorsement of a product or business than they do to a paid-for advertisement
• PR increases the general awareness of businesses and brands and increases their credibility
• Articles and news releases written as part of a PR campaign are found by search engines. Inbound links in these will drive visitors to the business website as well as increasing the rank of the website in search engine results. 
• People like to share interesting and engaging information with the result that audiences can grow at an exponential rate.

Going about it

There are two approaches to PR: do it yourself (DIY) or hire a professional PR agency. One problem with the DIY approach is that there are so many things to be done in a new business that few entrepreneurs are able to devote sufficient time to developing and pursuing an effective PR campaign, so budgeting for some help from a PR professional should form part of the business plan, you should always check out what an agency has done before too.

Whatever approach is adopted it is important to concentrate initially on the strategy. For instance you need to establish what messages you want to get across, the reasons why you do, and how they will deliver your business goals. Ideally PR will form part of your overall marketing plan, so you need to consider ways in which you can integrate it.

As already indicated social media can be very useful to PR, but it needs time to engage your audience; you (or your PR professional) will need to get involved in conversations and building relationships.
Finally

PR is so important to new businesses that it should be included in the overall business strategy. Although it is cost effective, there is a cost, so ensure that you budget for it; you might have only one chance to get it right.

Pick the Right Domain Name for a Successful Website

Domain Names (Photo credit: ivanpw)

Having the right domain name can be exactly what you need to gain exposure for your online business and increase sales. A catchy or familiar online name can make it easier for customers to remember who you are and what you do. When they need to buy your products or services in the future, they will be sure to come back to you because your site is easy to find.

What's In A Domain Name?

Domain names can be important pieces of the SEO puzzle. What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the act of optimizing content to be found equally appealing by people and robots. Human readers want content that is worth sharing while robots want to find keywords and good meta descriptions that make it easy to rank your page high on the search results. By putting good keywords into your domain name, your site will be easier to find through search engines.

Domains Are Cheap To Acquire

The nice part about buying a domain name is that they are not expensive. In some cases, they will cost a penny per month or will be given away for free. If you are in the business of buying and selling domain names, you stand a good chance of finding a quality name, keeping it for yourself and then selling it when it becomes popular enough to fetch a high price. Buyers who are willing to pay top dollar include people who want to use their own name as their domain name or those looking to use hot search terms in their domain name to drive traffic to their site.

Your Domain Name Should Not Have Any Slang Or Misspellings

The last thing that you want to do is take a domain name that uses slang, misspelled words or poor grammar. This will only serve to turn off customers who may have been interested in buying what you were selling. Remember, you only have one chance to make a great first impression on your target market.

The next time that you need a quality domain to call your own, you can buy a domain at NetworkSolutions.com. It will only take a few minutes to make the purchase and get the site up and running.

Five Ways Internet Can Help Seniors Save Money on Everyday Shopping

A penny saved is a penny earned, we know it’s true, but for some reasons our mindset is becoming more and more inclined towards money making, and we are not so keen on saving money.

Now, money saving is not something meant only for poverty-stricken. Regardless of how affluent you are, you shouldn’t squander your money on something that is not priced for what it is. And when it comes to knowing the right price, or saving money on a particular purchase, there’s nothing as effective as the Internet.

Here’s how Internet can help seniors save money on everyday shopping …

Coupons & Discount Codes

Some of these discounts appearing on daily deals websites might sound too good to be true, but most of these deals and discounts are actually legit. Special deals and hefty discounts are one of the most effective ways for attracting customers, and businesses are always ready to offer heavy discounts to get new customers on board. And while it is not feasible to browse through various daily deals, or coupon code websites in search of a discount at an everyday item you are looking to purchase, you can simply search for a relevant deal at one of those deals search engines. It will save you a lot of time, and hopefully, a lot of bucks as well. 

Price Comparison

In any given market, you will find plenty of businesses offering pretty much the same products or services, but not all of them are fair with their pricing. You will find big differences in their prices, when you compare all of these products side by side, except that it is not possible at a brick and mortar store. However, a simple search on Internet will give you many options to compare prices and figure out the average market price. You can also search for available options within your budget like best tablets under 100. This will help you in bargaining and making sure you are not paying unfair prices.

Free Shipping

Even if you aren’t finding massive discounts or discounted prices, you can visit some online store and see if they are offering free shipping to your doorstep. Remember that getting the products shipped at your doorstep will mean you can save the trouble, time, and money that you’ll have to spend on going to the market and making a purchase.

Avoid Scams

It goes without saying that you should do the due diligence when you are looking to invest your life savings in a business or some scheme. Remember that there are many scam artists and businesses, promising big profits on incredibly easy terms. Then there are businesses which are not really scam but investing your money will mean certain risks that you are not ready to take.

The simplest way to check the credibility and reliability of a business is to search online. Usually, you will find a scam or rip-off report pertaining to the business that is involved in shoddy practices, and you need to stay away from that business to save your hard earned dollars. However, searching online is just the first step; it doesn’t mean you should blindly go ahead with the investment in case you don’t find anything online about that business. No news is not always good news.

Seniors Discounts

There are two types of discounts, first the regular ones that will be applicable to all and sundry, and then there are special discounts like discounts for veterans, student discounts, or group discounts. Similarly, some businesses offer special discounts to seniors, and the only way to keep tabs on all such discounts is to search online and keep track.