Don’t think PR and publicity is worth the time? Tell that to Barak Obama.

Sure, you’ll hear a lot of social media experts so that it was social media that won the race, but without a PR strategy, including what information was offered to Obama’s friends on Facebook, MySpace, etc. It wouldn’t have happened.

Using social media was a brilliant idea and tactic. Why? Because the Obama camp reached out to a targeted public to get the vote out. And that targeted pubkic happened to be Internet-savvy, young voters.

A special Halloween treat for small business owners. Take a look.

A new issue of Be Heard!, the free weekly ezine, is now available.  Get secrets to a successful launch, journalist interview tactics, and get contacts at Better Homes & Gardens.

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It’s all over the news. GOP VP candidate Sarah Palin is getting a lot of flack for her $150,000 GOP-funded new clothes for her ongoing stumping.

It doesn’t matter who you’re voting for… this is a stupid issue that I wish someone would comment on. Ok, I’m not shy. I will do it.

First, full disclosure: I am not a Palin fan by any means.

But as I said, my political tastes aside, it’s all about PR and costumes.

As a former news reporter in the public eye almost every moment (even when off-the-air and off-camera), you need to look your best. Otherwise people discredit your professionalism.

For a man, you’re set with a couple of suits, several ties and shirts and perhaps some powder to keep the shine off your face. (It’s what I insist my husband has on hand always when he’s going to be on TV for his work.)

For a women, however, it’s different. Although you won’t admit it, people notice when women have worn the same clothes more than once in a week. So you need more than a couple of suits and blouses to carry you. Heck! There’s even some magazines who show when celebs have worn the same outfit! Forget just wearing something over again!

Then, as a mom with a baby, your going to get your outfits dirty, no matter how hard you try to keep clean! And I am not even mentioning all the hand shaking and hugging that goes on. A second or third outfit always needs to be handy. And that costs money.

Then there’s make-up and hair.  A bit of powder won’t cut it.  Women are expected to wear more. And as you may know, cosmetics aren’t cheap.

I cannot believe the media is talking about this as a real significant news story. It’s a distraction of the REAL issue of who’s right to lead out country. Get over it!

Oh yes. One more thing: I’ve never heard a discussion on how much the male candidate spend (or have others spend) on their wardrobes. Someone want to release that info?

Think getting featured in a newspaper or magazine, or on TV or radio is only for the really big companies who can afford it? Think again.

More than 90% of everything you see in the news is generated from a press release, also known as a news release. You, too, can see yourself in the local and even national news just by coming up with a fresh and newsworthy story.

But if you really want to attract the local media to partake, you need to give them a good reason. And that reason is: you’ve got a great local story.

One of the easiest ways to do this is what the people in the news business call ‘piggybacking.’ ‘Piggybacking’ simply mean localizing a national story.

Why is this important? Local news is the local media’s bread and butter. When they can find someone in their area who can offer background, commentary or story ideas that piggyback off a national event, or someone who is part of a national trend, they will usually bite.

Here are some of the best ways to give a national news story a local spin:

• Human Interest
• Tips and Advice
• Tragedy or Crisis
• Holiday/Event Tie-Ins
• Current affairs

In fact, piggybacking plays a major role in local newsrooms across the country. Reporters often search for hours for someone who can shed new light on a national news story – and give the story a more ‘neighborhood’ perspective.

Want easy to use, already written press releases to use to promote your own business? Then you will ove Penny Pinching Publicity. It gives you a release each month to use, hot leads from reporters looking for people to interview, media contacts, and additional marketing tips and techniques. Go to http://www.pennypinchingpublicity.com

It’s important to make your business visible, especially when the economy is weak. After all, when people are still looking to buy products or services, and they usually opt for the business they remember seeing or hearing about.

I recently discussed a bit about this over at Startup Spark, but I’d thought I share some practical tips here to help you.

Use the following ideas to market your business, create visibility, and drive more customers to your doors.

1.) Launch an event – An event can be as small as a dinner party or as large as a banquet. Events create publicity and give the news a reason to mention your business.

Will you be successful during this economy?

2.) Business gifts – Business gifts are a constant reminder to people long after a campaign has ended or an event has been held. Give out useful items as small as pencils and pens, mouse pads or coffee mugs. This will allow your company’s name to be seen all the time – by the person who received the gift and others around them.

3.) Charities – Even if you do not hold or launch a charity event, it is enough to just be involved. Donate money or be involved in collecting donations. This will help increase visibility in your community as well as show the community that you care.

4.) Get online – Online is a great place to increase visibility. Community visibility is important, but being online can help build your consumer base beyond your hometown. Create a webpage that is very informative to your customers. Get your business name into every forum and blog that applies to your business. Create your own blog if you have the time. If you write articles about your service or product, post these on your website and allow other websites to use them. All these things will make it more viable for potential consumers to come across your business name through a web search.

5.) Newsletter – Send out an online newsletter to your customers. If you give customers something to talk about, they may relay the information you are giving them to friends. So, in a networking fashion, your name can be spread and become better known to the community.

6.) Local newspapers – What better place to receive visibility in your community than your local newspapers. You can get your company name into a newspaper buy writing an article, being mentioned in a story, or writing a letter to the editor.

7.) Give speeches – You’d be surprised how many other businesses, organizations and clubs need people of expertise to share information. This establishes your expertise and credibility while at the same time promotes your own business. Research clubs, groups, the local chamber of commerce and organizations often look for speakers with expertise in interesting and informative topics.

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But the key to business development is really about having a dialogue: a conversation about the prospects needs and wants.

Think back to when you had great dinner conversation. What makes a good conversationalist at a dinner party? The same conversational skills also apply in effective marketing.

If you approach your marketing as dinner party conversation, you’ll find a change in your responses.

Go to www.pennypinchingpublicity.com for more information.

We have to be honest, not many of us have ever dealt with an economic crash. So most of us don’t know what steps to take should a recession take place.

As a normal consumer, we are all making changes when it comes to spending. We may go out to dinner less, or cut down on impulse buying. These are steps you should take as a small business owner, as well.

With the threat of a recession at hand, many may feel necessary to focus on cash flow rather than creating media buzz. Luckily there are certain public relations and marketing methods out there that are inexpensive and with a little knowledge can be taken advantage of during times of downturn.

PR and marketing skills are essential when running a business. Here are several free tips about what to do with your business during a recession.

• Do not stop marketing. Be smart, cut back, but remember the time you spent building up your company. If you drop your marketing efforts, you’ll have to ramp them up again!

• Continue developing your relationships with current customers. Yes, it is always nice to gain new customers, but by focusing on those who already know, like and trust you, you’re more apt to continue to profit. And remember, it costs less to target your current clients, than trying to get new ones.

• Pay close attention to consumers and their actions. By keeping an eye on new trends in your target markets, you can outsmart your competitors and make changes in products and prices.

• Locate and invest in market segments that are continuing to grow during a recession. You want to win these markets whether you are already selling to those markets or if they are new market segments.

Another issue of Be Heard!, the free weekly ezine, is now available.  Get tips on working with reporters, info on the improved Penny Pinching Publicity, and contacts at Good Morning America.

Check it out here.

If you want your event or press conference to end well, and you want to see results, there are plenty of steps to take to ensure its Publicized well. If you can make sure to avoid a few easy-to-miss mistakes, you should be able to conduct a great event!

The steps to great publicity are there, its just important not to skip any. You don’t have to be an expert to follow a few simple rules, right? Exposure is right around the corner, and here a couple ways to get there.

Be audience conscious. Keep in mind that not all event topics or event types cater to everyone. It may be best to put your interpersonal skills to good use when a smaller crowd is involved. That way, the person you’re speaking with will get a better sense of what you and your business is about. When dealing with a larger number of people, it may more useful for you as a respectable public figure to speak to all members of your audience at the same time.

Identify the occasion. Ask yourself this question. Is my event worth talking about? Make sure that your event revolves around a topic of interest. You want your event to be news worthy and have substance. Otherwise people won’t likely be interested in attending. It won’t do your reputation any good, either.

Create a plan. First and foremost, put someone in charge. Publicity can become a mess if too many people are involved. Although it’s helpful to assign small tasks to a few people, there should be one person responsible for overseeing and managing the arrangements. Second, do the planning for your event far in advance. Make a decision on how you want to inform others about your event. Then organize a system for making your plan work. Create a schedule of these activities to keep you organized.

Provide correct information. Present the 5 Ws: Who, What, When, Where, Why. The most important thing is to make sure you give accurate information such as the date, time, and address of the event. Always include contact information in your flyer for those who want additional information or have questions.

Keep up with those involved. After the event, make sure to send thanks to those who helped make your event happen and those who attended. You could also send out a small thank you card to those involved in the media relations of your event and let them know the outcome. It always helps to be on good-terms with the media for any future events. You may also want to write about the results of your event and send to the local press for publication. Chances are if your event was successful and worth talking about, it would be considered newsworthy, something that people would want to know about.

Conduct a post-event assessment. Talking to those who attended your event will help you to understand what went well and what didn’t. Keep notes on things that you wish happened differently. When you begin to understand what attracts people to your event and what doesn’t, you will learn what will bring more people to your events in the future. That will ultimately enhance your PR rep.