5 Ways Creators Can Use Public Relations and How to Do It

Edward Bernays had a clear plan when he hired ten women to smoke cigarettes at the 1929 Easter Parade in New York.

At that time, it was rare for women to smoke, so when these women did, many other women saw it as a sign of freedom and wanted to join in.

Tobacco sales went up. Women felt powerful smoking in public.

This was exactly what The American Tobacco Company wanted when they hired Bernays to create his famous Torches of Freedom PR stunt.

The Torches of Freedom was the first PR campaign, and its success showed how important PR is for brands.

Today, PR strategies are easier for small business owners to use than they were in 1929. As a creator, you just need a laptop and some creativity to try your own PR strategies.

What is Public Relations?

Public relations is all about how people see your brand. It's like a friendship between you and your audience. You need to keep that friendship strong by talking openly and sharing important information. If you have a disagreement, you need to apologize and take responsibility.

Before the internet, PR was mostly offline, and businesses spent a lot of money to get their stories in magazines and newspapers. (Bernays got $25,000 for his stunt, which is almost $500,000 today!)

The move to the digital world changed PR by making it online and accessible for all businesses.

Today, creators can handle their own PR from home, even while enjoying a latte.

Isn't Public Relations the Same as Marketing?

PR and marketing are different, but they work together to form a complete business strategy. The easiest way to tell them apart is by looking at their goals.

The goal of marketing is to sell products. You use tools like Facebook ads, email marketing, and landing pages on your website to encourage people to buy.

The goal of PR is to build and maintain a good relationship with your audience and manage how the public views your brand. Creators do this through five main parts of PR:

1. Media relations: Build relationships with media people to increase credibility and grow your brand.

2. Influencer relations: Form long-term relationships with influencers in your field to expand your reach.

3. Community relations: Create goodwill within your community to strengthen ties with your audience.

4. Online communication: Use your website, newsletter, and social media to control your brand's story and share information quickly.

5. Crisis communication: Have a plan to handle crises to lessen the impact of negative events.

We’ll go through each part so you can understand their role in your PR strategy.

5 Key Parts of Public Relations for Creators

1. Media Relations

   Building connections with media people can help you:

• Be a guest on a popular podcast in your field.
• Appear on TV shows, like news segments, to reach a large audience.
• Speak at conferences to show your expertise.
• Write guest blogs for high-authority websites to get quality backlinks.
• Get mentioned in magazines and print.

Lisa Steele, an author, blogger, and TV host, uses media relations to get guest spots on TV, print, radio, online, and more. She has appeared on shows like "Martha Knows Best" and "The View."

The secret to media relations is connecting with people linked to outlets your audience follows. Lisa suggests:

• Follow journalists and media people on LinkedIn and Twitter. Share and tag them in articles or segments that relate to your brand.
• Contact local morning or news shows about doing a segment.
• Keep reaching out with seasonally relevant or newsworthy blog posts as opportunities come up. – Lisa Steele

2. Influencer Relations

39% of people don't trust paid influencers because it feels like an ad rather than a real review.

However, influencer marketing is powerful, with 84% of shoppers saying they've bought something based on an influencer's recommendation.

So, how can you use influencers in a genuine way? Think about influencer relations.

Influencer relations is like influencer marketing but with a key difference: in influencer marketing, you pay influencers to promote your product for a specific campaign. In influencer relations, you build long-term relationships with influencers. Instead of paying for reviews, you send them products without expecting promotion.

Influencers also like this kind of partnership. Lifestyle influencer Shanna Leigh prefers influencer relations over influencer marketing. She says, "Influencer relations create more genuine content. Working with brands long-term is better because it feels natural to share my favorite products."

To quickly find potential influencers to connect with, look at your past customers. They already know and like your brand and might be happy to talk about your products on their platform.

3. Community Relations

Community relations involve activities you do to support your community, such as donating and volunteering. For example, Worker Bee Yoga offered a free yoga class and asked participants to donate to Garden House Hospice Care instead of paying a fee.

The organizations you support are important: 83% of people aged 18-34 believe it’s important that the companies they buy from share their values. So, choose organizations that matter to your audience.

You don't need to make large donations to be seen positively. People care more about the way brands donate than the amount they give.

4. Online Communications

With media and influencer relations, you might not control the exact message. That’s why online communications are crucial. Creators should focus on three areas: social media, email, and their website.

Social Media

Use your social media to quickly share important news, like a new partnership, with your audience.

Email Newsletter

Social media algorithms change, and you don’t own your accounts. Email is a reliable way to communicate. You can schedule and automate emails, ensuring your audience stays informed without worrying about social media changes.

Website

Your website is like the front door to your business and helps establish credibility. Here are some tips:

• Use your blog to keep your audience updated on your business.
• Create a contact page so people can easily reach you.
• Have a press page to showcase media outlets that have featured you. This not only adds credibility but also encourages other media personnel to work with you.

5. Crisis Communications

When your PR strategy works well, your audience will trust you, recommend you, and buy your products. A study by SproutSocial found that 57% of people spend more with brands they feel connected to. Life is good when your PR strategy is effective!

But things can go wrong. Partnering with the wrong influencer or making a poor comment can harm your brand or even get you #canceled. Not handling backlash properly can further damage your brand’s image.

In a PR crisis, be ready to apologize and admit your mistakes immediately. Your audience will value your honesty.

4 Simple PR Strategies for Creators to Build Their Brand

All the PR tasks may seem like a lot of work, but you can handle them with these four simple actions.

1. Build a Media List

This helps with:

• Media relations
• Influencer relations

A media list is a contact list of reporters, journalists, bloggers, influencers, and other media personalities. Use this list to get guest appearances, publicity, or connect with influencers. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet with names, companies, and contact info.

Even if you don’t know many media people, studies show that weak ties (acquaintances) can be more helpful than strong ties (close friends).

Molly Beck, owner of Messy.fm, suggests this email strategy for building weak ties:

• Greet the recipient by name
• Introduce yourself briefly
• Offer a compliment and one “gift” (like a book recommendation, special knowledge, a press opportunity, or free advice)
• Outline your “ask” (what you want from them)
• Sign off with a thank you or best wishes

If you can't find their email, use a service like Viola Norbert.

2. Craft Your Brand Story

This helps with:

• Online communications

Identify what makes you unique to craft your brand story. The goal is to connect with your audience, not just brag. Share your struggles and motivations. Incorporate these stories into social media posts, email newsletters, and website content to build stronger connections.

3. Get to Know Your Audience

This helps with:

• Community relations

Consumers prefer brands that share their values. To find out what your audience cares about, talk to them. Use tools to poll and segment your audience. Add an email to your welcome sequence to capture new subscribers' interests.

Once you know your audience, plan your community relations strategy by:

• Donating sales for a specific period
• Volunteering and sharing your experience
• Educating your audience about certain issues

Your audience will appreciate a creator who supports causes they care about.

4. Audit Your Online Reputation

This helps with:

• Crisis communications

Don't wait for a crisis to manage your online reputation. Actively track what people say about you. Try:

• Setting up Google Alerts for your name and business name
• Using Social Mention to see where you appear online and what’s being said
• Searching your name on social media platforms

This way, you can address issues early. For instance, if people complain about a collaboration, spend more time understanding your audience to learn why.

Always address crises quickly—a swift apology can help rebuild trust.

Digitalture Makes Implementing Your PR Strategy Easy

We understand—everywhere you look, experts are telling you to do everything for your business, and it’s exhausting.

But PR is something you shouldn’t ignore.

The good news is that Digitalture allows you to schedule and automate your email marketing, freeing you to focus on things you can’t automate, like guest TV appearances or building your media contacts.

With your email list, you’ll always have direct contact with your most important audience—your biggest fans.

See how easy public relations can be with Digitalture.

Final Thoughts

Public relations (PR) helps creators manage their brand's image and build strong relationships with their audience. By engaging in media and influencer relations, supporting their community, communicating online, and handling crises effectively, creators can enhance their public presence. Using PR strategies can be simple and effective, allowing creators to connect with their audience and grow their brand from the comfort of their own homes.

FAQs

What is public relations (PR)?

Public relations (PR) is how people see and feel about your brand. It's like being friends with your audience. You keep this friendship strong by sharing important news and being honest. If something goes wrong, you say sorry and fix it.

How is PR different from marketing?

PR and marketing are different but work together. Marketing aims to sell products using ads and promotions. PR focuses on building a good relationship with your audience and managing your brand's image.

What are the key parts of PR for creators?

The key parts of PR for creators are:

1. Media Relations: Connecting with the media to grow your brand.

2. Influencer Relations: Building long-term relationships with influencers.

3. Community Relations: Supporting your community to strengthen ties.

4. Online Communication: Using your website, social media, and email to control your brand's story.

5. Crisis Communication: Having a plan to handle any problems quickly and effectively.

How can creators start their own PR strategies?

Creators can start their PR strategies with these simple actions:

1. Build a Media List: Make a contact list of media people and influencers.

2. Craft Your Brand Story: Share your unique story to connect with your audience.

3. Get to Know Your Audience: Learn what your audience cares about and support those causes.

4. Audit Your Online Reputation: Monitor what people say about you online and address issues early.