When it comes to generating publicity for a product, business or website, one of
hardest decisions entrepreneurs have to make is whether to launch campaign themselves. What makes it tough is trying to determine amount of time it might take to launch and maintain a successful publicity campaign. This article will help address a couple of those critical elements: length of your publicity efforts and; respective number of hours it may take to get job done effectively.In my PR career, I have launched campaigns that needed blast of just a few weeks of publicity and I have also maintained lengthy campaigns that generated media exposure for years. From my professional experience, I can tell you that a single distribution of a media release is rarely effective. Most times, editors and reporters are working on multiple stories at once and need some time to consider your pitch. Although your release may indeed be interesting and newsworthy, editor may simply not have space to use your pitch at that point in media outlet's editorial calendar. So make sure he/she sees it again when that editorial calendar opens up a few weeks down line. Keep in mind also that because media outlets receive so many media releases and story pitches these days, it can sometimes take them weeks before they actually get to something you may have sent their way. That's why it's important to conduct extensive media follow-ups over course of several months to ensure media reception, proper media digestion and hopefully media acceptance of your release or pitch.
I tell my clients, "No PR agency or publicist in world can FORCE media to use their releases, but they CAN make sure that by end of campaign, media has seen or heard about your message in one form or another - which will lead to solid media coverage."
One of keys to determining length of a successful campaign is knowing when you have fired all your publicity bullets; when it's time to re-pack chambers with new ammo; or when you should move onto other marketing targets. Over past several years, here's how campaign lengths have broken down for my clients:
1-2 month campaigns : 9% 3-6 month campaigns: 46% 6-9 month campaigns: 29% 9+ month campaigns: 16%
· 1 - 2 month campaigns are most often timely, date-sensitive campaigns -- a release or message tied to a current event that may be outdated in 6 - 8 weeks. A while back, one client of mine quickly produced a website aimed at stopping Napster's file sharing services. We launched a campaign a few weeks before Supreme Court ruling and generated some great spot coverage in newspapers and TV news shows nationwide -- site and campaign were finished in 6 weeks. · Most new product publicity campaigns are best suited for 3 - 6 month time frame -- allowing for often drawn out lead-times of some media outlets. Having said that though, some product campaigns can be extended for several more months based on media reaction and subsequent consumer interest. For instance, "scooter" product publicity campaign likely started out as a six-month program, but that was stretched out over a year because of sales fervor and popularity of product. · The longest campaigns are for those clients whose businesses or expertise are "evergreen and regenerative" - meaning they are not tied to shelf life of a new product launch; aren't linked to a specific date; and can be re-stoked for a new round of media interest every few months. One of my longtime clients is a "tradeshow specialist". Her expert advice is newsworthy anytime of year and can be covered editorially year after year - especially in business and trade magazines. That lends itself to multiple articles and features month after month in a wide array of media outlets. Remember -- creativity and media pitching ingenuity can help add months of success to your publicity campaign.
