Public Relations: Doing It Yourself

Linda Hamm, president of a Westlake Village public relations company, said she was appalled when the president of a company was thrilled because his public relations agency was producing one press release a month for the $5,000 fee he was paying.

“I’m not sure if he was naive or if they just gave him a real snow job,” said Hamm, who is featured in a new video she produced titled, “Do-it-Yourself Public Relations.”

The problem is most small-business owners not only are confused about what public relations is, but also have no idea of how to hire the right public relations expert or agency to promote their company.

And, many are not sure whether their company is big enough to need professional public relations services. A deciding factor should be whether you can afford to pay someone several hundred or thousand dollars a month to build up your business, or whether it is a job you can do yourself.

“With public relations, the goal is to interest the press in a story and get them to tell it,” said Christine Soderbergh, a public relations consultant based in Pacific Palisades. “When a product or service is mentioned in the media, there is an implied third party endorsement which can help to increase sales or a company’s client base.”

Public relations professionals use information about your company to help create a favorable impression on the public. Public relations encompasses many forms of publicity, including news releases about a product, service or acquisition. Agencies write articles for their clients, set up events to draw publicity and coach their clients on how to make a good impression in public.

Hamm said she produced her video to help small companies that are unable to afford the monthly fees charged by public relations people. The tape provides interviews with magazine and newspaper editors as well as helpful information about how to do your own public relations. A highlight is a dramatization of the right and wrong way to contact a news reporter or editor.

If your company can afford to hire a public relations agent or agency, it is crucial to find out exactly who will be handling your public relations account, especially if you are dealing with a large firm.

“More common than not, an agency will send out two or three three-piece suitors who put on a big dog and pony show for your company, but once the contract is signed, the account is relegated to a junior account executive in training,” said Hamm, who is president of the Hamm Group.

Soderbergh recommends hiring someone you would feel proud to have representing your company. You also should feel confident that they fully understand your business and comfortable confiding in them, because you will be sharing your deepest thoughts and company goals.

The first few weeks after hiring public relations experts will be the most demanding because they will need time to get acquainted with you and your company. Their first project often is to produce a press or media kit. A complete and professional kit includes a brief company history, biographies of the top executives, photographs of the products and any brochures or other pertinent information.

Soderbergh, who represents real estate and high-technology firms among others, said she interviews new clients to learn as much as she can about them and their business.

“My questions force them to focus on who they want to reach and why they want to sell them,” said Soderbergh. After the initial learning process, Soderbergh frequently conducts telephone interviews with her clients and tape records them. “You have to be sensitive about a client’s time, but they have to give you some time if they want you to do a good job,” she said.

Before hiring anyone, Hamm recommends asking to see examples of what the public relations firm has done for other, similar companies. “Ask to see the clip books on various accounts and demand to see the video tapes or listen to radio shows that their clients have appeared on,” said Hamm. (A clip book contains copies of the published stories about clients.) Hamm also suggests asking how familiar the agency is with trade publications that can actually build business for a client when articles appear in them.

She also suggests making sure the firm has an up-to-date mailing list so it can contact the right individual at each trade publication or media outlet.

Each month, Hamm provides each client with a written report outlining exactly what she and her colleagues have accomplished for their clients. Hamm’s account executives also prepare a monthly list of possible article and press release ideas for clients. “We do this because our clients are busy and they don’t have time to brainstorm,” said Hamm, who worked as a marketing director for the Santa Anita Race Track and as a life insurance agent before founding her own company seven years ago.

Hamm’s company, which serves both local and national companies, charges fees ranging from $2,500 to $8,000 a month. She suggests business owners ask for detailed information on billing practices so there is no confusion.

Soderbergh, who has a degree in English literature from UCLA, began her career as a secretary at a public relations firm specializing in representing high-technology companies. She soon worked her way up to account executive. Soderbergh’s average client pays a retainer of about $1,000 a month, and her specialty is writing articles for clients for a variety of publications.

“An effective P.R. professional should be imaginative, have an ability to negotiate and make things happen, have a good chemistry with management, a sense of humor and a high tolerance for frustration,” said Soderbergh.

One last bit of advice: Hamm recommends asking for a client list and calling other clients to find out how they like the public relations firm. “Ask the other clients very specific questions, especially, how has the public relations work increased their business?” said Hamm.

“Do-it-Yourself Public Relations,” Hamm’s 35-minute video, is available for $49.95 from Hamm Learning Systems, 2899 Agoura Road, Suite 254, Westlake Village, Calif. 91361. It also is available by calling: (818) 707-0862.

Reseda Artist Wins SBA Poster Contest

Reseda free-lance artist Robert Greisen won $2,000 for his poster depicting “Small Business is America’s Future” for the Small Business Administration.

Greisen’s poster will be displayed throughout the country to promote National Small Business Week, May 7 through 13. More than 450 artists competed in this year’s poster contest, according to SBA spokesman John Tumpak.

Greisen and other local SBA winners will be honored at a lunch May 12 at the Biltmore Hotel, 506 S. Grand Ave., downtown Los Angeles. The reception begins at 11:15 a.m. and the lunch at 11:45. Betsy Sanders, vice president and general manager of Nordstrom stores in Southern California, is the scheduled speaker. The cost is $30 per person. For reservations and information, contact the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce: (213) 629-0685.