Meeting Recap: Secrets to Building your Business with Public Relations

On January 18, a hearty group of business people gathered at Medway VFW for the monthly MBC meeting. Pangea Cuisines prepared a full breakfast that everyone enjoyed while networking. Following the meal, President Wayne Texeira welcomed the group and introduced new MBC member Richardson & Company, P.C., represented by Steven Richardson.

Next, Sarah Stone, co-chair of the Pride Day Committee unveiled plans for the 2017 event, which will be held on May 20 from 10 a.m. – 4 p. m. at the Middle School. Forms for vendors and sponsors will be available in February. Sarah encouraged attendees to brainstorm ideas for promoting their businesses through Pride Day and to persuade other local businesses to participate. Andrea Crow of Pangea Cuisines is Sarah’s co-chair and the liaison to the MBC.

Then came the main event…

Building your business requires a great idea, a dedicated team and the motivation to put all the tools in place to ensure your business is successful. Marketing and public relations are two tools that every business owner should have in order to overcome business challenges, such as road construction or other obstacles.

Julie Dennehy, president of Dennehy Public Relations, led an interactive workshop revealing “Secrets to Building Your Business with Public Relations.” She gave an overview of marketing and PR, and challenged attendees to think about their own goals and challenges. She distributed a worksheet encouraging those in attendance to commit to some SMART marketing goals – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely – and to develop ideas and strategies based on timing, content, target audience, resources and competition and to always have a very specific call-to-action.

Dennehy also assisted attendees in thinking about creating one big idea, and to start there to build it into a full campaign. One member thought of shooting drone camera video before and after a professional landscaping project, and another discussed expanding her social media reach to better use Instagram or Facebook ads and posts to entice local parents to try a product line extension. All were encouraged to utilize free resources: writing letters or sending releases with photos to the local newspapers; or working with WMRC, now with a new FM signal at MyFM 101.3; or utilizing Medway Cable Access for interviews and video equipment training.

The seven secrets revealed are below, with the full presentation here: http://bit.ly/DPRSecrets.

#1: Create a marketing plan with SMART goals.

#2: Take a critical look at your branding. Is it time to refresh…?

#3: Think more like a campaign – not just good copy.

#4: Create truly innovative, interactive social content.

#5: Understand innovation & storytelling. Connect authentically.

#6: Attract new prospects with smarts, not size.

#7: Deliver a clear, concise and consistent call to action.

Many thanks to the Medway VFW for hosting this breakfast program, and to all those who attended.

​For more information about hiring a public relations consultant for brainstorming, projects, or on a retainer basis, contact Julie Dennehy at 508-479-9848 or julie@dennehypr.com. You can follow her on all social media platforms, starting here: about.me/juliedennehy.​

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