Last year I received some PR, you can read about it here, and I thought I would share some of the pros and cons that have come from that experience!
Both of my previous jobs when I left university were in PR and social media and I think of PR as getting positive news out there about you or your business, which is a very simple definition.
There are loads of ways to get positive PR, but here I’m going to talk about a recent piece of publicity I received and the good and bad that has come from it.
At the start of lockdown I was keen to keep working hard and promote my business.
My friend Rochelle at the C&C club spotted an opportunity on Twitter using #JournoRequest which is something I would recommend if you are looking for opportunities.
This #JournoRequest was looking for someone who had done up their house for free.
You might know that when I bought my house 2 years ago it needed alot of work. I’ve spent the last couple of years updating it and as I spent all my money on the actual house I did it on the cheap!
I sent an email and ended up having an interview with someone about what I’d done and it was really lovely and to chat about the house!
I got to listen back the article (although not the headline) and check I was happy with it before it went out.
It’s ended up being on Fabulous Online 3 times and it was on the front page with a double page spread in Women’s Own too.
It was pretty exciting to see my 6pm toilet on the front cover of a magazine.
I thought it might be helpful to hear the pros and cons with what happened next and how it’s benefitted (or not benefitted my business!)
Pro - I’ve seen my Instagram followers increase
The article has been shared twice on social media now and both times I noticed a big increase in followers on social media. Some of them have visited my website and signed up to my newsletter too.
Pro - It’s been good content for my pages
It’s been great to share the content on my social media pages and it’s started lots of other conversations too. I’ve posted it on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, my blog and also used it in my newsletter. Some of my friends didn’t realise what I’ve done in the house so it’s been lovely to share the pictures with them too!
Pro- I got a message from the family who owned the house
After the article went out I had a really lovely message from the family who had lived in the house before. They said they were so pleased it had gone to a good home and was being looked after. It was such a lovely message that it made me realise I’d done the right thing doing the article
Pro - I got paid
It's important to mention this, but I did get paid a small amount for the article too which was a nice bonus! We put the money towards a new bed ironically, as the article did feature the bed I got for free 6 years ago.
Con - It was a newspaper that I’m not a huge fan of
It wasn’t my newspaper of choice and I don’t read it, but it was for their supplement which is the magazine you find in that newspaper. I had to make a decision whether to go forward with the article when I found out, but I do like their magazine.
When it’s shared online the link comes from the newspaper which is disappointing and I hope it doesn’t take the focus away from what the article is about.
Con- The negative comments
I was not expecting the amount of negative comments the article received!
From being called a skip rat to a dirty b**** and most of the replies saying I’d made the whole thing up to get likes and get in The Sun. I don’t know who does things like that but it certainly isn’t me! If you want to get PR for your business, having a thick skin is good. The comments can hurt and even on the most positive piece people will find a way to make it negative.
Con - The topic isn’t exactly my niche
While doing up my home has been something I loved for (most of the time) we’ve been doing it, it’s not what my business or social media is about at the moment. When new people follow me expecting to see pictures of a house renovation they might be a little bit disappointed that actually it’s mainly pictures of my dinner and dog! I think alot of them will drop off but that’s okay, hopefully some will stick around!
There are a few pros and cons from my experience of this article. I would love to hear some of your experiences, good and bad!