For small businesses, public relations can be a powerful tool in gaining invaluable media coverage on a regional and national level. However, start-up companies often do not possess the disposable income required to invest in a committed PR campaign.

By following a few guidelines, businesses can promote their brands and services and establish a corporate identity that will help them kick start their own integrated campaign.

• Maintain consistent branding for example set up email signatures for the team at the outset which will reflect the website etc
• Start off with a message campaigning workshop and work out three or four key messages which you will then relay throughout all branding and in any media interviews
• Set up social media accounts for the brand/business/individual on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
• Create a database that you can add to as the campaign grows - at a later date you can investigate sending out a newsletter to this database so these contacts will be crucial
• Compile a press package which should contain a company overview and biographies including photography of key individuals, this can then be made available to interested media
• Put together an initial PR plan outlining your intentions for the campaign over an initial six month period, this should include any awareness days, awards/exhibitions that you want your brand involved in
• Aim to send out a press release and broadcast cue sheet once a week this should be informative, but short and punchy with contact details for your brand
• Once a press release has been written turn it into a "cue sheet" which can then be sent out to both radio and TV contacts - this will be a shorter, sexier version of the press release, heavy on the statistics and full of questions for the presenter to literally read aloud to the audience
• Personalise your email content to improve response rates. By tailoring your emails to the target audience you’re far more likely to get a positive response. For example, if your content is regional ensure that you target press specifically within that area
• Don’t use images as this takes up valuable space in a journalist’s inbox that will instantly put them off from the outset!
• Make your subject line stand out. Journalists receive hundreds of press releases and do not have enough time to read through each one. If you have a punchy subject then they are far more likely to open your email to view the content