new year, new customers, new PR opportunites

We're just two weeks into 2008 and already the press and media have descended into doom and gloom whenever mentioning business. Stock markets have taken a dive, the housing market appears depressed and there is talk of recession.

Of course, a lot of economic activity is driven by hope or fear: at the moment, fear seems to be the driving force. This is probably not the best way for an economy to run, but that's where we find ourselves.

Even if there are fundamental problems in national and international economies, fear is not likely to fix them, but will just slow things down generally.

What can be done to counteract it?

Just as talk builds fear, so it can build hope and optimism. That's not to say things will improve simply because we say they will. What it does mean is that if there is too much emphasis on bad news, this can be rebalanced by positive news, because there is always some good news somewhere. That's where using public relations effectively can help business to redress the balance.

Any viable business has good news. If it can improve performance, save money or add value, that is good news. Many businesses will be looking to reduce their costs, especially their marketing costs. This isn't bad if genuine savings do not result in poorer performance or value, but it's the wrong time for any business to cut its marketing activities; if anything, businesses should increase their marketing and work harder to win business in a challenging marketplace.

So how can you increase your marketing without spending more?

Public relations is one answer. PR, which used to be limited to hiring an agency or consultant to obtain press coverage, offers many opportunities. From press releases on your web site to blogging on social networking sites, there are many ways to create and broadcast business messages. You can hire a consultant or you can do it in-house.

We are expanding our Zarywacz editorial resources to include a series of free prompts and checklists focusing specifically on public relations. We start with a brief introduction to what PR can do for you (PDF version) – visit regularly as more PR resources are added to increase your PR activity and boost your business.

• 17th January 2008
• For details of the PR services Zarywacz offers, please visit the public relations page on our main z2z web site.

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