If you want to raise your profile as a commercial broker, then you may want to consider a little PR (or public relations).
PR describes any activity that builds your professional reputation with the wider public. Nowadays, you can achieve this in a vast number of ways. So, here are our top PR tips for commercial brokers:
1. Know Your Brand
When developing a PR strategy, it’s important to be consistent. The public will want to know where you stand on certain topics and you won’t gain any respect if you change your point of view constantly.
2. Get Visible
Make sure the general public can find out about you and your business. This includes creating a property website (maybe, include some SEO so your site ranks highly on the relevant search engines) and having a solid social media presence.
Social media is a particularly useful tool as many reporters use these outlets to find reputable sources. To help get yourself noticed in such busy online spaces, try to stay active and comment on any market-relevant posts.
3. Seek Opportunities
Public speaking is a great way to demonstrate your expertise to the wider public. You could talk at a market-specific event, fundraiser, or give an educational presentation, for example.
Such events could also be attended by members of the media, who could then cover your talk in their publications, giving you further exposure.
4. Start Writing
Try creating some fresh and relevant content. Not only can your words fuel your marketing campaigns, but you could also put your copy on a company blog or pitch it to a reputable media outlet to extend its reach.
However, getting a spot in a market-leading publication is no mean feat. Let’s look into the pitching process in a little more detail now.
5. Build Relationships
Media relations is a core component for any public relations strategy. To help build relationships with reporters, let them know when you complete a deal, share market data, and tip them off about any major announcements in the market.
Also, make sure you respond to media calls in a timely fashion, but not before conducting some research and determining your point of view.
6. Research Publications
Which publications matter most to you and your business? Start by listing all the publications that you’d like to be featured in.
Try and think out of the box. You don’t just need to target industry magazines but could use your life experiences of setting up a business, for example, to widen your list of prospective publications.
7. Perfect Your Pitch
Next, you need to pitch your article idea to an editor. First, make sure you do your homework and check the publication hasn’t covered your idea already. Also, try to ascertain whether your idea is a fit for their target audience and the topics they regularly cover.
When writing to an editor, personalize your message and don’t just send out identical mailshots to multiple outlets. Try to make sure your message is as succinct as possible while providing all the necessary information about your idea and your brand’s value proposition.
Editors are busy people. If you don’t hear back from them, send a brief follow-up email, but don’t pester to find out if your pitch is of interest. If it is, the editor will contact you directly.
8. Stay On Top
Once you have your PR strategy up and running, make sure you take advantage of as many potential opportunities as possible. This means you have to stay abreast of any industry trends and events, as well as your social media accounts and inbound marketing methods.
