By Charlotte Cheek
The PR Spillover Effect in Action
You’ve probably heard of the Spillover Effect in a psychological context. If someone receives great news about their personal life and then goes to work in a good mood because of it, then their cheery attitude towards their coworkers is the spillover effect at work in the workplace! In the same way public relations can benefit other aspects of your business in positive ways.
The Bottom Line
Simply speaking, there are two ways to make money: increase sales or decrease spending. How can spending money on PR save you money? It’s more cost effective. You can reach the same people using PR that you reach when paying for an Ad. An advertisement can cost a company anywhere from $500 to $5,000 for a one-time placement in a print newspaper. You can get the same amount of page space with a calendar listing, press release, or company/individual spotlight for pennies on the dollar. Paying for the same coverage (and more) is less expensive than one Ad. You’ll reach the same people and as we have said in the past there is the bonus of third party validation. You are not just saying you are awesome, someone else is taking the time to talk about how awesome you are!
Search Results
The more online platforms you show up on, the better. Showing up repeatedly on different online platforms makes you relevant to search engines like Google. So, for example, after a successful placement in multiple media outlets online, when someone searches the name of a company they are more likely to show up, because they have media coverage versus a company with just a company website and advertisements. PR helps you hack the Google algorithm instead of just paying Google AdWorks for an artificial top-of-the-list spot. Unless you have a Super Bowl Ad, there is not a high chance people will search for your company ad you had placed in a magazine, but they will probably be interested in any article written about you!
Publicity
Yes, part of the PR spillover effect is more PR! Newspapers are hungry for good stories and your company is full of them! One hit in a newspaper can be sent to multiple media outlets. One story can lead to a follow-up and more coverage. In comparison, there are no follow-ups to advertisements, the story ends. As we like to say at The Goddard Company, publicity is the gift that keeps on giving, as long as you keep giving it.
There is more to PR then the press release or calendar listing, there are positive spillover effects that come from getting your name into the hands of a third party. PR is more cost effective, improves your online presence, and brings you more publicity with every story!