As part of the Tide Bank Masterclass series, we presented PR and Marketing Hacks for Small Businesses at WorkLife Fitzrovia. The series of events covered marketing and PR, HR, accounting and finance and aimed to provide small business owners with practical advice to help them grow and scale their businesses.

We were blown away by just how many people came along to the talk hosted by our Founder Emma Critchley-Lloyd, proving there is a genuine need for BIG little LDN, the agency which allows independent businesses to challenge the corporates by providing them with the same Marketing and PR services, but at a price they’re comfortable with.

For those who came along, thank you! From the bottom of our BIG hearts and as promised, a summary of our presentation below, including a few of the most useful slides. We welcome feedback, the good, the bad and the ugly. There is always room for improvement.

​NO ONE GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS...

... Unless you make them.

Whilst that might seem like a bold statement, the reality is, there are 5.7 million SMEs in the UK. The fight for consumer attention, talent attraction and press coverage is high. And that’s just SMEs. In some most, your also battling with bigger corporates and if you export your products or services outside the UK, you’re competing with the rest of the world.

No one gives a shit about your business, until you make them give a shit.

Give them a reason to stand up and take notice of you.

​Brand Purpose

Your brand purpose is your why. Why did you set up your business? What problem are you solving? Your brand purpose goes beyond your product, service or ultimate business goal. It needs to make an emotional connection with your customers. There will always be someone out there who comes along and can do things better, faster, cheaper, so what are you saying that goes beyond price or packaging? What are your beliefs and how do they align with those of your customers?

We labour this point because until you’ve established a brand purpose, in two sentences or less, how do you know what you’re saying or how you’re saying it? The next task is to then get that brand purpose into one sentence and then one word. What one word describes your business?

If you need help establishing your brand purpose, or use us as a sounding board for one you already have, drop us a message, we’d be more than happy to take a look.

The Content

Once you’ve established your brand purpose, everything then hangs off of that. From how you hire and treat your staff, to the way they speak to your customers and the content you as a brand produce.

​Content can come in a variety of forms. Initially you might think written articles for your website, but it can be a video, an email newsletter, a live event, a piece of guerilla marketing, direct mail, a press event or social media. It could even be other brands you partner with. Anything your brand says or does is content.  

A good place to start is looking at what conversations are already happening that you can capitalise on. A great site for this is awarenessdays.com, a collection of all the national and international awareness days from National Spa Week (16th September) and the Great British Beach Clean (20th September) to Black History Month (October) and Veganuary (January).

The key with these is to think about how you can spin them in your favour. How do they relate to your purpose, your products or services? Can you link them to your clients or case studies?

The example we gave during the tide Masterclass was 1st August. Yorkshire Day. As London centric businesses, we may not think that’s relevant to us, but what if you own a pub, and your pub does the loveliest, fluffiest, melt in your mouth Yorkshire puddings? Could you offer a double Yorkshire special? An interview with the chef? How to make your own at home - minus the secret ingredient of course.

​​CREATE GREAT CONTENT JOURNALISTS CAN TURN INTO NEWS.

But how do you communicate it?

You may have heard the terms, owned, paid and earned. The rest of our presentation went on to explain how to attract earned media (editorial coverage) and the dos and don’t of navigating the journalist landscape.

How to write a press release.

How to secure press coverage.