Back to business Tracey Stapleton, The Spa PR Company
Connections that carry influence Spa public relations expert Tracey Stapleton highlights the value of the press and social media influencers to promote your business
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ne thing this year has taught us is the importance and value of connections, whether they be members of your team, suppliers, clients, media, influencers, partners… the list goes on. While technology and circumstances may change, our business is made a whole lot easier when challenges, opportunities and information are shared and everyone wants to do their bit to help. Relationships grow stronger, doors open for collaborations and we see a recognisable shift from individual to more purpose-driven marketing. The effects of Covid-19 demand communications that are brave but sensitive and relevant with messaging our audiences can immediately relate to. Building connections is no overnight task. Many of the relationships we have built at The Spa PR Company across media and influencers have grown over many years. However, the key is to invest in each and every one of them. Start small and targeted and build from there. Linking with those interested in the same things as you can open up many new opportunities for development and long-term support.
Storytelling editorial
The advantage of your media partners is their ability as a trusted source to appeal to a large number of people. For example, The Mail online has 238 million monthly visitors. While not all of its content may be of interest 84
are growing and they’re hungry for quality content, particularly because many of them are working with small teams of journalists. But notice that I say ‘quality’. This is not content that has been produced to simply drive SEO – I am talking about properly researched, carefully written, message-driven editorial produced to build a reputation for both immediate and long-term gains. This type of editorial, which is part of a brand’s storytelling, turning updates into compelling news stories, will never go out of fashion and will always have an important role to play in business development and increasing returns.
Trade intelligence
to everyone, it’s the only national newspaper with a majority female readership, which makes it an ideal target media for spa businesses. But numbers are not everything. While mass-media publications have a widespread readership, the targeted nature of specialist publications makes the information that appears within them even more influential. While consumer print media circulations are shrinking year on year – apart from some specialist magazines like BBC Gardeners World and Girl Talk, interestingly – their online counterparts
When talking about media relations there’s no better place to start than our own business press. Often overlooked by companies focused on reaching the consumer directly, publications such as European Spa, which focus on the best of our industry, provide valuable endorsement and expert positioning in the market, helping with award wins, recruitment and partnerships. What’s more, consumer press often looks to the trade media for intelligence, innovation and expertise. Building relationships with trade editors and writers can have numerous advantages beyond simply gaining editorial. At the forefront of the industry and highly connected, they are often the first to hear of new innovations, industry www.europeanspamagazine.com