Why “drip drip” PR and marketing beats “bang and stop” every time
By Paul Green
If you have a limited budget for PR, you will always, always, get better results by doing a small amount of activity every month, than you will blowing it on a burst of activity followed by nothing.
PR is no different to other kinds of marketing in that respect.
I call it “drip drip PR”.
Imagine a leaky tap that has been left on for 10 years (hey, a new washer is on my To Do list).
The constant drip of water will do more damage to the sink than turning the tap on full blast for an hour once a year (“bang and stop”).
That’s because the drip from the tap is more focused, constantly hitting the same area, chipping away at the surface of the sink and finding a way in.
Whereas the bang and stop looks more effective – but actually has less long-term effect.
Let’s look at that in PR terms.
If you invest one hour a week (better still an hour a day) in a focused PR effort, you will start to see a momentum building up.
Your business will become known by journalists meaning your stories are more likely to be trusted and published.
Your expertise is recognised by journalists, who start to seek you out for expert comment.
You find it easier to spot PR opportunities and act on them quickly (and often timing can be the deciding factor in getting great free publicity).
Compare that to 52 hours of activity in one go (about six and half working days if you’re the rare entrepreneur who manages to work just eight hours a day… let me know how you do that please).
You’ll get plenty done in that time and should generate a load of coverage… but it won’t continue.
Journalists won’t sit there in six months’ time and wonder why you haven’t sent them a story idea. They don’t work like that.
The key point to emphasise here is focus.
If you spend your hour a week constantly changing your target, you will never build up enough momentum.
Focus on a small number of key media outlets used by your target audience (make them realistic – the more niche the audience the faster you will see results).
Keep targeting them week in week out. Eventually all the factors that make for a bit of good PR will come together and you will be rewarded with free publicity.
PS While this article primarily relates to PR, it could really be about marketing in general. Small amounts of constant activity might not win the speed race, but will deliver much more back in the long-term.
