(NewsUSA)
- Post-pandemic, it's more important than ever that businesses promote their services, offerings or events. But how to do that if you're on a budget?
There are several ways to get your company's message out: stating the company mission (the equivalent of a business resume) on its website, employing a public relations firm to garner exposure through earned media, or advertising -- that is, if you have the money to pay for it.
The problem is that small, niche companies need the same exposure (if not more) than the Fortune 500 companies, but are hamstrung by limited resources.
Fortunately, advertising doesn't have to be exclusively PR-centric, but can be a blend of traditional and effective strategies, according to PR News.
In this way, Washington D.C.-based NewsUSA does exceptionally well by specializing in writing matte releases -- feature articles that help to fill space in newspapers and online media -- for its clients.
NewsUSA guarantees product placement (around 1,000-1,400 placements per story) for its clients in various media outlets around the world, including television sites and hundreds of digital and print newspapers.
"NewsUSA's strength is that it has all these contracts and relationships with newspapers and online media sources that have been built over years and can be trusted for writing and editorial," said Rick Smith, CEO of NewsUSA. "In terms of mass marketing to the consumer, for some of the budgets that these companies have, there just aren't a lot of options. That's where NewsUSA comes in."
For NewsUSA client Security Equipment Corporation (Sabre), it granted access to media outlets that the company wouldn't have had otherwise.
"As a first-time user of NewsUSA, I was pleasantly surprised, not only with the number of placements we got, but the quality of our placements," said Marisa McKay, marketing manager for Sabre. "Our content was placed in high-profile publications that we wouldn't have been able to afford if we had to buy traditional advertising space."
As a result, the family-owned and -operated manufacturer of the top brand of pepper spray had three stories distributed to more than 3,600 news outlets, both online and in print, for a total reach of more than 90 million readers nationwide. The ad value equivalency of the campaign was more than $1.1 million.
Another client, Star Clippers, also saw a huge return on investment when it engaged NewsUSA to write five stories about its
ultimate cruising vacation alternative -- a tall ship mega-yacht experience aboard authentic re-creations of the classic sailing clipper ships that ruled the waves during the 1800s.
In return, Star Clippers garnered more than 6,000 placements that reached more than 319 million readers nationwide, for a total ad equivalency of $3.8 million.
For more information, visit www.newsusa.com.
