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Is your brand ready for public and media attention?

By Matthew Anderson, BPRC's content strategist

Is your company ready for increased public exposure?

Maybe you have a new product to launch or service to sell. Perhaps you’re opening a new store or announcing a significant philanthropic venture. Maybe an ownership change is coming.

Before you attempt to put your company in the public eye as part of a public relations campaign, it’s important to ensure that you’re ready for additional public and media attention.

Here are six steps to take before starting a PR or marketing campaign for your Whatcom County business:

Train your office staff. First, prepare a list of talking points and answers to frequently asked questions. Second, sit down with your team and prepare them to engage with the public. Include the people who work the registers, answer the phones and handle social media, certainly, but feel free to invite all others as well. This helps everyone feel included, and they’ll be able to confidently answer any questions friends, family or the public ask them about what is going on. Ask your staff if they have any additional questions and then fine-tune the text based on their feedback. Finally, ensure that staff have a copy of the updated documents.

Up next: Prep your social media accounts.

The next Handshakes and Happy Hour networking event from the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce is at 4 p.m. July 20. This event will be held at Twin Sisters Brewing Company in Bellingham, and it is for chamber members only. Click here for more.

Need to hire? Call BPRC.

In our work with Bellingham and Whatcom County businesses, we think of our mission this way: Our job is to help you do yours well. That governs our approach to marketing and public relations, but there's also more we can do.

The BPRC team has been hard at work in the past few weeks helping several local companies hire the people they need to do their jobs well.

Because hiring the people you need is a critical part of doing your job well.

In helping three local businesses find applicants for their hard-to-fill jobs, we have consulted about the current job market, researched wage comps, created promotional flyers and social media visuals, written job descriptions and advertising copy and posted jobs on key job boards.

If an extra hand or two would help your business this summer, give BPRC a call.

What we're up to:

Have you ever hiked the Agate Bay Preserve Loop? Patti recently did this hike for the first time. It was muddy and more rustic than other trails, but still a great place for some nature immersion.

Retaining the services of a PR and communications team is an important decision. You’ll want to make the best choice possible, so it’s worth investing time upfront to understand the options, identify your needs and consider your budget. Click here for two documents (10 minutes to read both) that will help you through the process.