Sellers face a lot of competition from various sources, but this is an issue that’s rising to the forefront, more so every day.

I read an article not long ago on the internet, that basically gave start up entrepreneurs the impression that sending press releases would have all media literally falling all over themselves to talk about a business for free. Talk about misleading!!  While this is a good strategy for PR firms to get hired on the promise of thousands of dollars in perceived free advertising, and while print may jump on it, it’s far from reality as other media see right through it.  Why doesn’t the business owner?  “Free” often imparts its own value.

This strategy seems to proffer a “myth” of a PR firm being a legitimate form of advertising; or that long-form write ups don’t get relegated to the “trash” file in 3.2 seconds, in an age when attention spans continue to shorten and “small screen space” is at a premium.

Tons of junk mail from PR firms flow into our collective info@ and sales@ emails for authors pushing books, politicians grandstanding on various issues, celebrity chefs visiting local eateries, etc.  So, obviously, there are people buying into this. The extent to which they are, became abundantly clear to me again recently, when we received a “Press Release” from a person who works for the local college, who apparently thought it would be a great idea to start a PR business, having bamboozled a local business owner into the “PR Myth.”

I ponder the irony lost on this new local business owner, as this same tactic was tried by the previous owner of this very same business (who went out of business because they didn’t advertise locally!!)   They had great food, an outstanding view and good service; but no one really thought of going there, because they are a bit of a drive and were not top of mind, so the business failed.

Just yesterday, a new first!   We received one from a car dealer, who isn’t on air with us.  Their “press release” was a full-page mention of all the deals of their big “anniversary sale,” accompanied by a request to promote it because “our listeners would want to know.”   This of course, in lieu of a buy.   Gee….let me rush to do that!

Obviously, we’ll turn this into a sales opportunity, but it is shocking how easily business owners believe the “free” PR myth.  As sellers, it’s something we should continue to anticipate and prepare our sellers to educate advertisers on the differences between PR and legitimate advertising strategies.

Pic generated by AI for Freepik.com

Brian Moore is the owner of Hometown Multimedia, WCTR-FM, in Chestertown, Maryland.