PR for Australian Small Businesses

Many small business owners assume PR is only for large companies with a communications team. It is not, but it does work differently at a smaller scale, and it rewards starting in the right place.

Here is an honest guide to what it involves.

Is PR worth it for a small business?

It can be, when the goal is clear. PR is good at building credibility: giving customers, partners and future hires something independent to find when they search your name. It is less good at producing a spike in sales next week, and it should not be treated as a replacement for marketing.

It tends to work best for businesses with a story that goes beyond the product: an unusual operating decision, a local problem solved, a founder with genuine expertise, or numbers that say something about a sector. It works less well for a business whose only news is that it exists.

Be honest about capacity too. Earned coverage takes time, follow-up and someone available to talk to a reporter at short notice. If nobody in the business can do that, factor it in before you start.

What makes a small business story

Editors are not looking for businesses that are doing well. They are looking for stories their readers can use or recognise.

• Operational decisions. A shorter working week, a price change, a move away from a platform, a supplier switch. With numbers attached.
• Local impact. Jobs created in a town, a closure avoided, a community problem addressed.
• A response to the news. How a rule change, a cost increase or a shift in customer behaviour is landing in a real business.
• Expertise. An owner who can explain something in their industry plainly and credibly.

"Local bakery celebrates five years" is not a story. "Why one regional bakery stopped selling through delivery apps, and what happened to its margins" is close to one.

Where to start

Start where your customers and peers already read, not at the most recognisable name.

Local and regional press. A genuine local story competes in a far smaller field than a national pitch, and local readers are often your customers.

Business titles for operators. SmartCompany is written specifically for people running small and medium businesses in Australia. It has a staff newsroom, so coverage is earned, and it looks for practical, specific stories with something a reader can act on.

Trade publications. If you sell to other businesses, the sector titles your buyers read may matter more than any general masthead. Our guide to Australian trade publications for B2B brands covers how to find and evaluate them.

The licensed Australian editions, such as Forbes Australia, are worth building toward. They are rarely the right first step for a business with no public record.

Earned and paid routes

Small businesses are often sold PR without being told which kind they are buying. There are four broad options.

• Do it yourself. Research the journalists who cover your area, read what they publish and send short, specific pitches. Free, slow and entirely legitimate.
• Expert commentary. Make yourself available as a source on topics you know well. Low cost in money, higher in time and responsiveness.
• Agency-assisted pitching. An agency develops the angle, writes it and pitches on your behalf. You pay for the work and the judgement, not for a guaranteed result.
• Paid and sponsored placements. Sponsored content, and managed features on smaller digital titles. Labelled, more predictable and legitimate, as long as they are described accurately.

Get the answer in writing before you pay. Nobody can guarantee earned coverage in a staff-written newsroom, and a guarantee is a sign you are being sold something else.

Using coverage once it runs

Coverage that nobody sees does little. Once a piece runs, put it to work.

• Add it to your website with the correct publication name and a link to the live article.
• Share it with customers, suppliers and partners.
• Use it in proposals and tenders, described accurately.
• Keep a record, because the next journalist will check what has been written about you before.

Describe coverage precisely. A managed feature is not a journalist choosing to write about you, and a licensed edition is not its parent title. Small inaccuracies here cost more credibility than they gain.

What we do

Digital Networking Agency works with small businesses to find the story inside the business, write it to editorial standard and pitch the titles where the fit is real. You approve every word before anything is submitted.

We will tell you which route each opportunity is, and whether PR is the right investment for your business at this stage. For more on the wider market, see PR in Australia and our guide to getting press in Australia.

Frequently asked questions

How much does PR cost for a small business?

It varies widely, from nothing but time if you pitch yourself to an ongoing agency fee. Ask what is included, which routes are earned and which are paid, and what happens if nothing runs.

Can a small business get into SmartCompany?

Yes, if there is something concrete and useful to other operators. Its newsroom writes its own stories, so coverage is earned and never guaranteed.

How long before PR shows results?

Expect months rather than weeks to build a consistent record. A single story can move quickly, but credibility comes from coverage building over time.