PR Strategies | Sharing What You Know | Public Relations Blogger

________________________________________________________________________

PR Strategies | Sharing What You Know
________________________________________

You may be hesitant to share what you know with others. It's natural; you've worked hard to get to where you are now, and you've gone through making mistakes and learning from them. You may feel like you've got a competitive advantage over others entering the industry by keeping what you know to yourself, but that may not be the case.

Consider how you learned what it is you know now, though: did you have a mentor to guide you along the way? I certainly did, and he encourages me to share what I know, because in the end, my helping others helps me. I also feel pretty good when someone emails me a question I can answer and they reply appreciative for my time and insights. I may not always know the right answer, but I can certainly share what I think could be best for their situation and inquiry.

Giving something away and helping someone else will most certainly help you in the long run; it is like an investment in someone else that will come back to you in the form of them helping you if they can, or others who can see your helpful nature. A customer or visitor who is able to get something from you for free will remember you and may come back to you when they need something more, such as your product or services. This is a great way to start the sales funnel (which is what some marketers and sales folk define as the process through which a customer makes a sale); though your end result doesn't have to be a sale, this can be the start to a relationship where you've been able to gain trust by giving something of value away. Know that building relationships is a large part of public relations, and with the tools available to us online, it is easier to do so. Getting in touch with customers and being there to provide assistance, knowledge, and tips when they are needed can benefit you and the customer.

Sharing what you know can also help to position you as a leader in your industry or area of expertise. You can share what you've learned, and people will in turn come to you, asking for advice or an answer to a question. Positioning yourself as a leader can also help to gain trust from others in your industry. Networking with them is also an important part of PR; we rely on one another to help advocate each other's content and to get assistance when we too need an answer to a question.

Here are a few ways you can share what you know:

Through a blog. This is perhaps the easiest way to do so. Blog regularly and share content that you know will be beneficial to others to know.
Through Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. This may be a good place for you to share your blog content. The integration of these tools makes it easy to share it once, but have it posted in all three places. Make sure you evaluate if using these tools will be beneficial to you and your company or brand; if it doesn't make sense to use them, don't. Know where your audience goes and work that into your PR planning.
Through your connections online. This involves some work and some reaching out to other bloggers, people on Twitter, and others in your industry. Be honest and get to know them. Follow what they write, and work together with them. Share with them what you know as well, and offer to help them where you can.

What are some ways you share with others?