With home sales booming in 2020 and DIY improvements on the rise as we all spend more time at home, it can be easy to rely on the same-old strategies to promote a design or home improvement brand in the media. But focusing on the easiest, most comfortable path doesn’t always yield the best results. Home design brands have unique qualities you should be leveraging in the media to better connect with the right audiences.
Here are five tips for maximizing PR efforts for your home improvement brand:
Don’t Ignore Trade Publications
Sure, a top-tier media placement is great, but it’s easy to forget that there are entire niche ecosystems of trade publications looking for content and expertise to serve their readers. Be sure to reach out to them! From roofing to transitioning a home to solar energy, many trade publications are deeply engaged in the home improvement and renovation communities. Placements in these publications can boost a brand better than any tier-one placement.
Walk the Walk with Creative Visuals
Posting engaging visuals on social media platforms or creating a blog to share design inspiration and tips for the less design-savvy can set a brand apart from competitors and earn coverage on its own. Beautiful visuals lend credibility to design-focused brands by showing off their area of expertise and can often communicate the idea behind a pitch better than the pitch itself.
Plan Ahead to Target Gift Guides
If the home improvement or design brand sells consumer products, consider creating a timeline to reach out to editors and reporters crafting gift guides. From Father’s Day to the holiday season, there are year-round opportunities to showcase a brand’s offerings through placement in a creative gift guide. Pick the holiday(s) that best reflect what the brand can offer. For example, if a brand produces home products in a relatively affordable price range, back-to-school gift guides or off-to-college product roundups could be a valuable placement opportunity.
Pitch Creatively
Have you mainly been targeting interior design publications for a placement, but the home improvement brand also offers DIY solutions? Do they sell children’s furniture in addition to adult furniture, or offer unique, niche products? Shifting focus can often lead to placement in new publications you haven’t previously considered.
Elevate The Experts
Brands sometimes work with experts in the design space, including interior designers, contractors, DIY specialists and realtors. These individuals bring a wealth of knowledge to potential media placements, so be sure to offer them to reporters as experts who can provide tips, tricks and knowledge to readers. An experienced contractor may be able to give a renovation publication words of caution on common mistakes from failed flips, or an interior designer could provide creative ideas to style an unusual room.
Before using these tips, make sure you’re evaluating the brand’s goals and point of view. Do they have an energetic voice and a strong social media following? Perhaps a partnership with a publication’s social media team is the right move. Do they cater to a more niche sector of the home design industry, such as contractors? A trade publication could be a great option to reach that audience. Ultimately, a client’s goals should always influence your PR strategy, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box!
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