As remodelers, public relations is often an overlooked part of your marketing mix. We spend so much time and money on online marketing, PR is an afterthought. But with the web’s insatiable need for content, placing projects to get publicity should be a part of your strategy.
In this episode, Roundtables member Jim Zack tells Victoria and Mark how and why his firm gets up to 30 articles about projects published per year, creating an overall brand awareness in his market and beyond. His projects have appeared in such print and digital outlets as the Wall Street Journal, Dwell, and archdaily.com.
Jim’s president of Zack | de Vito Architecture + Construction, an Architect-led design/build company in San Francisco. His goal is to be the No. 1 design-focused design/build company in the Bay Area. The company’s work focuses on high-value residences, renovations, and new construction with a consciously modern focus.
The push to get published comes from his Architectural background, where getting published is always a primary goal. It translates well into driving the PR side of his design/build business, with PR as part of the overall marketing strategy. Jim shares his proven method for getting great PR coverage, including:
- Capitalizing on awards
- How to submit work to print and digital outlets
- Finding your project niche and the outlets to use
- Industry vs. consumer outlets
- Why to pay for professional photography
- Making your projects newsworthy
- Choosing the right project to promote
- Getting your clients on-board
- Putting the right to publicize in your contract
- And more…
To get an idea of just how much Jim’s work has been published —and publicized — check out this list, which only shows a part of his PR footprint.
- Wall Street Journal
- Dwell: Dwell’s Top 10 Design Pros of 2017
- Contemporist
- Archdaily.com