SME News Q4 2018

SME NEWS / Q4 2018 29 , Literally Public Relations is a boutique publicity andmarketing agency specialising in creative, and cost-effective solutions catered towards amyriad of niche sub-sectors. In September, the firmwas recognised among the winners of SME News Magazines’ 2018 Business Elite Awards programme with the title of ‘Most Outstanding Boutique PR andMarketing Agency’ in the UK. Following this achievement, Helen Lewis, Director of Literally PR, took some time out of her busy schedule to share some insights into her work and day to day operations. Providers of Best in Class PR Services for the Publishing Sector The public relations landscape has changed. In the face of a digital revolution people are craving an individualised, more personable, more human approach to PR and marketing services. There’s a new demand for the carefully selected, and the carefully considered, not just the blanket coverage, shotgun approach that has arguably driven the sector for the last twenty years. Best practice has been re- evaluated and quality has become king. Like all good enterprises, Literally PR was born out of passion, and a realisation that a hobby or an interest could be refocused into a viable career. For Helen, this presented in a passion for food, drink and books, and was forged into reality by her twelve years of experience in publishing and journalism. As a result, Literally PR is an SME with a heart, and a dedication to their clients that larger firms simply cannot deliver. Helen takes a moment to emphasise the importance of truly understanding their clients, and how it has led to the firm’s impressive history of success in the sector. “PR is so much more than writing a press release and hoping it gains traction. It’s about drilling down and identifying the target audience for the new tea brand or self-help book that we are representing, working out where they shop, what and where and when and how they read, which TV shows they watch and radio programmes they enjoy listening to. It’s about creating a brand that works.” More than anything this approach was defined by the shifting needs of their clients, namely, that the role of the author has dramatically changed. “Authors are now entrepreneurs; no longer can they sit behind their computer and hope for the best. Traditional publishers love to work with proactive authors with an online platform, media presence and a passion for public speaking. This doesn’t mean all authors must have tens of thousands of social media followers and a schedule packed with literary festivals, but it does mean they need to do some work to reach out to their target audience, if nothing else, to help their publisher do their job to the optimum.” This is where Literally PR truly comes into their own: they fundamentally understand the sector and the demands of an author who wants to succeed. They provide fair, honest, realistic and cost-effective PR and marketing solutions, regardless of budget. To help spearhead Literally PR to further success, Helen works with a varied and talented team of freelance experts with skills ranging from sales to marketing, social media to copyrighting, accounts to web design and typesetting to graphic design. As impressive as her team is, it is their commitment to client-centricity that truly distinguishes them from any potential competitors. In this new digital age, where technology has become the great equaliser, it is clear that companies need to differentiate themselves in other ways. “We try to offer a friendly and personable service, often helping authors with many other parts of the publishing pipeline beyond the PR and marketing and stay in touch with the majority of our authors long after the campaign has ended. Of course, once the PR has come to an end, we can’t possibly talk as regularly to our previous clients as we did during the campaign, because we have more than 250 previous clients, but we do try to bear the lovely people we’ve worked with in mind for any relevant media opportunities and 1810SM09 regularly send on leads months, if not years, later. This dedication to the long-term and the personal service we provide definitely sets us apart from our competitors. We are also hard workers…we graft until we get what we need. Not all campaigns are as successful as each other, but we try as many angles and strategies as we can, working over-time, to get results.” As we come to the close of the interview, Helen takes a moment to talk about the future of Literally PR, and her plans to expand into new markets. “In the future, we are looking at setting up an office in Kent. I’m passionate about working with local businesses – so much of our work is in London but there are many amazing SMEs in Kent, Surrey and Sussex that we could be supporting! I’m also keen to increase our freelance network, take on more clients, grow the business, and ultimately, look to sell in 5-10 years. As an entrepreneur, I need to feel there are always opportunities, something more to achieve…” Contact: Helen Lewis Company: Literally Public Relations Website: www.literallypr.com Email: info@literallypr.com