You don’t have a PR problem. You have an angle problem
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had the same conversation with B2B businesses over the years, especially here in Suffolk and across the wider East Anglia area.
When I’m chatting to new contacts at networking events, local businesses tell me they don’t believe PR works because they may have tried it once and it wasn’t successful. They might have tried to send out a press release to announce something important to them (perhaps they launched a new service, announced a new partnership or celebrated a client win) but had no pickup or interest from journalists.
As a result, they feel disheartened and disinterested in PR.
I get it. PR can be extremely frustrating, because you could have the strongest news story in the world, but if something happens in the news that day, your story could quickly get lost. (I often use the example of when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II died; it took over almost every news outlet for weeks.)
In most cases, I believe that the issue isn’t a lack of news. It’s that the story hasn’t been framed in a way that makes sense to someone outside the business.
Why announcements aren’t news (and what actually works in B2B PR)
One of the most important shifts any small or mid‑sized business can make in its PR strategy for B2B businesses (particularly when approaching PR for SMEs) is recognising that journalists don’t cover company announcements.
They cover the impact of those announcements.
When it comes to your internal communications, it’s natural to focus on what’s new. That could be a feature, a service, or a company milestone. But when we’re talking about external communications, the question is different because journalists (and their readers) are more interested in what’s changing as a result.
This is particularly true for professional services and B2B tech companies, where press releases often default to technical details or bland company statements. That information is important, but it’s rarely newsworthy enough to capture a journalist’s attention.
What tends to land better is the context of that new service/solution. That’s why your press release angle (and your wider content marketing strategy) should look at the benefits, rather than the features.
If you’re still not sure what I mean, why not try to answer the following questions?
- What problem does this solve for customers?
- What pressure does it respond to?
- What does it say about the wider market?
When those questions are answered, your press release will almost certainly become much stronger because you have something much more interesting to talk about. The narrative will have changed from a salesy advertorial feature to something genuinely newsworthy.
PR strategy for small businesses. Why one‑size‑fits‑all press releases fail
Another reason PR stalls is the idea that there should be only one version of a press release. I understand the instinct because it feels controlled and efficient. You have limited time and budget, so of course you want to make the most of your press release.
But I always remind my clients that different publications serve different readers, and those readers care about very different things. A B2B tech title, a sector‑specific trade publication and a regional business desk may all be relevant outlets to your story, but the same angle won’t resonate equally with each.
That doesn’t mean changing the facts or spinning your release. It means changing the emphasis on what you are saying and who you are saying it to.
For example:
- A tech publication may be interested in how your work reflects wider innovation or regulation
- A professional services audience may care more about outcomes or commercial risk
- A regional publication might focus on growth, expertise or economic impact in Suffolk
All of those angles can be true at once, which is why you should separate those stories into something genuinely interesting rather than trying to squeeze them into a single, generic release.
Once businesses get comfortable with tailoring PR angles for different publications, PR becomes much less intimidating and far more effective.
Media pitching should start with the reader, not the business
When I’m helping B2B teams sharpen their PR approach, I always bring the focus back to the two end audiences – the media publication’s readers and your specific customers.
Before you write anything, you should always ask yourself
- Who is this press release really for?
Not “the media”, but which readers? What job roles are interested in your story, and what publications are those people reading? The reader demographic information found in many publication media packs can be hugely valuable in targeting the right story to the right places. - What matters to them right now?
What are their biggest concerns right now? Is it time pressure, cost, compliance, growth, or talent? Context is everything, so the more you can make our story relevant to them, the better the news hook. - Why does this need attention today?
What’s changed? What’s the trigger?
Once you start from that position, it becomes much easier to find the right angle for your story. For example, you can reframe new product updates as responses to real‑world pressures. Or your partnership announcements can deliver insights into how your market is shifting.
And of course, it’s also worth noting that this is also an important technique for your content marketing. Next time you write a blog article or publish a social media post, why not ask yourself these same questions? It will help you with your brand consistency.
Why evidence, insight and authority matter in professional services PR
A fair question you might be wondering is: “Isn’t this just spin?”
It’s a good concern, and one that is worth addressing because it’s important to reiterate that nothing here is about making up news or embellishing your facts.
Strong PR isn’t about exaggeration or making claims you can’t support. Your credibility comes from having the evidence to back up your opinions and claims. You can use customer anecdotes, experiences, outcomes, and internal insights to support your storytelling. This is where content such as white papers, professional reports, and thought leadership articles becomes so valuable.
They give weight to your story and depth that journalists can actually work with.
I believe that this is particularly important for PR for small businesses, where credibility often has to be earned without the brand recognition or budgets that larger organisations rely on. The good news is that you already have material available because it’s often found in sales conversations, internal reporting, or client work. It just needs to be shaped into something press‑ready.
When freelance PR support helps sharpen strategy and angles
I like to tell Ipswich businesses that, for the most part, you can do this yourself. Once you understand how angle-setting works, it becomes much easier to recognise whether you are writing a press angle that a journalist will actually be interested in.
However, where it tends to get tricky is time, confidence and perspective.
That’s often where freelance PR support comes in.
My biggest strength is being an external advocate who can ask, “What does that mean?” and “Why does this matter?” When you’re working internally on a big project, you can become very close to the subject matter, and it’s easy to forget that not everyone else (i.e. journalists and customers) has the same level of knowledge that you do.
This is where my role isn’t just about creating PR strategies and building relationships with journalists. I’m there to be an extra resource to help sense-check the newsworthiness of your campaigns and spot opportunities that are easy to miss when you’re close to the details.
For Suffolk‑based professional services and B2B firms in particular, a bit of strategic direction can make a significant difference without adding extra admin.
Before you assume PR isn’t working for your business
Before you send out any more releases or panic that you’re not achieving enough relevant media coverage, you should take a moment to stop and ask yourself:
- Are we leading with what happened, or why it matters?
- Are we trying to make one message fit every audience?
- Have we properly backed this up with insight or evidence?
You’d be surprised how making these small changes in your approach could dramatically improve the impact of your PR. Because more often than not, it’s not that your business lacks a story, it’s that you’re telling the wrong ones.
A final thought for growing B2B businesses in Suffolk
If you’re a professional service or B2B business and this feels familiar, you don’t necessarily need to start with “more PR”. Often, what makes the biggest difference is having a second pair of eyes to help shape the story and check which angles are the most newsworthy for your preferred media outlets.
That’s where experienced freelance PR direction can be useful, as it helps you get more out of what you already have. To help you get started, why not check out my PR resources hub for small and mid‑sized businesses? It’s packed full of tools and insights to help you maximise your PR activity.