Imagine a customer searching for what you do and finding your name in the local paper, a trade site they trust and an AI answer. SME.Marketing, a brand of HC Media Group, provides PR for small business owners with 1 to 30 staff. We find the stories in your business, pitch them to the right journalists and turn the coverage into trust, backlinks and brand mentions that help you get found.
· 100+ five-star Google reviews · 8 years trading · No contracts · Most projects start in 1 to 2 weeks ·
PR for small businesses means earning coverage and mentions in places your customers already trust, such as newspapers, trade magazines, podcasts, industry blogs and local news sites, rather than paying for adverts. When someone else says you are good, people believe it more than when you say it yourself.
Digital PR takes the same idea online. The goal is not just a cutting to frame. It is media coverage on websites that link back to you, name your business and feed the sources that Google and AI tools rely on. That makes small business PR one of the few activities that builds brand awareness and organic visibility at the same time.
Many digital PR agencies are set up for national brands with big retainers. We are not. We work with local firms, family businesses and specialist B2B companies who have great stories and nobody telling them.
More people now ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Google’s AI answers for recommendations. These tools build their answers from what is written about a business across the web. When trusted sites mention you by name, describe what you do and link to you, you give those tools more reasons to include you. We will never promise an AI mention, but earned coverage on trusted sites is one of the signals AI tools and Google use to judge a business. It sits alongside our SEO and GEO service.
Every campaign is shaped around your goals, but these are the building blocks.
We interview you and dig into your business to find angles journalists care about: a milestone, an opinion, a local first, useful data from your own customers or a problem you solve. Then we plan where each story should land and why.
We write clear, newsworthy press releases in the format journalists expect, with the facts, quotes and images they need to run the story quickly.
We pitch your story directly to relevant online journalists, editors and podcast hosts, from local news to national trade titles. We keep every pitch personal and targeted, rather than blasting a release to a thousand inboxes.
We position you as the expert in your field through comment pieces, expert quotes and guest articles. That builds credibility with customers and with the people who hire, refer or partner with you.
When a story breaks in your industry, journalists need expert comment fast. We watch for relevant news and help you respond quickly with a useful, quotable view.
Creative digital PR campaigns designed to earn authoritative backlinks and brand mentions from respected websites. These links support your SEO strategy and help Google see you as a trusted business. Coverage works harder when it lands on a page built to convert. See our small business web design.
Because we understand small businesses, and we connect PR to the thing you actually care about: more customers.
PR joined up with SEO. Some PR firms stop at the coverage. We make sure it links back to the right pages and supports your search and AI visibility.
Our team is remote, spread across Essex, Norfolk, Hertfordshire, Kent and Suffolk, and we work with businesses across the UK. No office costs means lower prices.
Every package has a fixed monthly price, shown below, and there is no contract.
Starter
Growth
Performance
If you need something a bit more bespoke, we can do that.
Most projects start within one to two weeks of our first conversation.
Step 1
We talk about your business, your goals and your audience. You get an honest view on whether PR is the right next step and what kind of coverage is realistic. You leave with two or three story angles we think journalists would run.
Step 2
We dig out your best stories, choose your target publications and agree the plan with you. Nothing goes out without your approval.
Step 3
We write your press releases and pitches, contact journalists personally and follow up. When a journalist wants a quote, we help you respond quickly.
Step 4
We report on every piece of coverage and link earned, make sure it points to the right pages on your website, and plan the next story. Picture sending a link to your feature to your best customers.
A PR agency gets other people talking about you. For a small business that means finding newsworthy stories, writing press releases, pitching journalists and earning coverage, brand mentions and backlinks on trusted websites. The aim is to build credibility, get you found and bring in more customers.
Our PR packages are £1,250, £1,750 and £2,750 + VAT a month, and there is no contract. The cost depends on how many stories and campaigns you want each month and how far you want your coverage to reach.
Coverage can land within weeks if a story is timely, but it usually takes a few months of consistent pitching to build real momentum. The SEO and AI search benefit of backlinks and brand mentions typically builds over several months. We will tell you honestly what to expect before you start.
Look for clear prices, a straight answer on what they will and will not promise, reviews you can check and no long contract. Ask to see examples of real coverage, and be wary of anyone who guarantees results. Ask us for examples of coverage we have earned, and check our Google reviews.
Tell them who your customers are, what you want to achieve and what makes your business different. Share any milestones, opinions, customer stories or data you have, and say which publications your customers read. The more honest detail you give, the better the stories we can find.
No, and you should be cautious of anyone who does. Journalists decide what they publish, so no honest agency can guarantee coverage. What we do promise is the work: strong stories, targeted pitching and a clear report on what we did and what it achieved.
PR usually works better over time because journalists get to know you, but there is never a contract. Give us three months to prove ourselves. After that, you stay because we are getting you results.
