| Amanda Eldridge 
Small businesses are the engine driving the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), more than half of Americans either own or work for a small business. Furthermore, these businesses create about two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. During next week's National Small Business Week (May 1-7, 2016), small business owners from around the country will be celebrated for their entrepreneurial spirit and determination, and have an opportunity to participate in events that educate, connect, and inspire. "Dream Big, Start Small" is this year's theme, and it's an excellent reminder of the challenging – but worthwhile – journey that lies ahead of most new businesses. While today's marketplace and media landscape have opened up opportunities like National Small Business Week, maintaining and growing a small business still demands stamina. Small business owners regularly encounter roadblocks such as operating with a depleted cash flow, bringing products to market with limited resources, and working to the wee-hours just to manage the day-to-day of their business. With PR Newswire's PR Toolkit program, I’ve had the honor of working with and watching small business owners achieve their big dreams of visibility and profit by starting small – and smart – with their public relations strategy. Start using these four PR tactics to pack a powerful punch against other brands' bigger budgets. 
Build relationships with the media. Although you may not have a dedicated PR department, one of the easiest ways to spread the word about your company is by establishing relationships with the local media in your area. Before you can begin pitching the media, though, you have to know who they are. Take the small step of reading, watching, and listening to the media outlets in your region and industry. This will help you identify which journalists, bloggers and influencers might be interested in your news. Then, follow and monitor via social media to familiarize yourself with their work or attend local events that you know they will cover. Doing so will help you uncover opportunities to start a conversation about topics you mutually care about. Partner with a charity. While you may not have a big check to cut like larger corporations, you can still make an impact in your community by partnering with a local nonprofit or charity organization. These types of partnerships can build positive brand awareness, customer loyalty and employee pride. Help spread the word about your partnership through press releases, social media, your company newsletter, blog and other communications. Book speaking engagements. Presenting at events will not only increase your visibility with potential customers and the media, it will also establish your credibility and expertise – a valuable step towards becoming an industry thought leader. Start small by speaking at local or niche events to help cut your teeth and build your profile. Once you've refined your speaking skills, consider pursuing major speaking engagements at a national level. Participate in community events. Sponsoring, booking a booth, hosting a giveaway, and demoing your product at local events are other great ways to support the community while simultaneously promoting your small business. Community events can include festivals, conventions, exhibits, parades, city-wide garage sales, art walks or outdoor concerts. These types of events often present marketing opportunities in the form of brand promotion, word-of-mouth, and email list-building tactics. Starting at the local level can help you develop your skills to attend much larger events in the future. When planning out a PR program, remember that landing media pickup and turning it into revenue requires patience and perseverance. However, with time, productive opportunities will present themselves. Download our free white paper New PR Approaches for Outbound Communications Strategies for more practices that will evolve your PR strategy. 
Author Amanda Eldridge is the director of strategic channels at PR Newswire where she educates small business owners and nonprofits on affordable PR & marketing solutions. She has 15 years of experience in both communications and journalism and has worked in a variety of roles to put her into a position of expertise in her field. Follow her at @prnsmallbiz for tweets about small business marketing trends. | 
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