A tight budget shouldn’t be an obstacle to getting your organisation noticed.

Your time and budget are limited, but you need to be seen – it’s a common conundrum for SMEs.

Equipped with some know-how, a thoughtfully crafted opinion and well-timed communication, it’s possible to boost your brand visibility – and credibility – at little cost.

First, work out why you’re doing this.

Are you trying to get in front of potential new clients, investors, partners or employees?

Once you know the answer, you can direct your energy where it matters.

Many online publications share insights about who is reading their content. Useful tools like SparkToro can help you work out what your target audience is reading, watching and listening to, who they follow on social media and where they "live" online.

Find a publication

One way to showcase your expertise in your field is to get published outside of your own domain. Blogs are all very well, but you could be "preaching to the converted."

If you’re going to pitch to a publication, you need to ensure it reaches the readers (customers) you’re after.

You also need to understand if they have a political agenda, what that is and what they’ve written about recently.

In other words, you need to do some basic due diligence that you’d apply in other areas of your professional life.

Browse recent headlines, look for regular slots and, if you’re targeting an industry magazine, you may be able to locate a forward features list on its website, outlining topics they plan to cover in upcoming issues.

Once you have found a suitable platform for your insights, you could do some detective work to find the best journalist on the team to pitch to rather than e-mailing a general inbox. Check their LinkedIn bio or look at their social-media presence. You can either pitch your own piece or find freelance writers to pitch and write for you.

Tell your story

There’s a common misconception that everything offered to journalists needs to be in a press-release format.

Editors receive so many press releases that these often get ignored.

You might prefer to save them up for corporate announcements such as funding rounds or new partnerships and tie-ups.

Journalists want stories and news about your business isn’t enough.

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You might have an interesting case study, some new research or views and insights on an industry issue that hasn’t been much covered before.

If you don’t have a story of your own, aim to provide expertise or opinion at the right moment. For example, you could react to a breaking news story with a short comment or submit an idea for a longer opinion piece on the story – also known as an "op ed" – if you have a fresh take.

To attract attention, write the subject of your communication as a journalist would write a headline.

If you’re struggling to craft an engaging headline, you may not have a strong enough story.

Many journalists issue social-media alerts when they’re research