So, you’re a small business with an amazing product or service that would put a smile on
every client’s face, but you have no idea how to spread the word about your business. Social
media, campaigns, email marketing; it’s overwhelming. You’re finding that the time you spend on PR takes away from time you could be investing in other areas of your business. Don’t worry; almost every business feels the exact same way and that’s why businesses invest in PR. A well tailored PR strategy can bring business awareness and develop a positive public opinion of your small business. Lets go over four reasons why businesses invest in PR to create effective businesses plans and strategies.
01. Create Brand Awareness
Public Relations doesn’t solely rely on communicating to the right target audiences or
customers, PR involves building brand awareness with the community, media analysts,
policy makers and potential shareholders. Imagine a stranger at a local coffee shop
overhears a social media influencer discussing with their friend the recent positive
experience they had on a marketing campaign they’re involved with for a new restaurant
in town. The stranger is curious and decides to lookup the new restaurant. This is a form
of word-of-mouth marketing which is a result of a PR strategy. A reliable PR strategy
will build brand awareness while complimenting other marketing and advertising efforts
in order to attract and secure future partnerships, customers/clients and sales.
02. Promote Brand Growth
Implementing the balance of PR with digital marketing can create prospects to grow your
brand. Imagine; you’ve worked on your ideal client, your target audience. By trusting an
experienced PR team with your ideal client knowledge, they can create opportunities to
put your brand in front of the target audience which then improves brand business
outcomes. Relating to our earlier example of the influencer in the coffee shop, a PR team
had to research and connect with local social media influencers that would agree to share
their experience at the new local restaurant. Their online followers will see the shared
experiences and the brand is now in front of its local target audience.
03. PR Outlasts Advertising
Establishing the right public image, both in person and online, is the most cost effective
device for brand awareness and improving perception. There are so many avenues to
promote a positive brand story especially with today’s technology. News articles, blog
posts and image sharing sites never expire, meaning these types of digital media can gain
continuous exposure overtime with the use of shares, likes and outsource links. Utilizing
the example with the local influencer, a potential customer may run across the
influencer’s posts about their experience at the restaurant when it first opened. Seeing the
positive experience shared, this potential client decides to visit. This form of PR costs the
new restaurant $0 with a 100% return.
04. Crisis Management
The phrase ‘there’s no such thing as bad publicity’ does ring true in the world of PR.
While PR teams do their best to highlight all the positives of a brand, a seasoned PR team
can handle bad publicity as well. Through developing a savvy issues and reputation management plan, brands can be equipped to handle negative publicity. Utilizing the
influencer in the coffee shop as our last example, lets imagine the influencer conveys to
their friend the positive experience they had working with the new restaurant. Upon
hearing this, the friend explains a negative experience they had at the new restaurant
involving their food order being wrong. The influencer, who had previously been
informed by the PR Influencer Relations Specialist during collaboration preparation that
the restaurant was working on perfecting the communication between the wait staff and
kitchen, explained to their friend how the new restaurant was improving to best serve its
customers. By equipping every person involved with the brand with current and crucial
information this PR team was able to provide the influencer with knowledge to educate
their friend on the restaurant’s awareness of the communication issue and the proactive
measures its taking to better itself.
Investing in PR raises brand awareness and promotes brand growth while PR strategies
outlast basic advertising styles as a cost-effective tool that can be utilized for brand management.
Your business and brand will prosper when you invest in PR (of course, as long as your branding and marketing is solid. They will help convert).