Whether to start or grow a business, it’s important to position yourself in your market. Public Relations is one of the most efficient, cost-effective means of getting your message out. Every business has an inspiration and a story and PR is how those stories get heard.
Public relations can help establish your business, educate customers, the media, and your employees and even manage damage control in times of crisis. PR is about empowering the market, providing knowledge and understanding.
Let’s take a look at how best to protect and enhance your reputation using Public Relations.
Enhancing Your Reputation with PR
Public Relations is about messaging. Creating and delivering that message can help to clarify your story and work to shape public opinion about your company. Some common goals of a PR campaign include:
- Position your company as a leader or expert in your field.
- Increase and enhance your company’s overall visibility.
- Clarifying your corporate position during a crisis.
- Telling your company story in a direct, clear and credible manner.
A well-crafted release will articulate your company’s position and align you with current industry trends or issues. This release is sent to targeted media channels who could publish the information. Because it is being presented as news, your message will carry significantly more credibility than a paid advertisement. This credibility or third-party endorsement is what enhances your company’s reputation in the marketplace.
By controlling a story through the use of PR, you can protect your business during times of crisis and make sure your story is told properly. The effective use of PR can work to protect that business from harm. Getting in front of the story and presenting a well-crafted response immediately can mitigate any potential damage.
Consistency is the Key
Public relations is most effective when a consistent message is presented to the media on a consistent basis. One common mistake made by many businesses is to prepare and present non-newsworthy information to the media. It’s important to release pertinent information in order to be taken seriously by the editors, journalists and bloggers you are relying on to publish your press release.
A consistent, newsworthy PR effort will help to build general awareness of your product, brand, and business and will enhance and supplement any direct marketing or advertising efforts. Another benefit of a consistent effort is that this visibility in the press will help your business establish credibility and connect with your audience. This perception is what can help you build trust, secure partnerships, drive customers and secure funding to grow.
PR is an intelligent use of your company’s marketing dollars. A well-crafted campaign will create “top-of-mind” awareness of your business and can work to establish your company as a serious player in your market.
