What is Public Relations and why is it so valuable?
“What is PR?” is one of the most frequently asked questions on Google with almost 100,000 worldwide searches a month. With this in mind we want to demystify what Public Relations is and explore why is it so valuable to your business in 2017.
The Charted Institute of Public Relation’s definition of PR is ‘Public Relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.’ (CIPR 2016).
In simple terms, it’s all about the way organisations communicate with the public, promote themselves and build a positive reputation through public image.
Take a look at our five reasons how PR can bring value to your business:
1. PR is not just media relations
Although media relations is certainly an important part of PR – it can involve a lot more. A whole lot more!
Content marketing, SEO, social media, awards… the digital landscape has opened up a world of opportunity for PR and the businesses that use it effectively. Whether its e-bulletins, or website content, digital platforms require PR guidance and ongoing support to help create engaging content..
A PR’s role is becoming more significant in an “over communicated society” and relationships with the public has never been so important.
2. Effective communications
PR is deep rooted in a story-telling approach and is the natural discipline to lead communications.
PR combines a real breadth of skills. Strategy and planning, problem solving, analysis, creativity, verbal and written communication, organisation and multitasking are a few of the key attributes required in the sector and these skills have an important role in helping businesses and organisations communicate more effectively.
3. Brand development
PR can help to develop your brand. But it is best to start from an early stage. It is vital to highlight what is unique about your product or service which feeds into a set of key messages.
PR professionals can also work alongside marketing colleagues to ensure an integrated approach to developing your brand – one unified message has more impact than numerous messages.
4. Reputation, reputation, reputation
Has your business got a crisis communication plan in place? We all know, it takes years to build up a reputation but seconds for it to be destroyed.
Public relation professionals are trained at handling crisis reputation management straight on ensuring negativity is nipped in the bud. A crisis communication plan will give you confidence in communicating with journalists and stakeholders – ensuring you emerge the other side with your reputation intact.
And with the introduction of social media and digital, it is especially important for businesses to have a social media policy in place.
5. Evaluation
In today’s socially connected world, PR is more important than ever before. Consumers are looking up your business online, reading reviews, tweeting about products, and SHARING their experience with your brand. Thanks to technology we can now measure the results of our efforts to help you stand out from the crowd.
By using tools such as Google Analytics, Twitter Analytics and PPC, PR professionals can measure CTR to websites from different sources. ROI can also be measured through sales and customer retention.
Is now the time to start thinking about your PR strategy and how your business should be positioning itself and its reputation in an ever-growing crowded marketplace?
Please call us on 01603 219191 to arrange a free consultation. Or why not send us an email and tell us a bit more about you?
