With the advent of social media and digital marketing, organizations have access to fresh, new ways to increase their media coverage and improve media relations. While a marketing team used to be limited to traditional advertising methods such as TV, billboards, and the like, brands can now run social media campaigns and leverage relationships with influencers to meet their public relations (PR) goals.
It’s true that there are new, effective ways to boost your PR activity positively, but the recipe for success remains the same; come up with a good PR strategy! Brands have far more options now to build brand awareness and expand their customer base, but it’s still vital to discover exactly which strategies can help your brand grow.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at some of the best PR strategies that you should consider.
Why is PR important?
PR is more than simply putting out a press release for your new product, service, or company. PR can help you with a variety of different initiatives within the business, that you might not be aware of. PR is a powerful tool for funding, hiring, and becoming an authority in your space.
You may be pleasantly surprised by the different types of initiatives PR can support within your business. Here are 7 examples of ways to use PR to build your business, that you may not be aware of:
Announcing new hires
This kind of PR is fantastic for recruiting. Doing a press release, or submitting to a “People on the Move” section at your local business journal goes a long way in showing that you’re growing, attracting quality talent, and building relationships with people that want to work for you. A lot of times, if the hire is prominent in a certain industry, one of the industry publications is likely interested in following their career.
And lastly, if interviewed by a reporter from media outlets, they’ll ask you why you brought on the hire, which is a great opportunity for you to showcase your company’s growth and expansion plans. Here are a few examples, using Blue Apron as the example since they are a favorite of mine and I used to work with Linda:
- When Linda Kozlowski was appointed the new President and CEO of Blue Apron, the company put out this press release.
- When Blue Apron wanted to expand their technology platform, they pitched the media this story, headlining with their new CTO hire who was to make it happen. Here’s another one for good measure.
Relaunching of OLD products
It’s generally a given that people want PR for their new products and services — but what about the old ones that you are bringing back to life with new bells and whistles, new features, and functionalities? This is a great PR opportunity.
Intuit is always a great example of this, with their deep well of financial products. Here is an example of a press release they did around upgrades to their ProConnect Tax Online product — an old product, but with new helpful features asked for by their customers.
Sharing Your Funding News
There are PR strategies for before you raise, and after you raise. I will go into this in-depth in another post, but briefly:
Before
Think about what you need to get Investors interested in your business. Are they interested in – your growth? Business model? Imagine if you could start telling your story before you even hit the boardroom. Consider telling the press your company story early, and get it published in the places that Investors are reading: business and financial press. The point of this press phase is to get on their radar and put your key message across.
After
After it’s over, you want to tell the world about your newly acquired investment. However, it’s important to note here that the story is not just about the money — it’s the story behind the money. A lot of companies make the mistake of leading with how much they raised, but journalists and news outlets don’t care as much about that. They care about who you are, what you are doing to make an impact in the world and who is supporting you.
The financial investment simply shows credibility, which is needed — but that’s not your story. I will go into more detail soon about the intricacies of how to use PR for your Funding announcement, including timing with the SEC filings, messaging and more. In the meantime here is a helpful article.
Publicizing Events
You’ve put together your Eventbrite page or have a landing page for people to sign up and RSVP — but aside from word of mouth, consider PR as a great way to get the story out ahead of time. That’s right, not the event, but the story. Notice a theme here? Here are a few examples:
- Put out a media alert early and get it published in your local or regional newspaper (online and print).
- Find the most relevant reporter who would be interested in your type of event, and tell them why your event is important (the why), early. They could be interested in writing a story about the importance, and then at the end of the article include your Eventbrite link so more people can sign up.
- If this is an ongoing event, consider inviting the press to it! They can bring their camera, interview people attending, and write a recap so that people know to sign up for next year.
Capitalizing on Predictions and Market Trends
Oftentimes, businesses assume that any PR they do has to be about them and their business. However, there is a lot of power in showcasing your company as a thought leader and somebody who is on top of the trends and can make predictions on certain things in your industry. People like to be educated, and showcasing yourself as a leader in the space ultimately leads to trust if you are helping people learn. Trust leads to loyalty, which ultimately leads to sales. One example of how to use PR for marketing trends is as follows:
As you can see, compared with marketing or advertising, PR is another channel that can raise awareness not only with your company’s product offerings but also a great tool to strengthen your business profile, show you are a great place to work and that you are innovative.
Collaborating with Industry Influencers
Influencer marketing can be significantly more effective than traditional marketing, bringing in as much as 11 times more ROI. The fact of the matter is that consumers trust influencers more than brand banners and traditional media advertisements, and so their recommendations carry more weight.
So when it comes to formulating an effective PR plan, leverage your long-term connections with bloggers and social media influencers! Have them promote your brand or services directly to their following, who have come to trust and appreciate what they have to say. Increase lead generation by reaching your target audience in a fresh way!
Building your Personal Brand
‘Become your own brand’ is a pretty grand statement, but what’s the general idea behind it?
By becoming your own brand, we mean to establish your organization as its own, unique identity, to stand out amongst your competitors. Take Apple, for instance. Apple has become its own brand – consumers identify themselves as iPhone users or Apple users. Buying Apple products has become about more than just acquiring technology – it’s about buying into a whole identity.
How can you become your own brand, exactly? Well, one way is to ‘humanize’ it – make it its own entity. Establish some core, central values, and make them known to your customers. Does innovation mean a lot to you? Then create a narrative around how innovation ties into the services you offer.
So, becoming your own brand is among the most effective public relations strategies, and is essentially a way to strengthen your brand reputation organically through your own customers. Channels like Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch can be great ways to reach large audiences.
Conclusion
While there are many new methods, platforms, and media channels for PR than before, the basic principles and PR objectives remain the same. Brands are looking to use PR efforts to build positive relationships with their target audience, increasing their brand awareness, and generating more leads. New tactics such as influencer marketing offer a quicker, more reliable way to achieve your business goals, but the objectives themselves are the same.
Do you have the specifics of modern PR in the bag, and are you on the lookout for a job to showcase your talents? Many PR experts offer their services on a freelance basis, so they can work on projects that they are passionate about, with brands that value their creativity and innovation. If this sounds like you, head on over to RemotePR Jobs to find the perfect PR role for you.