By Lucy Torr – Senior account executive
The world of communications offers varying definitions of PR and what it means at its core. For businesses, this can feel somewhat daunting when embarking on a new marketing strategy. However, the multi-faceted approach to PR is actually a blessing in disguise, quickly recognised by businesses once their bespoke communications plan gets under way.
Traditionally, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) defines PR as:
“The discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour. It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”
More than that, PR is the bridge between a business and the public and can encompass more than just traditional press writing, but elements such as social media, SEO, website content, event management, reactionary comments, digital PR and much more.
In this blog, we take a deeper dive into this multi-faceted PR approach and why it is so important for businesses to reap the rewards from successful brand building and lead generation.
Brand awareness
Whether it’s a new business or one that has been around for decades, brand awareness among its relevant audiences is vital in achieving longevity and growth. Essentially, PR acts as a vessel for effective brand awareness to be achieved in a measurable way, that also consistently aligns with key messages.
A strategic PR plan can develop a brand’s reputation with its target audiences, making them more prominent in a variety of ways depending on what the PR strategy entails, whether by creating engaging content through well-written and researched press releases, key thought leadership messaging or results-driven social media management as examples.
Instead of simply conveying the top line information, there is a real opportunity for PR to boost audience perceptions of a brand with detailed storytelling that packs a punch.
Increasing credibility
With a bewildering amount of information and ‘noise’ to consider as businesses compete against each other for a share of the audience, there’s no wonder that many people choose a business that seems to be the most credible and trustworthy.
Building a strong rapport with an audience is key. A PR strategy that targets thought leaderships articles with relevant press, or insight-driven website content and blogs, gives an audience insight into more than just the company’s offering but the expertise of those within it, and their opinions. Overall, PR drives personality, and in a time when unpredictability is a core characteristic of consumers, this is incredibly important for a business to stand out from the rest.
Sustainable success
A key element of business success and how utilising PR feeds into this comes from more than just credibility, but consistency.
An effective PR strategy needs continuous ‘fuel’ to drive those all-important results. A business must be ‘all in’ with its communications strategy and become a consistent voice within its relevant industry.
It comes back to the basic human principle of being able to remember something the more that we see it. This is the same for target audiences, with our saturated landscape taking no prisoners when it comes to business messaging – soon fading into the background in our minds if its communications are not consistent, relevant and timely.
Long-term success is the goal for all businesses and continued awareness, supported by an effective PR strategy, can be vital to this success.
Crisis management
As we’ve mentioned, a consistent PR pipeline can do wonders in highlighting a business to its chosen audience and building a positive reputation.
Unfortunately, sometimes things don’t always go to plan – and that’s when an experienced PR team can step in to help with a crisis communications strategy.
A challenging situation that might generate negative stories needs a professional approach to handle the potential of press coverage and reputational damage.
Communications here become more about protecting customer loyalty and, without an effective plan, can result in unfortunate negative setbacks.
The PR team will swiftly become an extension of a business’s marketing team, while also acting as a buffer between a business and any ensuing media enquiries, helping to restore any elements of lost stakeholder confidence.
Wider marketing strategy
The idea that an external PR team and its tailored strategy acts as an offshoot to a brand or business is at the core of every relationship between an agency and its clients. There are many benefits to engaging with a PR team in support of a business’s marketing strategy, from the added experience and knowledge of the communications world, to being a buffer between a business and the media.
Furthermore, there is an opportunity for increased measuring and analysis of results, with many PR agencies being well-versed in effective techniques for accurate reporting with a tailored approach. Return on investment and business impact is incredibly important, and a deep dive into PR efforts is vital in support of this.
Integration with marketing teams is second nature within strategic PR plans, with the ability to feed into wider business aims being vital for a successful relationship. This can maximise the reach of campaigns and content, improving the effectiveness of the wider marketing strategy and bringing in great results – that is why effective PR is so important.
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