In this increasingly digital age, when so many brands are vying for the attention of over-saturated audiences, ensuring that your company’s messaging and services are in the public domain is more important than ever.
Whether you have a start-up in its delicate early stages, a medium sized enterprise or a large long-established corporation with hundreds of years of heritage, the positive impact of good PR should not be underestimated.
In order to keep one step ahead of the competition, or in the arena with other competitors altogether, having a presence in the media and on social media is crucial and PR professionals will ensure that your messaging and brand is out there in the right places at the right time.
Simply put, good strategic PR will help your business get off the ground and stay off the ground by getting your brand noticed to increase your profile, credibility and sales.
A PR company will do this by starting relevant conversations that engage and influence your customers, provoking action. By reaching those audiences through clever PR, social media and other on and offline communications tools, a PR professional will get people reading, talking and sharing news about your brand to strengthen your reputation.
Eight reasons why your business needs PR:
1. To protect your reputation
Reputation is key and the more positive news in the public domain about your company the better, whether it’s new work appointments, project announcements, charity efforts or financial growth reports – if there is news to tell then we should tell it.
2. Reach your target audience
A PR professional will use media contacts to communicate your messaging to the publications and online sites that are read by your target audiences. Social media management will also allow a PR company to act on behalf of your brand – liaising with customers in keeping with your brand’s tone of voice and developing relationships to ensure a personable and accessible approach.
3. To communicate brand values
Your brand values are at the core of your business, they are what sets you apart from the rest and what promotes authenticity and the unique qualities of your company.
4. Raise awareness of your services
Raising awareness of your brand highlights your products and services and helps drive consumers to make decisions. It’s as clear as that – if people don’t know about you, they won’t choose your company.
5. Keep your business looking alive
There’s nothing worse than neglected social media channels, a blog page that hasn’t been updated since 2018 and no mention of your company in the press. Good PR and social media can help keep your business looking fresh and healthy, which is invaluable for attracting consumer interest and investment.
6. Establish credibility
If a brand isn’t credible or loses its credibility in some way then this can have a negative effect on consumers’ decisions and their behaviour due to the loss of trust. They will choose an alternative company if they lose their faith, so it’s important to look after brand image to ensure this doesn’t happen.
7. To provoke action
Your core communication through press releases and social media content should influence action. Through the creation and placement of strategic content, a good PR professional can ensure that target audiences are provoked in such a way that it benefits business, either through driving sales or getting people talking.
8. Manage a crisis
Should your business hit crisis point, things can escalate quickly and it’s important that your reputation is protected until things begin to resolve. From reactive press and social statements to providing advice to lead you through a difficult time, a good PR company can handle this.