Public relations (PR) is defined by the Cambridge dictionary as “The activity of keeping good relationships between organisations and the general public.” It can help a business build strong connections with the people they’d like to become their customers. It helps a business build its reputation and get talked about by the right people, in the right places.
Whether you do your own PR or employ a professional PR agency to do it for you, all businesses need to use it to evolve and grow. Here are six reasons why:
Every business has values that represent what makes it tick, and how and why they do what they do. But there’s little point in having strong values if no one knows about them. PR helps tell people about those values and why they make a particular business worth listening to and buying from.
Good PR helps a business connect with people who share similar values. In time, those values will be what people associate with, when they think of the brand. Building a good reputation by communicating and connecting with the right people is at the heart of PR and a crucial segment of a successful business.
A business’s reputation is built on what it does well. To be successful, it needs loyal customers who know they can trust the business to do what it says it will. When people trust you, they tell other people about you and why you’re good at what you do.
PR can help a business build its authority and become known as an industry leader in its field. Publishing high-quality articles in the right places helps to improve a business’s reputation as a credible source of information. This helps to set the business apart from competitors and become the go-to in their industry.
Being talked about positively in the media is a great way for a business to grow. The key is knowing who to talk to so that the right people hear and read what is being said. A full-page interview in a fitness magazine will do very little to spread the word about a new manufacturing firm that specialises in gaming chairs.
Good PR will find the best publications for a business that will put them in front of an audience who will want to know more about them.
An interview on a national television show can take a business to the next level. Hearing someone talk authoritatively about a subject will do more for a brand than paid advertising can. Positive media attention helps to build a business’s authority as an expert in its field.
Advertising isn’t a cheap way of getting a business seen and talked about. For a new business, it may not be a cost-effective way of building its brand and sharing its story with the world.
Well-placed contributions to discussions online, in publications, or on TV and radio will have far more of an impact on a new business’s growth, than an advert on the side of a bus. This kind of PR helps people get to know a business and the people who are part of it. And once they demonstrate they know their stuff, it’s more likely the right people will want to become customers.
An article or TV interview is likely to reach far more people in the longer term, than an advert. The cost of hiring a PR expert to connect a business with the right opportunities is likely to be far less than an advertising campaign.
Businesses grow online by being seen and showing up in search engines. The more your business is talked about in articles, guest posts, testimonials, and interviews, the more likely it is people will want to find out more and visit your website.
A quote from you in a piece from a national news outlet that includes a link to your website will improve your business’s search engine optimisation and website ranking. A good ranking means you show up higher in search engines helping the business generate more leads and ultimately sales.
It’s part of life that things go wrong at some point. And when they do, you need to be able to act fast to minimise the damage. Businesses need PR to not only shout about their successes but to also manage things when something goes wrong.
Having a good crisis management plan in place will save valuable time and limit potential damage when things don’t go according to plan. Being able to respond swiftly and appropriately is key.
*images from Duda*
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Orange PR and Marketing
The Nursery
Layer Marney Tower
Roundbush Road
Layer Marney
CO5 9US
Orange PR and Marketing
The Nursery
Layer Marney Tower
Roundbush Road
Layer Marney
CO5 9US
Orange PR and Marketing
The Nursery
Layer Marney Tower
Roundbush Road
Layer Marney
CO5 9US