Every business is set up to solve a need or provide a service to a targeted group of people. However, most businesses fail not because of low-quality value propositions but as a result of ineffective communication.
As a result, it imperative for every brand to include effective public relations plans in its marketing strategy. Being able to adequately communicate your business’s value proposition is important to every business. Your communication plan has to make it easy for your target audience to easily make the decision to choose you over your competitors.
One of the best means of achieving this feat and growing your business is by leveraging the power of public relations.
What Is Public Relations?
According to Wikipedia, Public relations (PR) is the practice of deliberately managing the spread of information between an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) and the public.
Public relations can help you transform your business from being just a business that sells goods or provides services to be a Brand that your customers and target audience love.
In case you are wondering what the difference is between a business and a brand, here is a definition for you;
One of the best things about Public Relations is its ability to amplify your brand’s recognition which in return makes a positive impact on your business’s bottom line.
You may not have the big bucks that some of your competitors can afford to spend on aggressive Public relations, however, there are a few things you can do for your business to enable you to grow your brand. Check them out below;
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Control What The Media Says About Your Brand
Brand perception is everything when it comes to penetrating your niche market, creating fans and influencing your target audience’s buying decision. It is, therefore, dangerous to leave your brand’s perception to chance.
If your brand is portrayed to be reliable, that is how the public will perceive it and interact with it. Who doesn’t love a brand that is reliable?
It is, therefore, very important to be in control of how it is portrayed by the media as well as how it is perceived by your target audience and the general public.
One of the ways you can do this is by creating a blog for your brand. Post your brand news, updates and educative content on your blog and send out some of these content to digital and print media houses.
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Collate Quality Media Kits
Wondering what a media kit is? A media kit is a document that you send to a journalist to help them write a story or press release. It usually contains information about your business, products or events like product launches, Corporate social responsibility stories, news stories, quality images/videos of your event or products and more.
Before sending your media kit to a journalist or group of journalists, ensure that it is detailed and contains all the facts and information the journalist will need to create a great story for your business.
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Do Not Over Sell Or Undersell Your Brand
When doing any product promotion or brand promotion to put your business in the face of the public, do not indulge in the temptation to oversell your product offerings. Using click baits and marketing gimmicks or false news to promote your business when your products or services cannot deliver what is advertised will only affect your brand image negatively. Embellishing the features of your products will work only if your business can deliver on its promises. However, do not undersell how great your brand is. Loud it! Let the world know what you do and how great you are at doing it.
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Jump On Relevant Trends and Make Them Relevant For Your Brand
Stay informed about trending topics within your industry and create engaging content around this trend. Doing this regularly will gradually position your brand as a resource and a thought leader in your industry. It is also a cheap way to promote your business.
Other than creating content for trending topics within your industry, you can take advantage of fun trends that have gone viral. Re-create them creatively for your brand and you are on your way to creating top of mind awareness about your brand in the minds of your target audience, customers and the public.
A good example is the way GTBank jumped on the #dmxchallenge hashtag. The concept behind the #dmxchallenge is for a girl to compile different pictures or videos of herself. Each picture of video would them represent (in sync) the name of the girls DMX mentioned in his song.
You can see an example of what the original content of the trend is about and what GTBank did with the trend below;
The original concept of the #DMXchallenge:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2SjdcYg6hR/
GTBank’s #DMXchallenge Concept:
How many branches can you recognise? pic.twitter.com/YBA6b3db49
— Guaranty Trust (@gtbank) August 28, 2019
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Integrate Social Media Marketing To Your Marketing Mix
In case you missed it, businesses are now social. Why? Your target audience is online. It only makes sense that your business should be positioned where your customers and target audience are. Integrating social media into your business will give you the opportunity to build your brand’s image, engage with your target audience, market your business and build brand loyalty and affection. Post educative and fun content, organize giveaways, trivia, and contests that are relevant to your brand offerings.
Social media also gives you the opportunity to amplify your brand’s message via social media marketing. You can create rich campaigns that portray the goals your brand is trying to achieve. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin all have a rich database of people who match your target audience.
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Be Consistent and Proactive
Nothing great is achieved if you do not remain consistent. Post on your blog and social media platforms regularly, promote your brand’s activities in order to remain in the minds of the public. Partner with other brands to promote your business. Analyze your activities to know what is working and what is not. Try out new content ideas to learn what your target audience is interested in, rinse and repeat.
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Hire A Reliable Public Relations & Crisis Reputation Management Agency
Doing PR effectively requires time and dedication. You may not be able to invest the time, dedication and resources needed to enable you to achieve your Public Relations goals. You do not need to fret, you can send us a brief here and we will help you create great PR strategies that will help you achieve your goals.
We even take is a notch further by doing crisis management for brands and much more for brands at unbeatable prices. Our clients are reaping the benefits of working with us. You can too. Check out our services and contact us now.