While large companies have the luxury of employing a dedicated team or hiring an agency to meet their PR needs, start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses can still create effective PR without a large budget.
Hiring a PR consultant to work within your budget can help you to create a strong, recognisable message across multiple media platforms and reap significant exposure that builds your reputation and customer base.
Here are seven reasons to have a PR strategy
1. It creates awareness with your customers
At the very least, PR tells your audience that your business exists, what products or services you provide and keeps them informed about news and developments. Customers who feel they have a connection with a brand are more likely to return and will help spread the word to others.
Social media, blogs and e-newsletters are great ways to connect directly with your target market. For start-ups, PR helps to tell their brand story and build a strong relationship between their business and a wider audience.
2. It strengthens your brand image
Starting a PR campaign helps you to define the message and core values of your company and makes you question why you do what you do and why people should care. You can fine-tune that message and make it consistent, which breeds trust and builds a loyal customer base.
3. It builds your credibility
A favourable mention of your business – whether it’s word of mouth, customer testimonials or editorial media coverage – is more valuable than a paid advertisement because it is a more trusted third-party recommendation. Nowadays, people (particularly millennials and Generation Z consumers) don’t necessarily trust traditional advertising.
4. It supports other marketing initiatives
A well-planned PR campaign ensures consistent messaging across different channels that support each other. It not only gains media coverage, but also ensures content is coordinated on social media sites that are relevant to your target audience and which in turn drives traffic to your website. And launching a new product, a redesigned website or a fresh marketing campaign can themselves be newsworthy in the right publications.
5. It promotes your expertise
Good PR assesses your position in the local or regional community and helps you to establish yourself as a local, valued expert through blogs and third-party publications. Delivering real value to your audience – whether it’s sharing something useful, educational or inspiring – wins people’s attention.
6. It enhances your online reputation
A coordinated PR campaign ensures that your content is timely and relevant. Favourable stories told in the media and across social media networks maintain positive exposure. Unlike print, online articles and mentions of your business are there to stay.
By continually creating articles, blogs and features about your business, you build up a wealth of material that increases your online presence and reputation. All this keeps your business higher up in search engine rankings, bringing more customers and driving business growth.
7. It creates long-term relationships
PR is about building trust and delivering value, so you are generating goodwill and establishing lasting relationships along the way. A happy customer base is a loyal customer base and one that will spread the word of who are and what you do.
In the end, PR empowers businesses to build revenue though planning the brand story they want to tell and connecting with customers while building awareness, credibility and trust both on and offline.
If you would like to discuss PR for your company, please contact us.
Recent Comments