Whether you are looking to expand your brand’s reach, or would like to expose it to a wider audience that resonates more with your product or service offering, Public Relations is still one of the smarter ways to go about it.
Public Relations or PR will basically define how your brand, business, company interacts with its key and potential customers. And it is not just limited to customers today, but also other stakeholders such as the media, philanthropists, politicians, and the general public. No matter the size of your business, all brands need PR agencies in India to grow big and thrive in a dynamic and competitive business landscape. That is because customers need to trust the brand, they do business with, and PR helps build that trust ad credibility like nothing else.
There are multiple ways to use PR agencies and their work to build brand awareness, generate leads, and convert those leads. Now this might look similar to marketing, but PR and marketing have some key differences that need to be highlighted.
PR or Marketing?
Both these disciplines of communication may look similar to each other, but the goals that they both set out to achieve can be quite different. While the main objective of a PR agencyin India is to boost your brand’s reputation, marketing primarily concerns itself with driving more sales for your business. Hence, PR doesn’t always have to have an impact on your sales number, but it can surely help with your marketing goals to do the same. The job of a PR firm is to indirectly promote your products and services through things such as press release distribution and speaking at industry events. While marketing activities will only focus on driving revenue and boosting your profits.
But today, people don’t buy products, but your brand. Which is why it is important to use PR and marketing in tandem with each other. PR will help your potential consumer connect with your brand., while marketing will pick up on that and drive to convert that lead.
PR in the time of Coronavirus
Given the current times, it might seem like marketing and PR of your brand has become difficult. And rightly so. With the ongoing pandemic and different lockdowns across the country, a lot of consumer products and services have lost their erstwhile sheen, as consumers now prefer to stay at home and save money. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do PR in 2020. All you got to do is tweak the tactics a little bit and you are all set.
When it comes to the types of PR you could leverage to promote your brand, build and manage your reputation, some of the options include virtual business events, community relations, CSR, crisis management and more. Let’s deep dive into each of the elements that will make for a perfect PR strategy in 2020 for your brand or business.
Holding or attending virtual business events
Business events are one of the best ways or opportunities to market your product, or brand or service effectively to your target audience. Plus, it also helps you gain a lot of exposure, not just for the brand, but also for the people associated with it. During times like these, we obviously don’t recommend you a physical, offline event, but an online event could definitely be your go-to. Include webinars and launches in your PR strategy and get many sales opportunities. It will also give you the chance to see meet prospective customers and delight them face-to-face, instead of just sending them a cold email. Even attending speaking engagements at online events are a helpful way to boost your brand awareness and reputation. Plus, by sharing unique insights, you can also establish thought leadership for your company and its management team.
Building positive community relations
One very important aspect of building a successful business is to build community relations, i.e., positive relationships with the local community centred around your business or are directly affected by it. Some of these community relation activities could include things like charity work, donation camps, exclusive community discounts, or anything else that you think could build a lasting and strong relationship with your community, while also solidifying their loyalty towards your brand or business.
Employ crisis management tactics
Crisis management is another important component of a good and successful PR strategy. Crisis management is basically knowing how to manage and reverse adverse situations that hamper the reputation of your company, or directly affect your key stakeholders. Hence, crisis PR is the best way to deal with any such situation and avert it.
This skill is especially helpful in these times as anything can happen right now. So, it is important to have a team on board that understands all about managing exigencies and can put out fires whenever and however you want them do. Saving your brand reputation during these tough times can be tricky, but a good crisis PR Firm can manage everything.
Engage in some corporate social responsibility
Corporate social responsibility or CSR is an integral part of businesses today. As an entrepreneur, your job shouldn’t stop at just employing people, but also giving back to the community that has made you what you are. CSR is similar to building community relations, but there is more emphasis on ethical business practices, environmental responsibility, and different aspects of philanthropy. When you do PR around this and include CSR as an essential part of your PR strategy, it reaps tremendous rewards.
Focus on your media relations
When talking about PR, how can one forget the media – the most important cog in the wheel of effective communication. Building positive relationships with journalists, publications, and important news outlets can help your brand reputation stay afloat even when you have no news to share. Definitely keep writing press releases regarding your work and keep in touch with journalists so that they remember about you. In these maddening times, it is easy to forget, and brands often become indistinguishable. It is your media relations, and the skill to keep journalists engaged that will come in handy during these times.
