Every person, product, technology and brand has a story of their own to tell. No matter if you are a Fortune 50 company or a business consisting of only 5 people, you must spread your story the correct way, in front of the right people, and at the right time.
How can you do it? The following are 3 principles that can help you accomplish it.
Tell your story first
As a PR person you must also be a storyteller capable of understanding every business nuance. When the right communication is established from the start, there are both external and internal communication benefits. What is the vision of the company? How is this vision brought to life by the products people make? What are the unique products and services the business has to offer that no one else can? In what way can you improve the experience of your customers and the life of your employees and partners? What is the kind of mission you can all work together to complete successfully? As a company strives to build its brand and improve relationship with its customers, all of these matters must be addressed.
But how do you achieve this? You really have to have the time to come up with the stories you wish to tell and write them down. What is the kind of feeling you wish to convey to people about your brand? Taking the time to write the story will aid you in your effort to spot weaknesses and gaps. Be honest with yourself as well as with your customers. If you lack all the information needed to spread a great story, decide not to do it for the moment.
The 3 levers a company needs to pull
PR isn’t only about media relations. Although it is important, presently there are no less than 3 main levers each company has to use when spreading their story:
Traditional lever: Developing relationships with important press figures in your industry is of the utmost importance. Press relationship with important publications must be maintained and cultivated so that they can spread your story to their readers too.
Syndicated lever: Syndication is when companies establish relationships with online properties for the production of specific or tailor-made content for the needs of their readers. As the online media world requires interesting new content each and every day, many brands syndicate to offer it. Consider what customer insights, surveys and data you can offer that others may see as valuable.
Owned lever: Owned content is the future of PR. The content you create spreads your story in such a way that it generates an emotional link between you and your customers. Some SEO Montreal companies wield that lever with great success.
PR is not a cost center but rather a profit center
There is a very high return on investment on PR and it often goes off the charts. Investing in PR is a must when you consider all the places where your story spreads and the impact it generates. Some companies look at PR as an unnecessary expense because it requires a lot of patience to see the results. Instead, PR should be seen as the right tool to introduce your brand to the right auditory.