Marketing your brand is not just about promoting new products and releasing thematic campaigns with funny or witty stories. At the core of it all, it is all about building relationships with your customer. It might not always be conventionally creative, but you have to go for ways and methods that subtly bring you closer to your target audience and stakeholders.
This is where public relations or PR comes in. You might have had the impression that it is just about writing press releases, but in reality, it has several dimensions that you need to focus on. If you are looking for some ways to run an effective PR campaign, you are reading the right material. Here are some pointers worth taking note of:
Maximize an angle
Say you’re promoting a new product, and you want people to talk about it. The first instinct would be to write the product’s features and benefits. While this is correct, you might want to add some layers of stories to make the news much more interesting. Find a creative angle and maximize it. For one, you can start the article about what has inspired the company to design such a product and some tidbits about the manufacturing process. Always ask which topics are interesting for your target audience.
Always be responsive
Every brand wants their business to be perceived as reliable – a business that is always there for its customers. Just being responsive is already a good PR effort, as people will tell others that your business is easy to talk to and will always answer queries. Other than having a reliable customer service hotline, you can have community managers that will respond to customer concerns online. So if you’re running a bank or a mortgage company, it makes sense that you work with an agency offering social media services.
Know your media
The medium is the message, so you should always consider the platform that you will use for the dissemination of your message. Once you have a newsworthy material, you can send it directly to a newspaper outfit or TV station. But before that, you might want to research on the distributor. Know their reach and the type of content they are producing. Be careful with companies and ideologies your company will be associated with.
Expect crises to happen
The future is uncertain, and your brand should always be prepared for it. You don’t know what kind of disaster and problem will strike your company, but expect the worst. Come up with a crisis communication plan that addresses specific issues: employment issues, product quality, and the likes. Don’t think that it will not happen to you.
Being honest and sincere
Ultimately, the heart of a good PR campaign lies in a company’s sincerity and honesty. When you’re transparent, you’re basically showing integrity, something that customers admire and love. Practice truthfulness at all times.
