Public relations is an essential component of any company’s branding and customer-facing presence. Traditionally, PR representatives and documents such as press releases have handled most of the PR work. With more people online than ever, technology has taken on more of the PR burden. Here are five ways you can use technology to improve your company’s PR.
1. Utilize 5G connectivity
5G network architecture and connectivity are becoming more widely available very quickly. You can use the increasing availability of this service to your advantage in many ways, including for PR. The faster your customers and prospects can connect to and navigate your network, the more satisfied they’re likely to be, thus passively boosting your PR. 5G ensures more people can connect to and use your network or website more quickly and more reliably, even when it experiences higher than usual levels of traffic.
2. Make sure your online presence is active
To have consistently good PR, you need to have an active and consistent presence online. This means you need to have a clear and recognizable social media presence and coordinate with journalists to generate good headlines and provide important information. However, it also means you need to be plugged in to what other people are saying about your business and to the changing trends of your industry. Make sure you utilize online marketing, search engine optimization tools and email marketing lists as well.
3. Use data to back up your PR
The internet makes it far easier for people to do their own research on companies and the PR campaigns of those companies. However, it also gives you the tools you need to counteract that research. Always be as transparent as possible in your PR, whether you’re dealing with positive or negative situations. Use solid, viable data to develop your PR strategies and then back up those strategies. Whenever possible, make that data and its sources available for people to check themselves if they wish to do so.
4. Make several communication lines available
New technology makes it easier than ever for people to communicate. You can use this to your advantage for PR. Make sure customers have several options to choose from if they want to contact you. Typically, companies provide customer services email addresses and phone lines. While no longer the most popular method of communication between companies and customers, it is still possible to send letters through the mail. Social media is a highly popular method for customers to contact companies almost instantaneously. You should also utilize technology to contact your customers, rather than waiting for them to contact you. Follow up with customers via email or phone calls and online survey requests when they make purchases, for example.
5. Optimize your web design
Another important passive aspect of PR is your web design. Traditional web design has focused on the physical design of the site, ensuring that it looks clean, is easily navigable and isn’t too text heavy. Modern web design needs to place equal emphasis on the site’s code. You need to make sure your website is optimized for access on all types of devices and sizes of screens. When people can’t access your website on a mobile device, or when your website isn’t optimized for viewing on a mobile device, customers can grow frustrated with you and your web design, which can have a negative impact on PR.
PR is a multi-faceted aspect of corporate communications. You need to utilize both active PR, where you communicate with your customers and wider audiences, whether to react to a situation or to explain new occurrences within your company, and passive PR, where you allow your technology, products and services to speak for themselves.
