In today’s world, a good PR story is certainly more effective than an impressive ad. Marketers should essentially learn how to do PR for a business in an extremely dynamic and tech-driven world.
PR has come a long way and has evolved tremendously in the past decade or so. Today’s PR professionals need to possess diverse skill sets including the knowledge of SEO, social media, influencer marketing, analytics, and strategic thinking skills to work like a pro.
PR has become an integral part of digital marketing, quintessential to building brand awareness and credibility. And that’s why it is imperative to come up with a solid PR plan if you want to gain a strong foothold in this competitive world.
In this post, I will discuss 6 top ways to do PR for a business and boost its credibility in the long run. Let’s dig in.
How to do PR for your business in 2022
Here are the top 6 tactics on how to do PR for your business and build a positive image.
1. Engage in compelling storytelling
As a famous quote goes, people buy relations, stories, and magic rather than goods and services.
I am sure your brand has a unique story. The first step in learning how to do PR for your business is to master telling your brand story in a compelling way.
Let your potential customers and clients know what motivated you to start this business. People would love to hear about your struggles and your journey to success.
Use your website, social profiles, podcasts, blogs, and interviews for brand storytelling and to connect with people.
Consider using a good tool like Semrush to create SEO-friendly content. This Semrush review 2022 can help you to get a better understanding of the tool in more detail.
2. Participate in business events
If you ask any expert how to do PR for your business, here is an obvious tactic: Use business events to garner exposure for your brand by showcasing your products and services.
Get involved in seminars, conferences, trade shows, corporate retreats, milestone celebrations, and other types of business events. They’re great opportunities for you to connect with your peers, the press, and potential clients.
This is how you can use this approach to do PR for your business.
Search for major events in your industry and seek opportunities to speak and interact with participants as a thought leader.
If you are not a natural orator, consider enrolling for a degree in marketing communication. It’ll turn you into a confident speaker.
By expanding your network, you can build a reputation for your business and yourself.
3. Get involved with the community
Businesses don’t operate in an empty world, they are part of a community.
And when it comes to how to do PR for a business, staying closely connected with a community and the society at large is essential.
Establish your business as a responsible and caring organization by participating in local events, supporting environmental causes, taking up philanthropic initiatives, and so on. It goes a long way in building public relations in a positive way.
Let’s take Google for example. It collaborates with GiveDirectly to provide financial support to people in disaster-struck regions.
Image via YouTube
Apple’s Employee Giving Program is yet another amazing initiative to give back to society. They have raised nearly $600 million in the past decade.
The benefits of such initiatives go beyond building public relations. They portray you as a brand that is striving to create a better world.
4. Leverage these three media channels
PR professionals use three types of media channels to manage public relations. If you want to learn how to do PR for your business, learn to leverage them effectively.
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Owned media
This refers to your own resources like your social media profiles, blogs, guest posts, YouTube channels, and so on.
See how Adobe used its Facebook channel to celebrate its success and do PR.
Image via Facebook
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Paid media
When you pay to get exposure, those efforts are called paid media. I am talking about social media ads, PPC, sponsored posts, and so on. Based on your PR budget, you can calculate the paid media cost and manage expenditures effectively.
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Earned media
While earned media is hard to get, it is extremely valuable for your business. This includes everything from @mentions and recommendations to reviews by top bloggers, leading life coaches, stars, and industry leaders.
5. Partner with influencers
Next on our list of how to do PR for a business is partnering with influencers. This marketing technique is a powerful tool for brand advocacy. It’ll also help you build brand awareness and generate sales.
How can partnering with influencers help do PR for your business?
Well, you are harnessing the power of word of mouth. The majority of consumers today trust the reviews and recommendations of their connections, influencers, and other users more than advertisements.
When influencers talk about your brand and products, your PR tactic looks more authentic. And when people of influence talk about you, your public relations get much deeper.
Also, you can ask them to organise live vidoe shopping events to the right live stream vidoe shopping platforms and sell your products/services through these latest online selling methods. It helps you to create good brand awareness with sale growth.
6. Master crisis management
When you are learning how to do PR for a business, you should not only focus on the positives but also on how to handle crises.
For example, multiple email ID for different social media platforms is not a right approcach and it can create a crisis in emergency situations.
You need to put a single email ID to all social media platforms. You can change email ID on your Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms by following their procedure if you are using multiple email IDs for these account..
A crisis could come in any form, a negative review, nasty comments from unhappy customers, advertising mishaps, or unexpected controversies. Such crises may jeopardize your brand to a great extent if not addressed immediately.
It’s vital to put in place a good crisis communications strategy to contain damage, eliminate negativity, and if possible turn the tide to get positive PR.
When teenagers started misusing Tide Pods by eating them and challenging others to do so, the brand quickly got into action to do damage control. They handled the crisis gracefully and garnered a good amount of positive PR.
Image via Twitter
Get ready to create a powerful PR strategy for your business
It is quite evident that learning how to do PR for a business is fundamental to establishing your brand.
PR is an exciting world where you get to think out of the box and establish your business as a thought leader.
Spend time understanding your audience to create a solid PR plan and also choose the right KPIs for PR to measure its effectiveness.
Incorporate the above-shared tips on how to do PR for your business into your digital marketing strategy and build a strong reputation for your brand.
