Small businesses are on the rise and bring the competition to others. These businesses must work much harder, and pay much more, when it comes to advertising than your well-known brands like Target, Disney, Apple, and Amazon. All these businesses are competing for attention.
It can cost up to five times more to attract new clients, as it is to retain an existing one. There could be number of coffee shops in a ten mile radius, but a customer will stay loyal to a specific coffee shop due to their service and what they value.
What is PR?
There are many marketing tools that can contribute to the success of your brand, and one of those tools is PR. PR, for one thing, is short for Public Relations. Now, what is Public Relations? It refers to a tactical communication method from an organization to its public to perpetuate their image and/or respond to public discourse.
PR, according to the Public Relations Society of America, “is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” Building these relationships is critical in establishing trust with your clients or prospects. You may be wondering; how do I apply PR in my own brand? Well, luckily, I am here to help guide you.
Doing Public Relations for your brand does not have to drain your bank account. Just taking a few moments every week will encourage results. Here are some PR strategies to help build your brand:
1. Consistently Putting Your Brand In Front of Clients, Customers, and Prospects
One way to do free PR for your brand is to consistently put forth your brand in front of others. To do this, you could create a monthly newsletter for your customers or clients. The newsletter can consist of highlights from the month, and what is next to come.
This will inform your audience, keeping them up to date, while also reminding them of what your brand stands for. There are many other ways to actively engage with your clients, newsletters are just one.
a. Keep them short and to the point. This is your small window of opportunity to make the most out of your brand. Highlight key details, make it personal but not obvious that it is for your public.
b. Think about adding hyperlinks or buttons to pages on your website, to keep your audience engaged.
2. Bring Authentic Value To the Table. Be Genuine and Transparent With Your Writing.
Always keep in mind that is important for your writing to reflect your brand. Expressing your company’s values is key to getting the client’s trust. It shows that your company is genuine and thinks about its clients first. Being transparent with your writing is a thoughtful way of communicating to your audience and prospects.
3. Use a Customer Service Mindset
Keeping in mind the best interests of your clients will get you a long way. When dealing with a specific concern, it is crucial to put yourself in the shoes of the client and ask, how would they like this handled?
When clients are inclined to talk to employees, they most likely do not want to hear an automated voice. Rather, they want a friendly voice on the other side, talking to them as a person. Remember, a brand is the actions and behaviors you perpetuate.
4. Build Relationships With Everyone
Building relationships, no matter what context, is much valuable. Whether this be with clients, prospects, people in your industry, or even people outside your industry.
It is important to build trusting relationships with people because it gives you, and your company a reputation to put forth. Through these relationships, you can stress the core values of your company, providing efficient and free PR, while also building professional relationships with others.
5. Relevancy Is Key
It is important that your company is always relevant. Think about keeping up to date with broader trends that affect your industry. This will reinforce your brands relevance in a meaningful way. If you tie your company’s mission into ongoing dialogue, that would be majorly beneficial.
6. Highlighting Your Own Team’s Expertise
Recognizing your team’s success to others is a proven way to encourage trust between company and clients. Clients can trust to reach out to other employees at your company. This is an opportunity to showcase what make you and your organization exceptional.
7. Make Interesting and Original Content
This is a sure-fire way to keep your audience engaged with your company. Nobody likes looking at the same thing many times. People enjoy creative and unique content that really sticks out, something they have not seen before.
Conclusion
As technology continues to evolve, social media has transformed the way the PR is done. Branding your company to your desired audience is much easier now, especially for small businesses, than it was thirty years ago. With social media, companies can find many different mediums to contribute to their marketing.
Now that I have taught you just a few of many guerilla marketing strategies, you can create stronger PR skills, build better company-to-client relationships, and persuade your audience into believing your company’s core values. I look forward to seeing you strengthen your brand’s message.
(Guest blogged by Nicole Hale)
