What is PR?
Public relations is lot of different things to a lot of different people. To AHA Creative Strategies, PR is positive, proactive communication with various sectors of the public to influence their attitudes and opinions in the interest of promoting a person, product, or idea. But it can be more — or less — depending on your expectations and perspective.
PR can be a stand-alone function for a small business with a small budget. PR can be a part of the marketing mix in a big-budget campaign that includes advertising, promotion and direct marketing.
PR Reinforces Brands
Great PR, in our opinion, always supports your brand. A great brand is a good story. We strongly believe that. Successful PR tells the story of your company, your successes, your vision, and your product or service in a way that grabs and holds your target audience's attention.
PR Tells Real Stories
The one thing that good PR doesn't do is lie. Good PR is about being honest. A solid company with a worthwhile product or service will benefit from PR. You can't build a brand on lies, and good PR won't support lies. At AHA, one of our commitments to our clients and ourselves is that we only work with people that we believe in and trust.
PR Benefits Good Companies
Good PR can communicate the benefits, positive qualities and vision of your business, product or service. It can elevate you to a position of "expert" in the eyes of the media and your target audience. It can drive clients and customers to your business, and create momentum, awareness, and understanding.
Good PR cannot save or support bad service, a bad product or a poorly run company. And most PR professionals won't take you on if you want to "spin" your story. We can help you if you are unknown, misunderstood, misinterpreted, or even if you have made a mistake and want to do the right thing.
If you are doing something illegal, unethical or immoral, we suggest you get a lawyer — or a priest.
Community Relations
Community Relations is an important part of PR. As an entrepreneur or the CEO of a multi-national company, your contribution to the communities you serve is important. Corporate social responsibility is important to how you are perceived by clients, customers, partners and investors. Companies need to give back to their communities — because it's the right thing to do. Being known for doing the right, positive and proactive thing in your neighbourhood is a bonus.
Issues and Crisis Communications
What happens when there is a challenge at your company - with employees, with the government, with stakeholders, with activists or because of outside influences that you have no control over? The opportunity to upload every mistake almost instantaneously through blogs, vodcasts and online communications makes this component of PR more important. This kind of plan doesn't hide mistakes, it acknowledges that they could be made and lays out how to ensure that your stakeholders know that you are doing everything possible to make things right.
Every company needs a plan on how to manage an issue so that it doesn't become a crisis. Should a crisis arise, you need to know what to do, how to disseminate information to your staff, and how to tell the public — through the media — what you are doing to solve the challenge. Not unlike a risk management plan, an issues and crisis communications plan gives you the foundation of what to do, who to contact and how to communicate during a high-pressure time.
Employee Relations/Internal Communications
Your employees can be your best ambassadors. Information - new products, new ideas, new processes need to be shared with them — and they need to be asked for input. Creating an inclusive culture lends itself to success. Is what you are telling the world the same message as what your employees are experiencing?
Through newsletters, internal blogs, vodcasts, podcasts and ongoing staff events such as workshops, presentations and even social engagements, you can keep your staff in the loop and empower them to become an important part of your company's reputation and success. Human Resources isn't just about hiring good people, it's also about engaging them in conversation and keeping them!
Investor Relations
Communications are planned and deployed differently when you have investors. Whether private investors or shareholders through a company listed on a stock exchange, it is incredibly important to communicate with these stakeholders. Different regulations are in place depending on whether you are a public or private company, but establishing consistent, honest and effective communications with your investors or shareholders and establishing trust and confidence on their part is incredibly important to your company's success.
Marketing Communications
Within the 4Ps of marketing (product, price, place and promotion) public relations plays a strong role. Putting PR at the table while a product is being developed is a smart move. PR is one of the pillars of the marketing mix and can assist in the rollout phase of a new product or service, making it highly marketable — and visible. PR can also support branding, advertising, packaging, point-of-sale displays, tradeshows and special events.
Publicity/Media Relations
Publicity and media relations are all about creating a connection with the media. Whether it's a publicity campaign or a long-term effort to establish a relationship with the media where you and your company are looked upon as the expert in your field and a valuable resource, this is an important component of your business. It's also becoming more and more necessary to include the online journalists — bloggers and web magazines. Reaching out to your target markets through online and traditional media is a key asset in your success toolbox.
Writing
Writing is an important component of your PR or marketing plan. The world is inundated with marketing "noise" and unless your message is well written, (whether it is your web copy, a newsletter, speech, advertisement, brochure or other promotional item) it will get lost.
There is more to writing than being able to efficiently put words together. Writing is a craft, a form of communication that must be thoughtful, informative, persuasive and interesting. Different mediums demand different writing styles, and each company should have its own tone and approach to language. The right words and writing style can have a huge influence on the success of your business. Don't let writing be an afterthought in your marketing materials.