The Power of PR by Felicity Owen, Zen Communications
Author: Felicity Owen - Zen Communications
Last Updated: 8/9/2009 11:25:34 AM
Summary
What is PR? Coverage in a local or national newspaper? An article in a trade journal? Perhaps an interview on local radio about a new product or service? It’s certainly all of these things but also so much more. Public Relations is the management of your company’s reputation. It’s used to gain trust and understanding between your business and your customers, employees and stakeholders. Essentially, it’s what you do, what you say, and – even more importantly – what other people say about you.
Article
Why PR?
Good PR can enhance your credibility and authority, help build
brand loyalty, and boost your reputation. It can also allow you to
promote your business to a wider audience and increase the
understanding of your offer, and a good piece of coverage can act
as a great staff motivator and even lead to direct sales.
The Key Questions
So how do you manage your reputation effectively? Whether you're
PRing yourself, or have a specialist team or agency to do it on
your behalf, if you want to maximise the power and effectiveness of
your campaign then you need to ask yourself three very simple
questions. 1. Who am I targeting? 2. What do I want them to do or
to say? 3. How can I reach them? By answering these questions,
you've formed a very basic strategy.
Spreading the Word
You then need to give some thought to your messages - what exactly
are you trying to get across? Don't just think in terms of product
or service features and benefits, but more about why you as a
company stand out from the competition. What makes you special?
When you've agreed a few messages, make sure that these appear in
everything that you send out: repetition of good messages is a
great way of building and maintaining a strong reputation.
Refreshing Reputation
And when you've done all of this? When you have a great
reputation, lots of coverage and your customers are fans? Then you
need to work even harder to protect your reputation. Keep
refreshing your PR strategy and make sure that it sits well with
other marketing activity as part of an integrated campaign. Spread
the word about your good news stories, use case studies to evidence
your skill, and build up solid relationships with journalists.
Don't be afraid to offer an opinion on an industry hot topic, just
make sure that you are seen to have a right to and don't be too
controversial. Above all else believe in your business because if
you're not enthusiastic, no one else will be. Good luck and happy
PRing!
The Author
Felicity Owen is Director of Zen
Communications, a specialist PR and copywriting
consultancy based in the Midlands. A Member of the Chartered
Institute of Public Relations, Felicity has over 10 years industry
experience working for a range of companies from boutique brands to
FTSE 100.
For further information or to discuss your own PR or copywriting
needs please call 01691 610689, email felicity@zen-communications.co.uk
or visit www.zen-communications.co.uk