Marketing is considered an essential sales tool for businesses but not PR. PR has a less tangible reputation, more fluffy less, hard sales. As a PR, our image might still be tarnished by Ab Fab’s Patsy & Eddie’s 90s lifestyle, but today it’s not all liquid lunches, the reality is much more practical.
Businesses that embrace PR see an instant positive effective on their brand, an increase in consumer interest, an increase in consumer trust and most interestingly PR generates investor interest.
Myths around PR
1. PR is too expensive
PR is ultimately reputation management with the skills and contacts to support it. With a constant flow of communication from your organisation, you are familiar to the media and your target audiences.
Establishing a positive reputation for your business is an invaluable investment. Should your business run into trouble and there is a problem with your product, service or problems within your team, you will need to uphold your business reputation with a statement for the press. A PR team will quickly isolate the problem and resolve any concerns with a strong statement and the media contacts to share it efficiently.
The reality is businesses who want to thrive can’t afford not to have a well managed reputation.
2. PR is too fluffy
PR is not marketing speak or advertising slogans, PR professionals can’t waste journalists time with fluffy language. The media communications around a business has to be direct and factual, your boilerplate constructed by a PR will be the truest description of your business.
We continually work with business owners to to find your true purpose as a business and let the world know that message through a strategic controlled PR plan. There is no room for fluff.
3. PR has no clear ROI
Column inches verses advertising spend has long been the nearest demonstration of financial worth of press coverage.
What isn’t represented here is the endorsement of an independent journalist who is interested enough in your business and willing to stake their reputation, by creating a story about you and then publishing it. Also we find opportunities for your clients to openly endorse you as brand ambassadors, a perfect recommendation for prospect clients/ customers.
Independent recommendation is incredibly influential with up to a 1/4 of readers likely to purchase following a review in a publication.
4. PR is all spin
PR professionals operate on a system of trust, loyalty and strong media relationships. No payment is shared with journalists, the transaction is an interesting story that shapes a quality news article. If PRs start to exaggerate the truth they stand to make the journalists look bad. This is the beginning of the end of that working relationship. For PRs who want a long career, there is no room for spin.
5. We don’t have enough news for PR
Many business owners who say they don’t need a PR function don’t believe they have enough news within the business. The thing is PR isn’t just press releases, its reputation management, sharing your team’s expertise and personality through thought leadership pieces and speaking opportunities at events. It’s finding platforms where your business can shine by entering awards hosting webinars and finding niche forward features that will enable you reach your key audiences.
All these tools enable you to engage authentically and communicate clearly with the people who make your business successful.
PR is a serious business asset with no end of advantages. Businesses who are set to have longevity in their success should work with PR consultants like HuHa to establish their purpose, manage their reputation and create media opportunities for endorsement from journalists, clients and maybe even the odd nice lunch.