PR is all about reputation, building it up, keeping it there and protecting it if things go wrong.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as: “the activity of keeping good relationships between an organisation and the general public.”
And although PR officially stands for public relations we reckon it could also stand for a whole lot of other stuff:
Profile Raising – it’s all the steps you take to get your name out there. We’re not just talking sending out a press release, although of course, it can involve getting your story out to the media. It’s your website, your socials, blogs and vlogs. It can be your internal comms, it can be sponsoring an award, winning one or attending networking meetings. It’s about being seen and being credible so your clients and business contacts trust you.
Protecting Reputation – it’s the planning for if a crisis hits. It’s knowing what to say, how to say it and where to get your message across. It’s handling a crisis properly, making sure the right staff are media trained and coming out of it the other side.
Perfecting Relationships – it’s helping you spread the word that your company is trustworthy, reliable and great at what they do. That way your staff, customers, clients and stakeholders are your brand ambassadors and will spread the word for you.
Providing Referrals – PR isn’t paid for advertising. It’s having the right steps in place so that your clients, customers and stakeholders believe in what you do and shout about how good you are, for you!. Essentially you won’t need a loudhailer telling people to buy from you. Good PR, means your customers will do it for you. If they’re saying: ”make sure you buy from them,” or,“they’re brilliant, they deliver when they say they will and they’re good on price,” comments like that, reviews and testimonials are far more valuable to a company that a half-page advertisement, well we think so anyway.
(Feautured image: Legs PR sponsored charity champion award at BNI awards 2020– thank you to Joanna from Toland Photography)
