PR, which stands for “public relations,” has been around for a long time. But when it comes to your brand, PR is not the same as it used to be. That doesn’t mean that PR ideas don’t still work the way they always have; they still do and can do a lot to help your brand.
PR for the business world of today
In the past, PR was done by sending a press release to a publication about a new product, service, or event, and the publication would then print the press release. Obviously, the digital age is now a big part of your (and all of our) personal and professional lives, so PR has to change. PR can be used in many different ways, such as:
Social media: Social media is a great way to communicate, and there is so much you can do with it. You can connect with many people online through different social media channels. Because they are your contacts, you get to decide who they are. This is a much better way to talk to someone than just doing it blindly. Through the social media channels you choose, you can reach an unlimited number of prospects, clients, etc.
Loyal customers and promoters of the brand: One of your goals is to turn your online connections, or at least some of them, into loyal customers and, eventually, brand ambassadors for your business. You want people to become brand ambassadors because you want them to talk about how great your business is. You are not allowed to do that at all, but they are. They can tell other people about what you do and what you offer, and they can also write about it.
Be transparent and genuine: You will get feedback as time goes on. Some of that feedback will be good, and some of it won’t be good. It’s important to listen to both the good and the bad feedback. The main reason you want to accept negative feedback is to show the world that you are doing everything possible to fix whatever has gone wrong. The best way to solve the problem is to face it straight on. That will definitely help you keep your good name, and it will also help you make new friends.
PR is in a good place right now, so you don’t need anyone else to work the PR angle. You make your own publicity and do a good job promoting your business. Remember that you don’t have to write press releases for your upcoming products or services as much as you used to. This does less work for people right away. You don’t need a writer or someone to get in touch with the people who would publish your press releases in that case.
Additionally, there would be no need for anyone to write content about your offerings. That doesn’t mean that you will not publicize your brand; it just means that you will express it differently. With this modern PR approach, nothing comes between your business and your customers, and you have a close relationship with them.
Additionally, there would be no need for anyone to write content about your offerings. That doesn’t mean that you will not publicize your brand; it just means that you will express it differently. With this modern PR approach, nothing comes between your business and your customers, and you have a close relationship with them.
The downside of the new PR approach
Well, one of the most obvious challenges is the amount of competition you face. Because of that, you need to really stand out so that your online connections pay attention to you and your brand. That can be quite challenging. The last thing you want or need is for the other person online to get distracted by the information of different businesses and not notice your information. Of course, it goes without saying that your content must be top quality and exciting. That alone should give you a leg up, but you must continually reach for more.
Conclusion
PR is just as important as it always was; however, it has a new face. It is a face you must embrace to keep up with other businesses. You really don’t have an option not to do it. It is important here that you must adopt PR for your business and adapt to how it works nowadays. The new age PR is much more subtle and reasonable, much less “knock them over the head.” People no longer appreciate that old approach. You really do catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Content is an extremely important part of public relations (as it has always been). You can accomplish great with your content and use it to enhance your PR angle naturally.
Michael Cohn is the founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of CompuKol Communications. He has over 25 years of experience in IT and web technologies. Mr. Cohn spent a significant amount of time at a major telecommunications company, where his main focus was initiating and leading synergy across all business units by dramatically improving efficiency, online collaboration, and the company’s Intranet capabilities, which accelerated gains in business productivity. He also reduced company travel and travel costs by introducing and implementing various collaboration technologies.
His expertise includes business analysis; project management; global cross-matrix teams; systems engineering and analysis, architecture, prototyping and integration; technology evaluation and assessment; systems development; performance evaluation; and management of off-shore development.
