Excellent Public Media Relations Is Critical
Jun 21
Public Relations (or media/PR) could be critical to your marketing, but isn’t the same as pure marketing, which usually focuses on market share and consumer relations. is one route to developing brand awareness and creating a good public impression, but is mainly focussed on creating good press coverage and sourcing free positive editorials to disseminate the brand message.
PR can be divided into 2 type: product and corporate. Product focussing on a product (obviously!), corporate PR looking at a whole brand.
With the current obsession over the perception of brand, Corporate PR is seen as increasingly important. In most cases, both approaches to PR should be integrated with other advertising and marketing schemes; this gives maximum exposure across all channels.
A basic rule of PR is that you should develop credibility before raising the visibility of a product or company.Although exposure is all-important in winning custom, if you have a ‘bad rep’ you’ll never capitalise on your visibility. Trust is the key watchword to generating and keeping new business. Advertising alone is good for generating brand-awareness, but not credibility. Consumers know that advertising is paid-for (and therefore untrustworthy). PR on the other hand is free, getting in the media is more important, and a positive editorial is far more believable than the same amount of advertising.
Getting editorial coverage is one of the best things a PR company can do. Influential industry experts carry massive influence. Someone perceived as ‘in the know’ or with a loyal readership can sway public opinion with what they say. Cost is another factor; editorials are free. Writing and disseminating press releases is the only cost involved.
possible pitfall of editorials is that the PR company has has no influence over what’s said or what the editorial content is. No matter how well-written or well-targeted your press release, there is no guarantee you’ll get favourable coverage. Planning for both positive and negative outcomes is essential to a well-managed PR campaign.
When you’ve started, you must work hard to maintain relationships with the media. Prompt follow-ups, expert enquiry handling develop good relationships with the media. Public relations experts, like those at this Leeds PR company, have worked on the editorial side, creating a great insight into what reporters need. Working closely with reporters’ needs increases the likelihood of future coverage; unresponsive companies often get a bad reputation amongst the meda.
Effective PR creates a positive impression of a product or company, building great brand awareness. PR companies have the intangible job of swaying opinion and [spin]the results can unmistakeably make or break a business|the results can be business critical|can make a massive difference to a company’s future.