As the saying goes, “out with the old and in with the new.” This is the time of year when communications budgets are reviewed and new ones are set. Consider including PR in 2017 as there are many unique benefits you can expect.
PR is an investment in your brand’s equity. It’s a valuable adjunct to your marketing, advertising, influencer, social media and other promotional expenditures.
PR strengthens authority, reputation, goodwill, relationships, community connections, revenue, visibility, credibility, thought leadership, SEO and engagement to spur action.
PR uses many different strategies and tactics to tell your authentic story so that customers learn, better understand and develop loyalty for your products and services over a competitor’s. As Susan Credle, Global Chief Creative Officer at FCB says in this WSJ article, “When you are telling your brand’s story, you aren’t spending money – you are investing.” We couldn’t agree more!
Consumers are savvy and skeptical when gathering information by checking online and with those they trust before making purchases. Thus they are familiar with native ads, sponsored or paid editorial that must be labeled accordingly as required by the FTC. However earned media coverage, the type that PR delivers, appears in news outlets reported by journalists and bloggers who your audience knows, follows and trusts. Contributed content via bylined articles, OpEds and guest blog posts, are other effective ways to convey credible information under the PR umbrella.
To help you understand how to evaluate and measure PR results, we’ve cited an ebook and a few articles worth reading.
Diane Thieke, President and Founder of Simply Talk Media and a former Executive Director of Marketing, PR and Communications Solutions at Dow Jones & Company, wrote “Talk to Me” 10 Tips for Explaining the Language of PR into the Language of Business. This concise ebook explores the perceptions and attitudes of both PR professionals and senior executives toward the impact of public relations on business success among other topics.
The Barcelona Principles are the industry’s accepted method of how to measure PR. They state Measuring Outcomes is Preferred to Measuring Media Results. This principle suggests that: outcomes include shifts in awareness, comprehension, attitude and behavior related to purchase, donations, brand equity, corporate reputation, employee engagement, public policy investment decisions and other shifts in audiences regarding a company, NGO, government or entity as well as the audience’s own beliefs and behaviors.
A new Google ranking study shows that links are very important to highly rank in Google from reputable sources. PR does just that by generating coverage that brings visitors to your website or blog.
This article in the Harvard Business Review says making an emotional connection matters more than customer satisfaction, which effective PR helps bridge and strengthen.
Bospar, a boutique tech agency, surveyed 500+ CMOs, vice presidents of marketing, marketing directors and marketing managers. The results are here indicating that after top-tier media coverage ran, survey participants saw an increase in brand awareness followed by an increase in:
- Brand value
- Web traffic
- In-bound sales leads
- SEO improvement
Once a significant story is published those surveyed recommended it be supported with these activities:
- Promoted in social media
- Showcased on a company’s website
- Included in a company newsletter
- Sent to prospects and customers or clients
To properly evaluate the ROI of a PR effort it must be tied to your defined communications goals set upfront and monitored along the way. This will ensure it is a worthwhile expenditure with lasting long-term value.