Building credibility and trust: Why PR is a valuable business investment
There is a common misconception that PR is solely a crisis management tool. The reality is that PR is predominantly proactive and vital for shaping a positive business reputation from the ground up. This blog will look at the importance of integrating PR strategies early in your B2B marketing plan and how building a positive reputation in advance can be a powerful asset in strengthening credibility, trust and industry influence.
Every business needs to make a profit to expand, driven by sales and advertising. But when building trust, fostering positive relationships and shaping the public’s perception of your business and the people within it – that’s PR, so make sure it's part of your B2B marketing plan.
"The purpose of a company is to serve and to serve first. It must make a profit, but that is not the main reason it exists." - Simon Sinek
What is PR?
Public relations, commonly known as PR, is the art of managing the relationships between an individual or an organisation, just like you and your business, and the public – whether that's internal staff, suppliers, investors, customers or potential customers. PR offers a crucial tool for creating trust and connections. Without a connection, it can make selling products and services more challenging.
In today's highly competitive market, having a smashing business idea is not always enough to succeed. If people do not believe or have trust in your brand the efforts put into a product or service may go in vain. Public relations play a vital role in creating a positive image of a brand or person within a company and best-placing content where the intended audience will see it. The main aim of PR is not to sell, but to build and protect the reputation of a brand, earn support and influence opinions and behaviour (1). Increased sales are usually a by-product of PR proactive and reactive activities working in tandem with an integrated marketing strategy.
Why is PR important?
Reputation is an invaluable asset of any business and is as important as the financial bottom line. A favourable reputation can attract new investment opportunities, sales prospects, and better employee candidates. With easy access to online reviews, Google searches, and rolling news coverage, putting a reputation management strategy in place is crucial to protect a company's image should an incident occur. It also adds credit to a business’s reputation bank, enabling it to stand out from competitors and in the event of a crisis, secure loyalty and trust with stakeholders.
According to research by Weber Shandwick, global executives, on average, attribute 63% of their company's market value to their company's overall reputation (2) – now, considering PR is all about reputation management, it would seem crucial to have a strategy in place to protect that large percentage.
Crisis management and beyond
It's a common misconception that businesses only enlist the help of PR experts during a communications crisis. Although PR is indeed a valuable tool during a crisis, it's not a good idea to call in the experts only following an incident. The key is preparation. Whether you're a global company with thousands of employees or a small operation, proactively implementing a crisis management plan is paramount to minimise the risk of reputational damage should a situation occur. Ignoring the problem is the worst thing you can do, especially with social media and the potential for misinformation being widespread.
Ironically, PR has had some bad PR associated with "spin doctoring," and therefore a lack of transparency and credibility. PR has also been accused of being superficial or "fluff" that boosts a business's image without adding any value. A prime example of misinformation, as PR is much more than just managing a person's or business's image during a crisis. A lot of PR is proactive rather than reactive, showcasing a business’s growth and its people to its existing and potential customers as well as industry peers through planned content.
How does PR work?
To execute an effective B2B PR plan, start by defining target audiences and their preferred communication channels, even if that means doing a little research. The answers can be different to what you've been doing, so it's worth checking!
Then develop a compelling content plan that highlights industry expertise and thought leadership before utilising media relations to secure coverage in relevant publications.
PR can be broken down into four approaches:
Paid: Where a fee is incurred to publish or partner with a media outlet or influencer. A business has greater control over its content but is less credible as the audience is aware it is paid.
Earned: This is more time-consuming and doesn’t guarantee placement in a publication, but is extremely valuable as it is seen as more credible because it can’t be bought, only earned by providing valuable insight and opinions.
Shared: Most commonly comes in the form of social media, such as a post from a customer about a product or event. There is little control over this format but demonstrates credibility if the sentiment is positive and audiences feel compelled to share their experience.
Owned: This offers the most control for a business when it comes to putting out content, for example, on a blog or your social media channels. However, unless an organisation has a very high reputation, it should be supported by other forms of media.
Common forms of PR media:
Press release: Can showcase an event or product launch to external audiences. Often sent to media outlets for coverage in a newspaper or magazine (digital or print) and is usually time-sensitive.
Feature article: Different from a news story, a feature article explores a news topic, event or trend in more detail from the perspective of an industry expert.
Speaking opportunity: Being a keynote speaker or a panel guest, speaking at an event is a fantastic way to showcase expertise and build trust and credibility.
Events: Hosting an event takes a lot of organisation and preparation but can be a great way to gather target audiences in one place, ideal for exclusive product launches.
Comment: Responding to a news story promptly can position you and your brand as an expert leader within that topic.
The most important part of developing a PR strategy is ensuring it compliments your business and other communication goals. Content, PR, social media and web development should all work together to achieve an overall communications and business goal. PR needs to follow the same measurements as your other goals – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
Setting PR goals
You may have already set your sales, operations, and financial goals but what about your reputation goals?
Some examples of PR goals could be to:
Achieve a 10% growth in website traffic from referrals within the next six months.
Secure three pieces of earned media coverage for an opinion article from a key expert within the company on a topical news item over the next three months.
Invited to speak at four industry events within the 12 months.
Calling in the experts
Now that you've recognised the significance of PR, you may be contemplating the practical steps for implementing a PR strategy. This task can be managed internally if equipped with the right team expertise. Nonetheless, there are considerable advantages to engaging the services of an external PR agency.
A fresh perspective from an external source can uncover overlooked opportunities or newsworthy events. PR agencies also maintain daily engagement with the media and journalists, allowing them to cultivate extensive networks and secure broader exposure. Furthermore, enlisting the services of a PR agency can ignite creativity in a PR campaign or event, or simply find different approaches to communicate and engage with target audiences.
Ready to start your next PR campaign? Get in touch with one of our award-winning PR experts.
https://cipr.co.uk/CIPR/CIPR/About_Us/About_PR.aspx
https://webershandwick.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/State-of-Corporate-Reputation_FINAL-presentation-13.01.20_BRITISH-ENGLISH.pdf