Hire Space has partnered with davies tanner to bring practical advice and takeaways on brand communications and PR to its venue members. The ‘How to PR Like a Pro’ series will give our venue members the opportunity to get personalised advice on the topics covered in the series of insightful articles. These will cover a range of useful topics, from how to write impactful PR content, to maximising the chances of getting media coverage, to manage your brand’s reputation and crisis communications.
Customer trust and brand loyalty are the pinnacle of all PR efforts. Find out how PR can help your business stand out among your competitors through establishing credibility, enhancing reputation and building brand awareness.
How to stand out from your competition with PR
In a competitive world, it can prove difficult to build a brand’s own identity; difficult, but not impossible. Public relations (PR) is a great tool for businesses to be one step ahead of their competition through brand storytelling, building their profile and reputation, and effectively communicating with their target audience.
PR forms part of the communications strategy of a business, aiming to bridge the gap between brands and key audiences, as well as manage a brand’s reputation by securing positive story opportunities in the press. While marketing activities are trying to achieve direct revenue, PR is trying to drive positive brand awareness through managing the communication channels between a company and its stakeholders. These may include media outlets (print or online), a company’s blog, newsletter and social media channels. People instinctively trust authoritative content more than advertising and we’re not the only ones who believe this:
“A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front-page ad.” – Richard Branson
So, we’re sharing some PR tactics you can use to give your business a competitive edge:
Thought leadership
Writing articles is an excellent way to establish yourself as an expert in your field, placing your business one step ahead of your competition. Your articles must be relevant, engaging and valuable for your target audience and, perhaps most importantly, they must provide an opinion on a given matter of interest to the industry.
Provide commentary
The media is always on the lookout for new story angles, expert opinions and insight. Providing comment to media is an excellent way to get the name of your business in the press and demonstrate your own expertise and knowledge in your field. This could be as simple as offering a response to a pre-written article or your spokesperson being featured in an interview on a relevant topic.
Speaker opportunities
Speaking at a conference or event is an excellent way to position yourself as an expert amongst your target audience, build your profile and credibility, and generate brand awareness. In today’s competitive business market, being positioned as an expert in your field can lead to new business opportunities and an increase in sales and new customers.
Engage with happy clients
Case studies and testimonials describe a successful project or client your business has worked with. Using case studies gives potential customers an insight into how your business operates, and how they can benefit from what your business has to offer. People are more likely to choose a business over a competitor when they can see proven results.
Engage on social media
Social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook offer a direct way to engage with current and potential customers. It is important to engage in dialogue with your followers, which can be achieved by posting interesting content, sharing newsworthy stories about your industry, asking questions and responding to queries.
In our next article, titled ‘How to write impactful PR content’, we invite you to submit your questions at hirespace@daviestanner by 15th September and have your burning questions on this topic answered. For privacy purposes, we will name organisations when providing answers.