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Businessman and businesswoman discuss their PR campaign and marketing strategy.

7 Ways to Bolster Your PR Results

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A successful PR campaign does not evolve on its own.

You need to develop a proactive mindset and a strategic plan that will help you earn the media coverage that will propel your organization to the next level of success. By focusing on developing relationships with customers, influencers, and suppliers, you can establish a solid foundation for a productive PR campaign. Below are seven ways to bolster your PR results.

 

1) Become a regular exhibitor at industry trade shows

Trade shows provide excellent forums for networking and showcasing your new products. If you are new to the trade show arena, make sure that you use discretion and maximize your resources. Here are a few tips to help you generate PR from your trade show participation:

  • Select your trade shows carefully. Avoid shows in their infancy in favor of established shows with a large number of attendees. Also, consider the location where the show will be held. Larger cities with easy airport access are typically better venues for trade shows.
  • Choose your booth location wisely. Booth location is often the key to a successful trade show. Corner booths and locations near the front expo entrance are good choices while locations at the back of the expo hall are less ideal. Exhibitors who register early typically have better access to the most desirable booth locations.
  • Invest in an eye-catching booth display. Creating a captivating, inviting ambiance will help drive traffic to your booth. And an inviting booth begins with an eye-catching display. Make sure that your display is clearly visible from afar and make sure that your booth is neat and free of clutter.
  • Explore speaking or sponsorship opportunities. Most trade shows offer exhibitors the opportunity to advertise in the exhibitor manual, sponsor a trade show event, or serve as a speaker on an exhibition topic. While exhibitors can usually expect to pay for these opportunities, they are a great means of fostering PR results.

 

2) Enlist the support of influencers

“…Collaborations with social media stars and celebrities can help to build your credibility among consumers, but that’s not the only benefit. Influencer marketing also gives you the ability to enhance your public relations efforts by filling engagement and trust building “holes” that traditional media can’t always deliver.”

 

– Rebekah Iliff, Chief strategy officer, AirPR

Influencers are outstanding brand ambassadors. Consumers are more apt to trust people than businesses, highlighting the key role that influencers now play in advertising and PR. As contrived marketing messages increasingly fail to engage audiences, social media influencers will continue to grow in popularity.

 

3) Focus on building key relationships

Relationships often serve as the building blocks of fruitful PR campaigns. Maintaining relationships with the individuals who helped your company succeed as well as those who can take your company to the next level of success is essential. In general, you should focus on establishing and maintaining relationships with four categories of people:

  • Customers: Happy customers are outstanding brand ambassadors, especially those who are active on social media. You can build strong relationships with customers by delivering products and services on time and by offering an unparalleled level of responsiveness.
  • Suppliers and vendors: Paying your vendors on time and treating them in a pleasant, respectful manner are two ways to earn rave reviews from suppliers and vendors. Also, make sure that your purchase orders are clear and organized, and try to provide an accurate forecast of upcoming needs.
  • Employees: Satisfied employees are more likely to provide favorable online reviews of your company as an employer. You can keep your employees engaged and satisfied by establishing a positive work culture and recognizing them for their accomplishments.
  • Business partners: Strive to work well with your business partners to ensure that you do not become one of the 70 percent of business partnerships that fail. You can improve your relationship with your business partners by communicating openly and honestly.

 

4) Zero in on millennials

“Millennials have incredible passion and a strong desire to make the world a better place…They want to create meaningful experiences with brand managers. Companies such as Toms, Starbucks and Chipotle have managed to attract and retain their attention. Those brand managers aren’t just speaking to people; they’re speaking with them.”

 

– Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO of Pure Performance Communications 

With millennials possessing $44 billion in annual spending power, connecting with millennials is essential to bolstering your PR results. In contrast to baby boomers and Generation X, millennials are more experience-driven consumers. Reaching millennials, therefore, requires a different approach that involves the following elements:

  • Increase your focus on creativity when branding your products and campaigns
  • Offer free events, activities, and trials to enable millennials to experience your products
  • Make sure that your website and social media sites are responsive and easy to navigate
  • Encourage millennials in your workforce to weigh in on your marketing campaigns

 

5) Engage with your audience

Engaging with your audience gives people a reason to return to your website, blog and social media pages. You build customer retention while elevating your PR results. Here are a few specific ways to engage with your audience:

  • Respond to blog post comments from your audience: Responding to audience comments regarding your blog posts enhances the quality of your blog and also helps you build your brand’s presence. Most importantly, it shows your audience that you value their feedback and are interested in engaging with them.
  • Use social media to showcase your customers and their accomplishments: Recognizing your customers’ recent awards and achievements will delight your clients and help you create a positive company culture. Additionally, you solidify your relationship with key clients while also showing prospective customers that you are a trusted resource for the products and services you provide.
  • Share content that will be useful to your audience: There is little doubt that sharing content is an effective PR strategy to employ. However, with millions of videos and blog posts published every month, you need to employ content intelligence to ensure that you systematically sort through the clutter and choose the most compelling content.
  • Introduce digital storytelling: If you are not already using digital storytelling to augment your PR strategy, then it is time to start. Storytelling’s use of narrative and local flavor to engage with customers makes it a powerful PR tool. The keys to success when introducing storytelling are to start small and make sure you link your storytelling to your company’s goals and missions.

 

6) Become a master of responsiveness

“Among respondents to The Social Habit who have ever attempted to contact a brand, product, or company through social media for customer support, 32% expect a response within 30 minutes.”

 

– Reinaldo S. Prado, LinkedIn

Studies show that more than 75 percent of people who submit an online inquiry expect an email response or a social media reply in less than six hours. With a growing number of consumers opting to engage with companies through social media or live chat, it is essential for you to take measures to increase your level of responsiveness. Here are a few specific ways to become more responsive:

  • Always respond to social media inquiries, even if you must use a pre-generated response.
  • If you advertise your live chat, make sure you have staff available at all hours to respond to inquiries.
  • Strive to respond to social media inquiries and online quote requests within an hour.
  • Make sure you have an official response prepared in case a customer posts a major concern.
  • Consider hiring an intern to monitor your social media and chat inquiries to ensure timely responses.

 

7) Make it easy for your audience to contribute feedback

“…You might want to create one hashtag for a dedicated campaign where consumers can share images of themselves with your product, and then create another hashtag that’s evergreen, where buyers can share their reviews and experiences with your product or service.”

– Jose Angelo Gallegos, Social Media Today

 

Providing convenient ways for audience members to provide feedback reiterates your dedication to listening to their needs. Additionally, customer feedback can be instrumental in helping you improve your business. The key to obtaining customer feedback is to make it easy and convenient for people to convey their comments. Some fast and convenient ways to encourage customers to provide feedback include the following:

  • Feature brief popup surveys on your website.
  • Distribute short comment cards and text surveys at promotional. events.
  • Enable customers to comment on your blog posts.
  • Simply ask customers for their feedback during trade shows and professional meetings.

 

What is the single best step you can take to bolster your PR results?

As outlined above, there are many measures you can take to enhance your PR status. However, the single best step you can take to maximize your PR results is to enlist the support of an accomplished marketing expert. A professional marketing specialist can help you develop a strategic campaign that will drive audience engagement, strengthen key relationships, and win over millennials. Most importantly, you will expand your market presence and build brand loyalty.