Is your public relations an afterthought? Here’s why that can get you into trouble

It boosts your marketing

A lot of people think public relations and marketing are the same thing, but it could not be further from the truth. Do they often go hand in hand? Of course. But effective public relations saves time and money for marketers.

While marketing is geared toward selling products and services, public relations is all about how people see your business. When you release something new or open your business, sometimes it’s easy to say, “we should schedule an open house event,” or “maybe let’s put out a press release.”

But you must ask yourself a hard question – why would anyone care about your event or product if they’ve never heard of you before? You can waste a lot of time and advertising dollars throwing information out there without the trustworthiness of your company’s brand to bring in a return on investment.

A solid public relations campaign can help with the following before your product/service is released or your business is even open:

• Brand awareness in the community and with potential customers
• Building relationships with local media, trade media, influencers, and industry leaders
• Creating excitement and anticipation for the release of your product/service or your opening
• Providing knowledge of where to find your audience and the best way to spend your advertising dollars and social media efforts

A lack of a solid public relations foundation makes the job for marketers that much harder and could cost you potential revenue.

Crisis management

We’ve all seen what happens when a company or organization hits the news with a negative story. Disgruntled former employees take to the news, angry customers find an audience, or a crisis outside of your control like a downed website or slow supply chain impacts your reviews.

All of these things are easier handled and maintained with the help of a strong public relations plan. Being proactive rather than reactive can go a long way to facing any crisis your business encounters with grace and dignity in a way that has your peers and customers looking at you with respect.

Some of the crisis management plans established by a PR team include:

• Who is the company spokesperson when there is a crisis? What should employees do if contacted for comment?
• What is the process and timeline for creating a solid message around the crisis events?
• What is the communications structure during a crisis?
• Where do you post emergency communications – on social media, website, etc.
• Who handles social media during a time of crisis, and responds to questions, concerns, and complaints all the time?
• Who responds to online reviews, whether negative or positive? What is the message you want to use? How can you prevent yourself from starting arguments online with those leaving a negative review?

Having all these questions answered before a crisis happens can go a long way toward handling it smoothly.

So many fans, so little time

On the opposite end of the spectrum from negatively gaining attention is when you suddenly get a popularity increase if a social media post or news story goes viral unexpectedly.

This is a great thing, right?

It’s like striking gold, but if your business is not prepared for the sudden onslaught of attention, your fifteen minutes of fame can be just that. An effective PR program can help you prepare for the time when your business hits its stride. No one wants to be scrambling to update that old website or get canceled because of something in their past.

Some of the things public relations can help prepare you for if you go viral:

• Make sure your website and social media is always up to date with the latest information.
• Thoroughly review all past social media posts for problematic content.
• Review negative reviews and news stories from the past and prepare messaging in case those resurface with the new positive attention.
• Create talking points about your products and services so you can maximize the time you are in the limelight.
• Establish a spokesperson in case there are press requests.
• Have a plan in place to handle additional phone calls, comments, reviews, and requests for services, etc. Nothing tanks a business faster than when they suddenly get an wave of customers and their services lag as a result.

Keep it in the forefront

Making public relations an afterthought in your business can cost you a lot of time and money in the long run. By building a concrete PR foundation, you are not only ready to get the news about your business, services, and products out in the world, but you are ready to face any crisis or sudden attention that comes your way. The business leader who has the forethought to plan how they will share their brand with the world sets themselves up for success.

If you are in these professions, you have a personal brand (whether you know it or not)

What is a personal brand?  In a nutshell, it’s who your business associates* perceive you, as an individual, to be.  Not your business, not your organization – YOU.

(*”business associates” can be client/customers, employees, co-workers, vendors, or the general public.)

While you may not think you have a personal brand, if you are in one of the professions listed below, you do…whether you know it or not.  More importantly, if you think you don’t have a personal brand then you probably haven’t invested enough time developing your brand…and that could be hurting your business.

So, if your profession is listed below (or if you are in a similar profession) read on to find out why your personal brand is important and to learn some helpful tips for building, improving or rescuing your personal brand.

Real Estate

Buying or selling a home is one of the most important financial decisions people make.  It stands to reason that they aren’t going to trust just anyone to help them through this process.  But how do people choose their Realtor?

Primarily, they choose someone they know, or someone referred to them by friends or family.  If this isn’t their first home buying/selling experience, they’ll use a Realtor they’ve worked with in the past as long as that Realtor has stayed in contact with them, or they have seen marketing and advertising that tells them they are still active in the industry.

And, if they don’t have a Realtor on top of mind? A quick Google search provides them with a long list of options.  But how do they choose from the results? They evaluate personal brand.

Finance

99% of Americans don’t use a financial advisor. So, how do you capture the attention of the 1% that do (or, convince one of the remaining 99% to take the leap?)

It’s all personal brand.

Trust and understanding are crucial factors people use when choosing a financial advisor – or even whether they will begin to use a financial advisor. Potential clients will look to your personal brand to decide if they can trust you and to determine if you are someone who will understand their personal financial situation.

Contractor

As a contractor, you want to be the first person who comes to mind when developers, architects, designers, and property managers have a new project. This will happen if you are reliable, do good work, complete work on time and at or under budget, and have other qualities that make completing the project easier for them, rather than harder.

How do they know if you can do this? Personal brand.

Sales

Modern day salespeople are strategic partners with their clients. They provide their clients with ongoing support and education, not only for the products or services they sell, but also on other, related topics, such as industry trends, up-and-coming technologies, competitor insights, and much, much more.

Whether you are going to be a valued partner or just another peddler of goods is conveyed in your personal brand.

Consultant

As a consultant, you sell your expertise, but you also sell yourself.  You may be the most knowledgeable expert in your field. However, if you have an abrasive personality, have a condescending communication style, and act as if you’d rather be anywhere but working with your client, it will significantly devalue your expertise. And, your clients will take their business elsewhere.

All of this is reflected in your personal brand.

Building your personal brand

It may not be easy, but putting work into building your personal brand is critical your business success and will pay big dividends in the long run.  We’ve included some quick tips below.

However, if you are serious about building a personal brand that will position you for the greatest possible success, you should seek out the assistance of an expert. Contact us today for a free Personal Brand Audit. We’d also be happy to provide you with a quote for a full Personal Brand Development, Redevelopment or Triage.

1. Know your target market and develop communications for them.
2. Know your off- and online reputation. Play to your strengths, and recognize and work on your weaknesses.
3. Know what differentiates you from others in your field and communicate that to prospects and clients.
4. Know the products or services you sell better than anyone else.
5. Develop a passion for your work.
6. Position yourself as a thought leader in your field? Create a blog or podcast, contribute to industry websites, and attend and speak at industry conferences.
7. Ask for and share testimonials from your clients.
8. Offer presentations, workshops, and speaking engagements as part of your services.
9. Publish content regularly on your personal and professional social channels.