by Emily Reynolds Bergh, founder of R Public Relations Firm
Public relations (PR) is a strategic relationship between a company and the public resulting in mutual benefit. It helps businesses to develop customer trust, improve credibility in the industry, and bolster the company’s reputation. As the approach to customer relations and brand strategy evolves, organizations are adopting innovative PR techniques to build positive relationships with the public through various channels.
Brand image highly depends upon the interaction between the customer and the company. A positive brand image can strengthen trust and loyalty to the company. In addition, the benefits of branding include positive word-of-mouth, better brand recognition, higher sales, increased profitability, and much more.
This is where PR professionals come in. Here’s how they can help companies to build a positive brand image.
How To Build A Positive Image With PR?
Today, branding is not limited to the traditional news cycle. As such, adopting innovative PR techniques to build a positive image is necessary. Customers need to relate to and connect with the brand. Here is where PR firms come into play. PR managers know what the customer wants and how to spread the word about the brand.
Here are some strategies that successful businesses and PR firms use to build a positive brand image.
1. Creative Content.
Customer loyalty is critical to brands in today’s competitive market. However, traditional marketing and press release techniques are no longer as effective. Creating reels, storytelling videos, sharing product reviews, and paid advertisements on different social media platforms are now more engaging ways for the customer to learn how your products or services can benefit them. As such, establishing a company’s social media and connecting with your customers regularly is a must.
2. Spreading the Word Through Blogs.
Most people use the internet to research and shop for products and services. As such, blogs are an innovative way to tap into that need for knowledge. They give you the opportunity to educate and subtly share how your brand fits the needs of your customers and potential customers better than the competition. They build credibility and position the company as a resource, not just a brand that sells X, Y, or Z, which in turn builds a positive company image. Sharing case studies, tip sheets, and unique uses of your product /service are just some of the topics that could be used in blogs.
3. Influencer Campaigns.
Influencer campaigns are another innovative PR technique. Many assume influencers are celebrities, however, there are plenty of ‘regular people’ who have also built a rapport with their followers as experts on specific topics or in specific categories through their blogs or social media posts, for example. As such, they are seen more like trusted friends or peers with credible recommendations on products/services that they actually use. Influencer campaigns can help you improve brand awareness, improve brand credibility, can create hype for a product/service, and can even boost your SEO. PR firms spend a great deal of time cultivating and nurturing relationships with influencers in specific industries which can be hard for companies to do on their own.
4. Crisis Management.
There are any number of unanticipated events that could damage a brand’s image from product recalls to employee misconduct to security breaches to natural disasters, particularly if a company doesn’t handle the crisis appropriately in the eyes of the public. This is where crisis management comes in. Crisis management is the art of responding effectively to events that have occurred as well as in anticipating crises. Many PR firms today specialize in this and have not only the communication tools and techniques necessary to react promptly and strategically in a crisis abut also to identify any potential vulnerabilities proactively.
5. Collaborating With Industry Journalists.
Public relations can also generate investors for a company by building a positive brand image. A recent innovation in PR is collaborating with niche-specific journalists to publish professional content that boosts the company’s reputation professionally. Small business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-company (B2C) companies often adopt this strategy for branding because of its effectiveness with smaller budgets.
From creating content to managing crises, public relations can support your company in building a sustained positive brand image, particularly when partnering with a firm that focuses on innovative PR for business profitability and credibility.
Emily Reynolds Bergh, founder of R Public Relations Firm, is a consummate marketing and public relations pro with more than 14 years of experience. Emily’s career started after she co-wrote the book Beyond Burning Bras in 2008 (published by ABC Clio), and founded R PR in 2011. At the helm of R PR, which specializes in the technology, hospitality, and business spheres, Emily’s passion is guiding her clients’ companies and brands to flourish.
