R Public Relations Firm
7 Successful PR Tactics
Companies that focus on creating strong public relations (PR) throughout every stage of their business are often the most successful. While there is no specific template for successful PR, there are tips you can implement to ensure you are on the right path. Here we’ll go through some of those PR tactics that business owners, creative agencies, and PR professionals should try.
1. Identify Your Target Audience
An essential step in every PR strategy is taking the time to get to know your audience. Who are your customers? What are their needs? How can you reach them? Understanding your customers will help you know how to tailor your message to speak directly to them. For instance, if your primary target audience is young people, it’s best to craft messages that will appeal to their generation. Some basic information you should consider to understand your target audience includes the following.
- Demography (i.e., age, gender)
- Location
- Education/Employment/Career/Income level.
2. Set Specific Goals
Another successful PR tactic is to have a goal in mind. Setting goals for your campaigns will help you stay focused. For example, do you want to increase brand awareness, introduce a product line, attract new customers, or manage a crisis? Highlight what you want to achieve with your campaign and set goals that are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely).
A great way to set goals is by reviewing your previous PR campaigns and considering what you would like to improve to get better results and/or what hit the mark so you can continue to implement going forward.
3. Create Great Content Marketing
Content is a huge part of every PR campaign, so you must focus on creating messaging that is not only relevant to your target customer but also engaging enough to catch their attention and keep it. Also, the best PR tactics involve storytelling, so ensure your brand message tells a unique and original story as well. Whether it’s a social media campaign, a news release, or a radio ad, you should find a way to incorporate storytelling to take your content to the next level.
4. Have a Call-to-Action
One thing that the most successful PR campaigns have in common is a call to action (CTA). A CTA on your PR content will guide your audience to take specific action to help you achieve your goals. It’s such a simple PR tactic, but you’d be surprised how many campaigns fall short because the audience doesn’t know what to do next!
5. Choose The Right Platform
Once you have great content to catch your audience's attention, ensure you disseminate your message through the platforms on which your customers spend their time. Digital advertising is one of the best media for PR messages at the moment because it tends to reach your audience faster. According to a study on internet usage, about 81% of Americans head to the internet at least once a day.
For this reason, any brand serious about successful PR tactics must take advantage of social media and online platforms. Set up social media accounts, maintain a strong presence, engage with your audience, and share valuable content with your customers.
6. Partner With Influencers
Influencer marketing is currently one of the most effective PR tactics to grow customers and gain trust. A study shows that 51% of companies get better results through influencer marketing. Also, the majority of people are likely to trust recommendations that come from other people as opposed to the brand itself. So, seek out thought leaders, bloggers, and other influential personalities in your niche or with values that align with your brand. Establish a relationship with them and get them to endorse or promote your brand to the public.
7. Measure The Results
Measuring the results of your campaigns is often overlooked when discussing PR tactics and strategies. However, it is a great tip to ensure successful PR. When you track engagements, analyze your campaigns, and measure your result, you can figure out what worked well and what to improve. You can then use the results to guide your future PR campaigns and efforts.
Need Help Creating Successful PR Tactics for Your Brand?
Many brands are competing to get their customer’s attention, and the best way to make your company stand out is by working with experienced PR professionals. At RPR Firm, we have a team of PR professionals with the skills and experience to help you develop successful PR campaigns. Our company has more than 11 years of experience helping brands improve their reputation and maximize their revenue through PR.
Are you considering working with a full-service PR team, or do you want to chat with PR professionals for your campaign? Schedule a free consultation with us today.
5 Ways Public Relations Influences Public Opinion
Every company cares about public perception, and the good news is that public relations (PR) is one way they can create a likable brand and shape public opinion. Newspaper, television, social media, blogs, and other forms of PR are significant in shaping people’s attitudes and behavior. In this article, we go through how public relations influences public opinion.
Defining Public Relations
Companies use public relations to connect to their target audience and consumers. The trick to PR is to improve your relationship with consumers so that they understand you and positively perceive your brand/product. PR is also useful to promote your company’s values, show customers you care about them, and control damage in a crisis.
Defining Public Opinion
The definition of public opinion, in general, is that it is what the public thinks about a person, situation, phenomenon, product, or in this case, a company. According to Wikipedia, public opinion is the collective views of people in a society on a particular topic.
So, what is the relationship between public relations and public opinion?
All the processes involved in public relations focus on impacting public opinion. PR, unlike marketing, isn't about selling products. Instead, it focuses on managing a company’s reputation and maintaining positive relations with anyone interested in your brand. In other words, a lot of PR tasks involve modifying people’s opinions so that they take specific actions, like buying your product. PR sells your company by strategically shaping perceptions.
How Companies Use PR to Influence Public Opinion
Here are some of the top public relations techniques companies use to shape public opinion:
1. Understanding Your Target Audience
PR professionals need to get into the minds of their customers, identify their demography, understand their pain points, and find out what they are looking for in a product or service. This information can help companies craft targeted PR messages, releases, and copy in which customers can relate. If you understand your audience, you can tailor your PR activities to their needs, and they will have positive feelings about your brand, leading to improved public opinion.
2. Repeated Exposure
One of the ways public relations can shape public opinions is through repeated exposure to your brand and messages. You can use different ways and platforms like news websites, paid search, social media, or even influencer marketing. The more people see your PR messages, the more likely you are to influence their opinions about your brand.
Another way that PR influences public opinion depends on where the messaging is featured. Companies need to feature their PR messages on platforms that their audience uses the most. The kind of places your brand messaging appears can influence people’s perception and create the desired outcome you want, so make sure to do your research there..
3. Great Messaging
Good PR is mostly about clear communication and great messaging. In this case, PR messaging that is clear, concise, and persuasive can speak to people’s emotions and impact their opinions about your brand. As such, it’s imperative for companies to focus on the language, tone, and information used to disseminate information to their audience. Whether you are trying to manage a crisis or want to create positive news coverage about your brand, you can get public opinion in your favor by presenting your company in a positive light that will build trust with the public.
4. Third-Party Endorsement
One of the best ways to influence public opinion through PR is by getting credible third-party endorsements from news media, celebrities, journalists, social media influencers, or opinion leaders, for example. Third-party endorsements make PR feel more genuine and authentic and, as such, are likely to build a great brand image that influences people positively.
The credibility that comes with third-party endorsements is why many companies spend tons of money to have people who share the same values and vision as their brand ambassadors. Having someone as the face of your brand can create a positive reputation for your company and influence people.
5. Putting In The Work
Influencing public opinion isn't just about talking but also walking the walk. People like companies that act responsibly and put in the work that matches their statements and press releases. For this reason, it’s best to focus on creating a solid mission statement. Ultimately, people (and companies) are defined by what they do and not just what they say.
Get Started Using Public Relations to Influence Public Opinion of Your Brand
Having a good PR agency by your side is the best way to connect with your audience and maintain positive public opinion about your brand. At RPR Firm, we have PR professional teams with years of experience helping brands stand out in the competitive market.
Schedule a free consultation with us today and let our team of experts improve your brand reputation through great public relations.