R Public Relations Firm
What Crisis Management Is and Why You Need a Publicist ASAP
Crises happen so often in the business world that there’s an entire subset of public relations devoted to them known as crisis management. Given that how you respond to a crisis can either boost your brand or damage it significantly, crisis management is as essential to your business as the Keurig your team relies on to function. Or is that just R team? In all seriousness, the right publicist can be the key to effective crisis management. Here’s how.
What is Crisis Management?
The word “crisis” is defined as a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger. While that may seem ominous, a crisis for your business is really any unanticipated event that could disrupt your operations and/or cause potential harm to your brand reputation including:
- Product recalls
- Customer injuries
- Employee misconduct
- Security breaches
- Natural disasters
As such, crisis management is the art of not only responding effectively to events that have occurred, but also your strategic approach in anticipating crises.
How Can a Publicist Help?
A publicist can help with both aspects of crisis management. For example, R team is specially trained in the communication tools and techniques necessary to react promptly and strategically in a crisis as well as in identifying any potential vulnerabilities proactively. What’s more, because of our experience in the restaurant, hospitality, retail, health and wellness, business, and non-profit industries we’re uniquely equipped to help lifestyle brands with crisis management. Specifically, the benefits of partnering with a publicist include:
- Peace of mind – When a crisis hits, panic often ensues and that’s when mistakes happen. Likely this isn’t something you or your team deal with every day so it’s natural to be overwhelmed and not sure what to do. A publicist can take that worry off your shoulders, acting swiftly and surely on your behalf to protect your brand in the public eye.
- Freeing you to focus on the crisis – Realistically, you’ve got much more to worry about in a crisis than public relations alone. Having to split your focus between what to say in public as well as to your customers while also working to resolve the crisis itself is anything but ideal. With a publicist handling the media and your message, you’re free to focus on where you’re needed most.
- Controlling the narrative – Speed is everything in a crisis, particularly how fast you communicate about it. It’s so much harder to change perception once it’s in the news and/or on social media than to drive the message initially. While you’re wondering who to contact and what to say, things can quickly spin out of control. You avoid that entirely with a publicist because they can help you get the right message to the right people right away.
- Making the most of the situation – Often it’s just as much about how you say something as it is what you’re saying. A publicist has the training and the finesse to get your message across in a way that puts your brand in the best light. Yes, you want to be authentic, honest, and transparent about the crisis, but you also want the media as well as your current and potential customers to see the bigger picture. One crisis does not have to define your brand, and with effective crisis management, it won’t.
To learn how R team of publicists can help your brand with crisis management, schedule your FREE discovery call today!
Different Types of PR Campaigns – Is Local, National, or Seasonal Best for Your Brand?
While there are a number of elements involved in a successful PR campaign, one of the most important is how well you target your message. We’re not just talking the ‘who’ like whether it’s going to business executives in a particular industry or stay-at-home moms with a passion for clean eating. It’s also about the ‘where’ – local or national – and the ‘when’– seasonal or evergreen. What difference does it make? R team has the answers.
Local PR Campaigns versus National PR Campaigns
Admittedly, it can be tough to find the right balance between local and national PR. Especially if you’re a national brand! A big part of it comes down to budget because national campaigns can be costly when it comes to paid media, although they allow you to reach a wide audience. But if you only have the funds to reach them once, it may not be worth it as repeated exposure to your brand is what makes the most impact. What’s more, you’re facing much more competition at a national level both in paid media and earned media.
On the other hand, if your brand is looking to increase sales, introduce a new product or service, or has a specific message relevant to a particular city, state, or region then a local PR campaign might be just what you need. Not only is it more affordable for your paid media efforts so you can engage your audience more often when it comes to earned media, but you’ll also face less competition in local and regional publications as well as in organic search giving you higher visibility there too. The key here is to do your research to make sure your audience (the ‘who’) is large enough in your chosen area to reach your goals.
Seasonal PR Campaigns
With Valentine’s Day coming up, you’ll notice many brands referencing the holiday in their PR campaigns. Is that a bandwagon your brand should jump on or would an evergreen campaign that can be used at any time of year be just as effective? There are a couple of considerations here. One, does your campaign relate to the holiday in any way? If you’re offering Valentine’s Day specials or your brand relates to love or relationships, then yes, a seasonal PR campaign makes sense. However, if your brand offers resume services, debt management, or something completely unrelated to this holiday, then any seasonal tie-in may seem gimmicky and more likely to fall flat.
Another consideration is your audience itself. If they are outside of the United States, you don’t want to create a seasonal PR campaign around Thanksgiving, for example. Or perhaps you need to adjust the timing of your seasonal PR campaign if you’re focusing on summertime and your audience doesn’t experience warmer temperatures until later in the year. In all, seasonal campaigns work best when they are relevant to the holiday, time of year, etc., AND your target audience.
R team has expertise in local PR campaigns, national PR campaigns, and seasonal PR campaigns as well. We specialize in the restaurant, hospitality, retail, health and wellness, business, non-profit industries and can help you determine the most effective type of PR campaign for your brand. Learn more about our public relations services and schedule your FREE Discovery Call Today!
