As a small- to medium-sized business, you know getting your name out there is tough. You likely don't have a huge PR team and might feel lost about public relations tactics. Check out these practical public relations tactics that you can start using today, even if you’re a team of one.
Table Of Contents:
- Understanding Public Relations Tactics
- Crafting Effective Public Relations Tactics
- Power Up Your Public Relations Tactics
- Public Relations Tactics: A Multi-Faceted Approach
- FAQs about public relations tactics
- Conclusion
Understanding Public Relations Tactics
Public relations tactics are the specific actions used to communicate your brand's message and shape public perception. These tactics include press releases, media outreach, social media campaigns, and partnerships with influencers. The goal is to build trust, connect with your audience, and create opportunities for people to engage with and advocate for your brand.
Crafting Effective Public Relations Tactics
Start with a solid public relations strategy. From there, focus on implementing PR tactics that align with your goals. Can you distill your aspirations into a single aim? Identify your ideal customer – who they are and what are their pain points? Answering these questions will make the rest easier.
Press Releases are Still Relevant
Press releases remain an effective PR tactic. But don't settle for a boring press release – write one that tells a story and stands out. Speak directly to your audience by crafting messages that hit home. Once it's out there, make sure to share it across all of your offline and online media platforms and channels.
Newsjacking: Ride the Wave
Newsjacking gets your brand into trending conversations. Fill your content with real value, and your target audience will respond by seeing your brand in a brighter light. You essentially weigh-in publicly by using clever piggybacking methods on someone's relevant and current newsworthy topics.
Newsjacking is intended to propel your brand recognition, awareness, and recall forward in your space. In sync with current events, effective PR goals marry trending news with strategic vision.
Social Media PR: Direct to Consumer
Don't social media as a public relations tool. Approximately 89% of businesses believe social media is important. It is one of the main ways you can increase brand awareness.
Social media is your direct line to customers and is an important PR tactic. You won't find opportunities for engagement by staring at a screen all day – you need to get out there, listen to your stakeholders, and follow up on their insights.
But hold up, there's a flip side. Beware of pesky criticism – it can quickly ruin your online reputation. How you respond to the public's voice matters – make it count. Amp up your brand's online visibility and instantaneously increase your reach, connecting with a broader range of customers and prospects.
Blast off your brand's latest news and offers on social media – a launchpad for hype, whether you're promoting a fresh release, throwing a party, or simply sharing something wild. Observe the rhythm of daily conversations to pick up on subtle cues. Actively using your social media channels strengthens your media relations and overall PR plan.
Influencer Partnerships: Trusted Voices
People continue to trust influencer advice. Partner with social media personalities who share your values. Authenticity is key. Don't just go for the biggest name; go for the best fit.
Power Up Your Public Relations Tactics
A successful PR plan needs flexibility. Use good PR and strong media relations to place positive brand mentions directly within the minds of the consumer. Take your brand's rep to the next level with a healthy dose of flattering press coverage that really puts it on the map.
Monitoring Media Mentions: Stay in the Know
Keep tabs on what’s being said about you online and within media outlets with media monitoring. These insights can shape your PR strategy, providing a crystal-clear guide that shows you exactly where to go, backed by tangible data. They enable you to know your customers and craft winning public relations campaigns with actionable intelligence. Insights are what separate vulnerable brands from the ones that thrive.
Crisis Communication: Be Prepared
When a crisis or bad press hits, having a crisis management plan in place can be the difference between a PR disaster and a carefully managed response that even helps build your media relationships. Following your crisis communication plan helps you get in front of the issues, which in turn builds trust with media representatives and your target audience. Establish your company policy ahead of time so you know exactly how to respond in a crisis.
Public Relations Tactics: A Multi-Faceted Approach
You can achieve greater results when you incorporate various PR strategies, tactics, and content engagement tactics. Clarity is king when it comes to setting PR objectives – it's the difference between a scattered, aimless approach and a focused, effective one. Cast a wide net to see which approaches will pay off for your business.
Thought Leadership: Share Your Expertise
Thought leadership positions you as an expert in your industry. This allows your core audience to have faith in your judgment.
Break down complex industry issues into understandable, bite-sized pieces with well-researched blog posts that resonate with readers.
Hang out online where your crowd is already gathered. Developing quality content on those sites can yield a captive audience.
Write bylined articles that showcase your knowledge. Offering relevant, impactful content converts mere acquaintances into loyal followers who look up to your authority on the subject.
Sharpen your brand's image and garner more respect from your audience by developing content that really speaks to them – it's a simple but powerful way to level up your reputation.
Evergreen Content: Long-Lasting Value
Evergreen content isn't flashy, but it provides long-term value. Think tutorials, lists, recommendations, facts, statistics, or case studies.
As you create and share this kind of content, you're building a reputation for being knowledgeable and dependable, the kind of brand people want to do business with. Plus, it establishes a digital footprint that effectively showcases your brand. Make sure you consider how best to implement this PR tactic within your business model.
Partnerships and Collaborations: Power in Numbers
Partnerships demonstrate the power of collaboration. Pair up with other businesses and watch your reach multiply – it's a shortcut to tapping into fresh talent, resources, and expertise. When done right, you'll no longer limited to your local following – your brand will be able to captivate a much larger audience.
FAQs about public relations tactics
What are the seven types of public relations?
Whether it's spinning a company's image or speaking to the press, public relations is a multifaceted beast. Seven main types of PR include media relations, community relations, investor relations, government relations, customer relations, influencer relations, and crisis communication.
Conclusion
PR done right is the X-factor that sets apart the stellar performers from the rest of the pack. Using effective PR strategies, public relations tactics, and PR tools, testing what works, monitoring what's being said about your brand, and delivering useful information, you can see a boost in brand visibility, build your reputation, grow media coverage, create good public relations for all key stakeholders, learn about opportunities from the business news and achieve a high ROI for your PR efforts.
Your brand's credibility and reputation online can greatly benefit from a carefully crafted public relations strategy, setting the stage for ongoing success.
