Member Article

Why public relations should not be neglected in your business

Horizonworks’ Samantha Davidson looks at why public relations activity should not be neglected – whatever the size of your company.

For eight years, Deborah Meaden has been a fixture on the Dragons’ Den panel. During that time, the entrepreneur, who made her millions building up a family holiday business, has invested in businesses as diverse as The Running Mat, a portable outdoor fitness product and MyDish.co.uk, a so-called ‘Facebook for foodies’.

It’s fair to say, then, that Meaden knows what she’s talking about.

And when she opined, in the Den’s most recent series, that it wasn’t worth businesses spending anything less than £3,000 a month on public relations activity, Meaden demonstrated just how much value she places in PR – and the benefits it can bring to a company.

She was referring, in this instance, to national PR campaigns, but later suggested that it was, of course, possible to spend lesser sums on targeted public relations. The message, though, remained the same: that PR is necessary and whether you are a start-up or a multi-national, it has a vital role to play.

Simply put, for organisations looking to forge ahead, PR shouldn’t be an either / or decision. In this digitally-connected world, the arguments for incorporating PR as part of the wider marketing mix are now more powerful than ever.

Today’s consumers are exposed to hundreds of messages, across all media, every day. Brands need to inhabit many spheres, just as consumers do, so we regularly talk to our clients about integrating PR with other activity to maximise the effectiveness of a campaign and ensure consistency. PR provides a lens through which audiences view all your other marketing tactics and if you’re not managing your reputation effectively then other communications have to work harder to get consumers’ attention.

Consumers want reliable information from a credible source – PR enables that to happen. If advertising is about frequency and volume, PR is about being proactive in engaging creatively with your audiences and about achieving impact via the messenger, whether that’s a renowned commentator, industry sector ‘bible’ or popular drivetime radio show. PR is what others say about you, not necessarily what you say about yourself, and when a message is seen to be delivered by an objective third party, such as journalist or credible stakeholder, it can be much more persuasive.

Here’s a word of warning though: media-savvy consumers – especially in this age of user-created content - are increasingly able to spot a PR story a mile off. Any PR activity, therefore, needs to be engaging, honest and crucially, relevant. A skilled, experienced PR practitioner will identify the most effective story to tell about your business and manage relationships with key influencers (for instance journalists, stakeholders or other partners).

PR, however, isn’t about running a press office or simply churning out an endless stream of press releases. It’s no different to any other part of the marketing mix in that you need to define and understand your audience, be clear on your objectives, have the right message and be creative. It’s still about communicating the right message, in the right way, at the right time, to the right audience.

And of course, PR activity shouldn’t be limited to securing coverage in traditional media outlets: depending on the nature of your products and services, social media channels, such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook can be used to promote your business, establish its tone of voice and engage in a highly valuable, two-way relationship with your existing and potential customers. It can even give you an opportunity to run a campaign based around your customers’ content, reinforcing their engagement with your brand.

Deborah Meaden certainly didn’t bag her place on the Dragons’ Den panel by ignoring the value of a well executed communications strategy…so if your business isn’t engaged in PR activity, maybe it’s time to heed her wise words - and make it your priority.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Horizonworks .