Did you know that 70% to 80% of your business’s market value comes from intangible elements such as reputation? In other words, great products and strong sales, alone, won’t boost the overall value of your business. How your brand is perceived matters.
This can seem intimidating to new or small business owners. After all, how can you harness your own reputation? What steps can you take to ensure that your visibility is positive?
Here’s where business PR (aka public relations) comes in. A PR team knows exactly how to make big announcements, address potential issues, and take control of your business’s image and reputation.
Small businesses, in particular, have a tendency to overlook the value of good business PR. We’re here to change that. Read on to learn the benefits of business PR and how to use it. The restaurant industry is more competitive than it has ever been, and customers’ attention is split between well-known chains, expanding supermarket delivery choices, and various independent eateries vying for attention. That’s why you need to know how to write a perfect restaurants press release.
The Benefits of Business PR
First, let’s talk about the “why” of business PR. What are the benefits of developing a PR strategy for your business? From zeroing in on your target demographic to widening your reach, business PR is hard to beat.
Narrowing Down a Target Audience
In order to make the most of your marketing strategy, it’s important to establish your target audience. When approaching your overall business image through the lens of PR, you are encouraged to ask yourself the following questions:
- Who wants to know this information?
- Who else would benefit from knowing this information?
- How can we reach those individuals?
If you haven’t evaluated your target audience since the birth of your business, this is a great opportunity to reevaluate and come up with fresh answers.
Scheduling Major Announcements
A good PR campaign involves a strict, long-term schedule for announcements and other forms of PR. Creating a calendar of PR releases will help you to stay on track and see the bigger picture for the trajectory of your business. Knowing when to create content, when to send it out to the right channels, and when to make changes to your website will allow you to hone in on a more cohesive branding strategy.
Boosting Credibility
One of the major reasons for using business PR is that it allows you to show consumers what’s going on behind the curtain–on your own terms. In other words, you can use tools like press releases and planned content to keep consumers updated and provide answers to their questions. In doing so, consumers will build more trust for your business and consider you more credible.
Improving SEO
SEO is an ever-important and ever-evolving source of business growth. There are a number of ways to tackle SEO and all of them share one goal: improving your ranking in popular search engines.
A thoughtful PR strategy will put your name, branding, and backlinks to your website in a variety of places. From press releases shared on third-party sites to partnerships with other brands, a PR strategy will get your name and website on the map. This, among other methods, will quickly boost your SEO.
Widening Your Reach
When you go beyond the basic marketing campaign and step into a PR-centered approach, you gain opportunities to widen your reach. It may not be easy-going at first, but as you persevere, you develop helpful relationships with publications and reporters. Featuring your press releases and other content on third-party websites allows you to tap into markets you were otherwise missing.
Pushing Your Business Into the Leading Position
Ultimately, all of these benefits add up to the same thing: turning your business into an industry leader. It is often the business with the best PR strategy that receives the most attention, building brand recognition and trust on a large platform. If your business is new or stuck in the underdog category, PR is the best way to pull ahead and beat the competition.
How to Implement PR Into Your Business Strategy
Now that you know the biggest benefits of business PR, you’re probably wondering, “How do I make this happen?”
There are a few ways to approach PR. We’ll talk about the two basic approaches and how to decide which one is best for your business.
Should You Hire a PR Firm?
The biggest brands in the world all work with PR firms. These PR firms are 100% dedicated to handling one or a handful of company’s PR strategies. They bring a high level of expertise that gives those companies a competitive edge.
Unfortunately, working with a full-time PR firm may not be an option for smaller businesses. Paying for outsourced PR may not fit into the budget. The good news is that smaller companies tend to need a less aggressive PR campaign in order to thrive.
Low-Cost PR Options
What are some low-cost PR options? It’s not hard to find resources online that will help you learn about PR and implement PR strategies with ease.
A great example of a low-cost but highly effective PR option can be found at https://blog.justreachout.io/pr-outreach/. These templates, tips, and sample PR pieces are all updated to the latest PR strategies. By using these tools, you can begin the process of harnessing your business’s reputation without going over budget.
Are You Ready to Take Control of Your Business Reputation?
In many ways, your business is only worth the reputation you build for it. A good business PR strategy can help you to take control of your business reputation and reach new levels of success. Are you ready to make this positive change?
Looking for more free resources to improve your digital marketing campaign? We have tons of useful guides and tips that will improve the way you market your business both on and offline. Take a look around for the inspiration and information you need.
