What are the benefits of using PR to gain a competitive advantage?

PR is largely founded on the words “trust and credibility” Once that is not achieved then it would surely create an effect to its reputation and it affecting your reputation indicates a bad PR. As a PR professional, you should be able to drive towards attaining good reputation to your brand and by doing so, it involves sharing out information and basically communicating more about your brand and how it is beneficial to them also. Be sure to also receive feedbacks from both positive and negative and work when they arise and demonstrate good commitment to your customers satisfaction.

In my 17 years handling PR in the toy and gift space, the number one factor I’ve noticed for a brand’s success lies in the level of support between publicity and marketing. As we know, yet must clarify time and again, PR is not sales. It’s the opportunity to authentically create credible brand awareness for the consumer. It’s the opportunity to help tell a brand’s story, communicating its values and establishing a strong emotional connection amongst a sea of other names in the same category. But without positive, supportive and realistic expectations between PR and Sales & Marketing, a brand’s success is set for failure. Positive attitudes, transparency, and the willingness to collaborate is what sets a brand apart from the rest.

Some benefits of PR include reaching your specific target audience. Depending on the client/project this can put their brand in position for increased bookings/request, followers, media placements, interviews, brand opportunities, endorsements etc. Increasing the client's online, social media digital fingerprint through PR will further help secure their place as a like, known & trusted brand in their field.

In an environment saturated with digital information, PR becomes vital and much more complex. Capture the attention of your audience, generate relationships of trust, solid and transparent that allow a constant bilateral relationship with the interests of each party very clear. If you achieve this, you amplify your brand, the values linked to it and create a narrative for it. Transparency in the exchange of information and trust is key to making it a success.

PR can add value through increasing visibility of your products and services, personalise your brand, raise your profile, build strong relationships, one of the very strong foundations of PR is Trust and being credible, you should be held accountable and be highly responsible and responsive. you must demonstrate high level of commitment and empathy to customer satisfaction to any product being referred to your customers! PR for me means a very strong Middle man between the producer and the consumer.

Two key PR benefits vs. Advertising are: 1. Higher credibility 2. Less expensive Let me explain: People believe a news report more than an advertisement. They tend to believe that the news source has vetted the information vs an advertisement. People also recognize that you earn news space and that you must be newsworthy, verses an advertisement that anyone with money can pay for. Regarding cost: whenever you work with a PR agency, ask for them to price the equivalent ad-space as if you had to pay for it. My experience is PR provides 5-10x the amount of print space dedicated to you vs paying your agency fee to buy ad space.

Leveraging PR as a tool for competitive advantage significantly increases market awareness and visibility. PR offers a broader and more diverse audience reach than traditional advertising, fostering organic and authentic brand exposure. By featuring in relevant publications, podcasts, blogs, or social media platforms, you not only leverage the credibility of these channels but also create buzz around your product launches or events, attracting heightened attention and interest from potential customers.

To gain competitive advantage, PR can be relevant. PR can improve your brand awareness and visibility. PR help to build strong reputation. With PR your company is more visible vs competitors who can clearly see the difference and added value you have.

?? Thought leadership for SEO & online presence ?? ? Be a knowledge beacon: Publish insightful articles, white papers, or reports on your industry. This not only establishes you as an expert but also enhances your website's SEO. ?? Quality Backlinks: High-value content often earns backlinks, signaling to search engines like Google that your site is authoritative. ?? Boost rankings & engagement: as your content is shared and linked, your search rankings improve. Plus, it drives social media engagement, leading to more reviews and mentions. ?? Result: a stronger online presence, more traffic, and conversions!

Unique value with human touch ?? ?? Tell your story: use human interest stories in PR to bring your brand's unique value proposition to life. Share tales of your team, customer journeys, or your own startup story. ?? Connect emotionally: these narratives do more than list features; they forge emotional connections. Show what sets you apart through real, relatable stories. ?? Highlight you uniqueness: demonstrate your brand's personality, culture, mission, and vision. Let your audience see the heart behind the business. ?? Outcome: stand out in the market with a value proposition that resonates on a deeper level.

As a partner-led organization (meaning +90% of Cisco's sales go through our partner community) for nearly a quarter century, we are ALL about relationships. This extends into relationships with important influencers and commentators such as industry analysts and channel media. Our efforts to convey our leadership in areas such as sustainability, AI, security and Observability are focused on informing, engaging, and listening to these important stakeholders. This involves two-way communications and creating opportunities for us to build upon these important relationships. Our customers are primarily our partners' customers and this means ensuring we prioritize where and how we communicate to, with and through our partners.

Collaborative PR for lasting relationships ?? Build networks: use PR to forge partnerships with influencers, brands, and organizations. It's more than networking; it's about creating lasting connections. ?? Joint initiatives: engage in co-hosted events or collaborative content. This keeps your audience engaged and builds rapport with partners. ?? Strengthen bonds: these collaborations aren't just a one-off; they're stepping stones to long-term relationships and mutual growth. ?? Result: cultivate a loyal community and open doors to new opportunities!

PR starts with niche focus ?? ?? Target right: begin your PR journey by identifying niche publications specific to your industry. This ensures your story reaches the intended audience. ?? Strategic planning: focusing on specialized media helps in fine-tuning your PR calendar and budget, maximizing impact where it matters. ?? Craft relevant messages: tailor your content to resonate with the niche audience, enhancing campaign effectiveness. ?? Measure success easily: with a defined audience, tracking performance and ROI becomes more straightforward. ?? Outcome: a more focused, efficient, and successful PR strategy!

PR is a long journey ! Be strategic, define your objectives and goals to achieve. Set up metrics + a concrete action plan combining media relations/influencers/third parties engagement, content creation and social media activation.

One of the biggest myths I’ve encountered is that entrepreneurs and small businesses think that PR is only for big brands and household names, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Any business owner can tap into the power of PR, the biggest question you need to answer is: why you and why now PR is still an untapped and underutilised resource, so while you may operate in a competitive marketplace, using PR to leverage what you do gives you a natural competitive edge I’ve even written a book all about it: How To Get PR gives you access to everything you need to know to get started

It seems obvious to state but PR efforts are usually free or no cost to the company ... and thus produce awareness and future purchases on the project highlighted and build your brand over time in the customer's mind.

Know your key messages. People know why PR is good for your business (brand awareness, SEO etc). But many don't clearly formulate their key messages before they engage media. Purposeful PR starts with knowing how media coverage fits into your broader marketing strategy, how it aligns with your company goals, and knowing the 1-3 key messages you'd like the audience to remember.