Public Relations (PR) as we know it, isn’t what it is anymore. With the integration of digital technologies into everyday life, reaching your audience will now require a lot more than a page in a glossy magazine or a spread in today’s paper.
A saying from a professor back in university stuck with me till this day, “today’s newspaper, is tomorrow’s window wipers”. How do we then push stories, brand profiles and news in a world that’s constantly changing how news and information is consumed?
While traditional media in a tier 1 publication still brings desirability and credibility to a business or brand, securing key placement in scarce pages are getting harder than ever. Editors and publishers are now looking for ad spend and click bait.
So how can brands and businesses continue to reach their audience?
Pursue the art storytelling.
Want to be more pertinent to customers and be successful in the modern digital age? Become more relatable. Tell stories, not just sell things.
In today’s world, consumers can easily research products, its functionality, ratings and reviews from real users and customers. In order to be cut through, brands and businesses will need to move away from just selling things to showing customers how their product will change people’s lives – How will the customer feel? How will they benefit? What pain points will it remove? To earn customers’ trust and attention, share stories that are relatable to the customers and move them up the sale cycle.
Be Human.
In order to gain the trust of your customers, you have to appeal to your customers social humanistic characteristics by proving and showcasing your authenticity. Brands who have been successful at relating to their customers tend to use social media to promote their stories.
For instance, American fast food chain Wendy’s twitter account injects a sense of humor to all its tweets. It’s written in a lighthearted manner, giving customers the perception that whoever is creating these tweets is a real person, not a robot repeating the same content.
Use your employees and customers as advocates.
A business’ two largest groups of advocates are likely to be satisfied customers and their employees. The magic lies in cleverly utilising the potential of customer and employee advocacy to tell stories and amplify your product and brand values.
While they may not have the largest followings, their enthusiasm and knowledge of your brand/product will reach a pool of loyal and dedicated potential customers.
Use Influencers.
Leverage the use of influencers to build a community for your brand or business. The power of like-minded influencers is a key target platform to drive awareness to the various communities you’d like to reach. From mummy bloggers to Instagram trainers and design creatives, the possibilities for collaboration, product placement and ambassadorship is endless.
While the power of PR is still relevant today, there are so many other marketing and communications tools and tactics out there that is just as effective if not more, in reaching your audience.
At Taurus, we offer strategy sessions where we deep dive into your business and set the right strategies for you to take on your business goals, be it PR, social media or influencer marketing – our proven TaurusBullseye methodology will keep you ahead of the game. Find out how we can help at [email protected]