Public relations services can be a great way to help promote your business and connect with your customers. By creating a positive image of your company, PR and your PR agency can help you build brand awareness and achieve your marketing goals. There are many different ways to get involved in PR, so it’s important to find the right approach for your business. Read on to learn more about the functions of public relations as well as the benefits of PR and how you can get started!

What is the Difference Between Public Relations and Marketing?

Those closely related, public relations and marketing are two different things. They do, however, strategically work together to provide the best possible result for your business. Public relations is the practice of managing information between you, your company and your stakeholders, whether they be customers, investors, board members, media outlets, or another group. On the other hand, marketing refers to the actions taken to get your brand or business in front of your audience’s eyes with the end goal of making conversions, whether it be sales of products or services, donations, or something else. At Frankel, our public relations specialists will add value to your overall business goals by recommending and implementing PR strategies. 

How Can PR Help Your Business? 

Public relations can positively affect your business and your brand, helping it grow in several ways. 

Build Your Brand

The goal and importance of public relations is to get your brand noticed by your audience. With tons of brands out there and new ones arriving into our periphery every day, public relations specialists help cut through the noise, making your brand stand apart from others. PR agencies like Frankel can develop and tailor positive and influential stories about your brand and distribute them into the hands of media professionals, public figures and other organizations so that their publics learn about you, too. 

Increase Credibility

Public relations and marketing can both be used to generate positive awareness for your business or your brand. However, public relations and the strategies behind it provide more visibility to a wide range of audiences, including media outlets. As consumers see and interact with your brand on various platforms, they’re more likely to see it as more authentic and positive, which leads to trust and credibility in your brand over just marketing alone.  

Build a Positive Reputation

Just like building your brand and increasing credibility, one of the main functions of public relations is to help build a positive reputation for your brand by managing a positive public image for your business. PR specialists are experts at developing relationships with the media and public figures as well as crafting messages about your brand that generate interest in the public sphere. In the event negative publicity arises, a PR specialist knows how to handle it so that negativity is diffused and your brand is kept in good standing with the public. 

Public Relations Tips for Small Businesses

There are several different types of public relations. 

• Strategic Communications: Coordinated PR efforts that help a brand achieve its goals.
• Media Relations: Spreading key messages, distributing press releases and holding interviews with media outlets. 
• Community Relations: Engaging with a specific community, such as consumers or investors, through owned channels like a company blog. 
• Internal Communications: A company’s employees are often considered its biggest advocates. This area focuses on a range of staff communications. 
• Crisis Communications: Crises that are planed for are handled better than when no plan is present. Crisis plans include everything from natural disasters to promotions not going as planned. 
• Public Affairs: These public relations specialists work closely with public figures, elected officials and other stakeholders to effect change. 

Public Relations Tips for Small Businesses

Ever wonder how to do public relations for small businesses? There are several public relations tips for small businesses that can help you win the hearts and minds of the media and your public.

Know Your Audience
Understanding who you’re trying to reach is crucial for any business and brand. Start by defining your audience’s demographics (age, income, location, etc.) and psychographics (attitudes, aspirations, interests, values, etc.). This will help you understand who you’re trying to reach and how to better connect with them.

Set Goals
When first thinking about your PR strategy, you’ll need to keep your overall brand strategy in mind. A PR agency can help create a PR plan and develop tactics so you can achieve your goals.

Make Connections

Get to know as many people as you can, including your consumers, public figures in your area, the elected officials that govern the areas in which your business or brand is located… the possibilities are endless. Not only can these connections help you spread the word about your business, but you can call on them when you need assistance, and vice versa. 

Craft Your Story & Promote Your Values

Not everything you do will be newsworthy, but everything has potential. It’s important to always keep an eye out for anything you do that could help you connect with your audience. For example, if you always help local organizations in times of need, a public relations specialist can distribute these details to the media and help your story go viral. 

Measure Your Success
Success can be measured in several ways, including quantitatively, such as campaign-based data, and qualitatively, including things such as the relationships you build over time. Looking at your results often will help to keep you on track as you move forward. 

When it comes to public relations services, trust the public relations experts at Frankel. We’ll work with you to create a PR strategy that works with your business goals and elevates brand awareness among your audiences. Connect with us today!