Marijane Funess
October 7, 2015 | 12:38:54
Top PR professionals are always sharpening their B2B or B2C PR skills, whether it’s developing messaging, creative program ideas, or specific tactics for earning media coverage. Creating owned and paid content that works to engage customers and meet business goals is now also an important part of the PR team’s objectives. So, in this evolving landscape, what are some strategies the successful PR team must implement for today, and for the future?
Decode your target audiences
Are you constantly putting yourself in the shoes of your target? To effectively communicate, PR teams have to know not just who they’re trying to reach, but what story to tell them and where to tell it. Traditionally, PR teams have tried creating noise to attract the attention of the crowd and persuade them to care about a product or service. The data is now available to move from broad target views to more pinpointed ones.
Let insights drive thinking
While insights have always been a part of smart PR, there has been a huge shift in how data is collected, and how insights are generated and used. Surveys have and continue to be the most common way to know the pulse of consumers. But with social media, we get real-time data. PR teams must work alongside data scientists and other marketing partners to understand the market and collect and leverage these insights to create messaging with real impact.
Generate and leverage loyalty
Sure, the world is a fickle place, but savvy PR teams know that their internal and external clients live and die on customer loyalty. With increased competition and an ever-more-cluttered marketplace, it’s harder to stand out and reach the right set of customers. Understanding what it takes to appeal to and keep loyal customers is the best way PR can turn these customers into brand advocates who share their positive experiences, drive conversations and continue to engage.
Advocate for PR’s place
The rise of ad blocking is a huge source of irritation for advertisers. Some in the PR industry take a real “glass-half-full” perspective here – more earned media and native content may be the best way for advertisers to reach audiences they could lose through blocked ads. It’s a challenge PR can rise to, both in terms of selling in smart campaigns designed to generate more earned and working alongside advertisers to help with smart native and other content.
Nurture a passion for collaboration
Whether you are in PR, marketing or advertising, the battle cry for collaboration has been popular for awhile. But has it been realized? Not fully enough, we would argue. As the ways to reach target audiences evolve to include more and more overlap in the disciplines, there should be healthy overlap in the practice groups as well. Healthy camaraderie can lead to breakthrough thinking that benefits all.