6 Reasons Why PR is Important for Your Business

Remember the Cricket Australia Sanpapergate ball tempering scandal from 2018? The consequences could have been much milder if they had the right PR in place to prevent and manage such a communication crisis. The big and powerful can sometimes survive such status and financial downfall. But those still trying to build a brand for their business could risk their survival, so they should focus on their communication culture from the very beginning and prevent or prepare for such emergencies.

Every business needs PR to build beneficial and lasting relationships with their environment and earn the trust of their target audience, the media, their competitors and their partners. Here are 6 reasons why PR is important for your business.

It’s cost-effective

Building up your public relations is a cost-effective way to position your business on the market as a trustworthy partner. While advertising counts on your money to bring you positive exposure, with PR, you are usually looking for ways to earn publicity in newspapers, magazines, radio and TV news as well as digital media. So, instead of buying your media space, you're focusing on winning some by convincing the editors, journalists and other relevant intermediaries to endorse you and influence your audience for you. This asks for some extra hard-working hours, but it doesn’t have to blow a hole in your budget while it can have strong and lasting effects on your brand’s exposure and credibility.

It’s powerful 

While 86% of your audience would skip your paid TV ad without having any second thoughts, they crave the news from your company, especially when they are coming from third-party articles, blog posts or social media channels. Because it is earned and not paid for, such media content is exceptionally powerful and a social proof because it seems genuine and thus, much easier to believe in.  

It goes hand in hand with marketing

Your PR activities can go well with your marketing campaigns. Use them to share some entertaining, useful or educational materials across other media channels and let them advocate your brand and bring you some positive publicity, along with marketing exposure. To be able to get such results, you will have to be familiar with the marketing basics, such as knowing your target audience as well as how to deliver true value which fits their needs. 

By supporting and complementing each other, PR and marketing can bring along a specific synergy, making it easier for your customers to recognize the unique value you are offering and link it to your name.  

It prevents problems

One wrong move or negative comment can unleash an avalanche of bad publicity, so everyone who wants to keep their business safe and sound from serious harm should be prepared in advance. Staff-related scandals, potential lawsuits, faulty products and customer service issues can put your business in serious hazards in terms of your money and reputation. In times of crisis, the quick response of professionals who will acknowledge the situation and provide adequate and satisfying public feedback can minimize the damage significantly. 

A crucial part of public relations is staying up to date with every piece of information spread about your business, and dealing timely with misinformation and negative comments which could otherwise escalate into a disaster.

It helps with your brand’s visibility

Being featured in traditional or digital media as an expert in a certain field or a valuable source of relevant information, along with the fact that your position is earned and not bought, can do wonders for your brand visibility and recognition and result in bringing more customers and converting them into your loyal fan club. It might take some time and a lot of hard work and effort to earn such a position, so the help of professionals from a PR agency in Sydney who know how to craft newsworthy stories and connect with your audience can come in handy.

It builds your relationships

While advertising focuses solely on how great your business is, which is not something your target audience is really interested in reading about, PR storytelling focuses on their problems and offers them a  unique solution. It shows your audience that you listen and empathize with them, and it is something that will help them build trust. This is the way meaningful relationships are formed, and such bonds built on trust and credibility are not so easy to break.

So, if you still haven’t included PR in your business plans, now it is the right time to do it. It is an affordable and powerful way to attract and form meaningful relationships with your audience, and positively impact your brand image and your business bottom line.