Public Relations (PR) is a way of connecting the brand with the targeted audience. It is a crucial step in building a positive image of the brand with the help of fascinating stories that resonate with the audience. But the world of Public Relations is complex. Navigating through different steps of media, social media management, and public engagement can be quite challenging. A little mishap in any channel can adversely affect the brand, its image, and its goodwill.
Nikki Jain, Founder of The Sprout PR, has listed 5 common mistakes in PR agencies and ways to avoid them.
UNCLEAR GOALS AND STRATEGIES
When an agency is not clear about the goals they want to achieve with what they do, it will not help them earn anything. Without proper objectives, the hard work might go in vain, messages may not align with the brand’s guidelines, and the impact can decrease, potentially damaging the brand’s image and wasting its resources.
So what can be done to avoid these mishaps? Setting goals, obviously!
Be Specific with the Goals – Start by setting specific goals and objectives that you want to achieve with a particular company. Do you want to drive traffic to the website? Increase brand recognition? Or enhance stakeholder engagement?
Don’t just Think; Act on it – Once you have decided on the goals, now it’s time to act on them and execute your plan with due diligence. The plan should include the targeted audience, compelling messages, and channels to elevate brand recognition effectively. Conduct thorough research on them and display your best moves to achieve the desired goals.
UNRELATED STORIES
Stories are those delicate assets to which a human can connect emotionally, mentally, and deeply. It directly affects one’s thoughts and mind and can be utilized to derive fruitful results. However, a common mistake many people make is to pitch irrelevant stories that do not resonate with the targeted audience. This can lead to lost interest in the brand’s story, invaluable connections, and wasted time and energy. Hence, it is extremely important to work with the brand to know its true story, craft a compelling outline for it, and present a perfect pitch in front of the audience for healthy and deep connections with them.
WEAK RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE MEDIA
PR agencies are heavily dependent on the relationships they have with the media. The stronger the relationship, the better the chance of featuring them and their clients in magazines and newspapers. Weak relationships or a slight grudge can make you be overlooked and replaced with those who have a stronger and better bond. Thus, some steps should be followed religiously to foster a positive relationship with media outlets.
Regular Engagement – It is important to engage regularly with media outlets and journalists. Do not just reply to their emails; start a conversation with simple messages of gratitude, recognition, and appraisal for their work. Do not engage with them only when you need something or it can severely hamper the relationship with the outlet.
Valuable Content – Always provide valuable content to the journalists that they can easily publish in their articles. Answer their queries, provide experts’ quotes, and update them with relevant information that offers value to their articles and establishes you as a useful resource.
LACK OF PROPER COMMUNICATION
Miscommunication is the root cause of an unsuccessful Public Relations business. A PR agency runs on the methods, benefits, and ways of communication that can help it get the recognition it deserves and launch its client into the world of media. Inconsistent messages can easily confuse the audience and break the link between them and the brand. It might lead to ignored messages and fewer interactions, thus weakening the brand’s credibility and visibility. However, managing consistent communication with the media outlets and adhering to the brand guidelines can greatly enhance the level of coordination. Developing details about the brand’s key messages, tone, and core values and ensuring consistency through press releases, social media, and advertisements can elevate the brand’s success.
NOT MEASURING RESULTS
When you implement a strategy, it becomes crucial to understand its effect on the public as well as the company. Different minds have different plans, and not every plan can reap fruit. Some might not have the desired outcomes. For these specific reasons, it becomes important to measure the results of your strategies to understand where you are lacking, what needs to be changed, and what steps should be avoided. Measuring results saves you time, energy, and money, as it directly indicates the consequences of each step that you have taken. Utilize different tools and software that are needed to keep track of the KPIs without sacrificing the goals and objectives.
These are some of the many mistakes that people make while implementing their strategies. Have a clear goal, authentic relationships, and consistency in your work to foster a successful business, not just for you but for your clients too.