Image courtesy of letsgrabadrink.wordpress.com
We’ve heard our fair share of terrible strategies and tactics when it comes to public relations and marketing for businesses. And we’ve all seen PR and marketing campaigns go terribly wrong in the public eye. While public relations can be one of the most effective ways of communicating your value to the marketplace, you could be doing yourself more harm than good if you don’t have a well-thought out and integrated strategy. Keep from hurting your brand’s reputation by avoiding these public relations strategies and tactics:
You only need press releases to convey your news
Unfortunately, this is a common issue for businesses upon their first foray into PR and marketing. It’s a terrible misconception that will have little to no benefit on promoting your brand. Pushing out press releases without additional media relations outreach will most often mean your news won’t get picked up or make it to your target audience. Additionally, press release distribution services can be pricey.
The best way to engage in public relations and marketing activities is to develop a well-rounded strategy that includes press releases and strategic media outreach, social media marketing and ongoing content development. Grab some of our top tips here!
I’ll just wing my media interview
We’re begging you; please don’t walk into your next interview unprepared. It’s doesn’t matter if it’s a live broadcast interview or a discussion over the phone with your local paper, preparation is key to successfully communicating your message. Being prepared will not only guarantee that you weave key company messaging into your answers, but it will also make you sound more confident and enable you to engage in comfortable conversation with the interviewer. Working with a PR professional can be invaluable when it comes to interview preparation, especially if they are able to provide biographical information on the interviewer, some of their recent segments and articles, as well as talking points to help guide the interview and to ensure all company messaging is conveyed.
The best place for damage control is Twitter
Enter Sea World. Crisis management and damage control can be a tricky business, but as with any PR strategy, it’s important to have a well-rounded approach. Twitter has become one of the most popular platforms for crisis management, but it’s important to look beyond tweeting when it comes to damage control. Make sure you develop a strategic corporate message, distribute that to media and publicize it on your website, blog and social media, and then communicate when necessary with clients, customers and consumers via Twitter.
Additionally, don’t leave your Twitter communication up to bots or automated messaging. Your audience will see right through this. Make sure to humanize your social media outreach to stay engaged with your audience and increase your brand awareness.
Our website from 2009 is just fine
Google’s new search algorithm means that having a mobile-friendly website is no longer an option, it’s a necessity. If your site isn’t up-to-date to include mobile optimization, it will become increasingly difficult for your business to appear on the first page of search engine results. It’s well-known that the financial services industry is lagging in website optimization. A recent InvestmentNews study found that 41% of advisory firms aren’t optimized for mobile use. In our experience it’s MUCH higher than that. All signs point to this being the best time to take your website to the next level.
In general, mobile marketing is nothing to scoff at. Need to brush up on mobile marketing basics? We have everything you need to know.
Want to take your interview skills to the next level? Become a media darling with these five steps.
It doesn’t matter if my digital marketing is outdated
You can’t just have an optimized website to have successful marketing in our SEO-driven, tech-savvy world. Businesses that fail to incorporate updated digital marketing efforts into their strategies will most likely be overlooked by consumers. In order to effectively attract customers to your product or service, they need to know what’s in it for them. That’s where inbound marketing comes in. Draw your target audience to your business with a well-developed inbound marketing strategy to include keywords for search engine optimization, blog content, landing pages and calls-to-action.
Additionally, video marketing should be an integral part of your digital marketing efforts. Video marketing encourages higher engagement, leads to higher click through rates and can ultimately lead to higher sales for your business.
There are plenty of terrible PR and marketing strategies and tactics out there, but you don’t have to fall victim to them. Keep your brand and business top of consumer’s minds with the above tips and make sure to develop an integrated, 2015-friendly strategy.
Want to steer clear of future PR blunders? We may be the partner your business needs! Download our “Working with Us” guide to determine if our services are right for you!