The Public Relations Blog

Use PR to change your business for the better

Every business, big or small, has room for improvement. After all, does anyone ever really have too many customers or too much profit?

Of course, it can be difficult to know what to change or where to begin. Here are some ways you can change the way you do business forever and how PR tools and tactics can help

How your business can benefit from speaking engagements

Many of our readers have attended trade shows or networking events where interesting and high-profile speakers shared insider tips, sage counsel or plain old good advice. Those speaking opportunities are frequently arranged several months prior to the actual event date. But how do professional business and industry trade associations go about cherry-picking their notable keynote or break-out session speakers? The answer may surprise you since, more often than not, public speaking engagements are arranged and secured by public relations professionals, given our knowledge of how to locate, target and secure proper opportunities.

PR professionals in film and what your company can learn from them

When PR professionals are depicted on the big screen, they’re typically shown as conniving, unscrupulous liars who are willing to cross ethical lines to get results for their clients. This has helped to cast the PR profession in a negative light because those probably aren’t the types of people anyone wants working on behalf of his company.

Nonetheless, there have been some examples of PR characters in movies offering valuable lessons you can use for your company. So grab some popcorn and find out what you can learn about the positive PR tactics used on the silver screen.

How does an individual rise above the crowd to get her ideas heard, vision shared or concepts accepted? The terms “industry leader” or “visionary” simply boil down to mindshare. You can likely count on one hand the names of people in or outside your industry whom you believe have earned this coveted spot in your own mind. Perhaps your list includes names like Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Cuban, Beyoncé, Gordon Ramsay or Gisele Bündchen. What each of these individuals has in common is mindshare. People easily recognize their names and chosen professions and may even be able to list what they’ve done to earn themselves the title of “visionary.”

Celebrate achievements through award recognition

Entering and earning awards is an exceptional way to build credibility and positive press around your brand and company. There are a number of benefits behind winning business, industry and community awards. They can elevate your company’s status; educate and attract new customers and new employees; improve company morale; and raise your credibility.

Is your CEO more like Meryl Streep or Linda Hunt?

As head of a successful company, a CEO has already proven herself as a leader. These folks know how to surround themselves with the best people and get the job done. Still, in today’s business world, you have to find ways for your company to really stand out against the competition, and one way to do this is to position your CEO as a star.

Humans are prone to making mistakes, rash judgements and inappropriate or inaccurate statements. The public relations professionals at Axia often write about crisis communications for the simple fact that far too many people, armed with opinions, inaccurate information and emotionally driven judgment calls, end up in crisis situations. Whether it’s the prime-time anchor of a popular TV show, a CEO, actor or politician, anyone who steps up to a microphone or camera without proper preparation, spouting inaccurate data or carrying a soapbox can turn a smooth-sailing ship into a rudderless boat.

PR explains the importance of branding

Heinz. John Deere. Sears. Wells Fargo. What do these names have in common? You know exactly what they are without any explanation. In addition, you know precisely what to expect from their products and services. That’s branding.

Every company – whether it’s B2B, retail or a large corporation – can benefit from branding efforts to increase market share and visibility. Branding is not only for companies like McDonald’s or Apple; it’s the kind of recognition you should seek for your own company, and PR can help.

Social media is a growing platform with many different channels for a company to engage over, from professional channels like LinkedIn to the more informal options like Pinterest and Snapchat. When companies maintain presences on these various social channels, employees often want to connect with them. However, some employees may not know the best way to go about connecting their work lives with their social lives. Here are a few tips to share with your employees to help them connect with your company’s social media profiles.

Social media is now the No. 1 way the majority of Americans spend their time on the Internet. Currently, there are more than 1 billion active Facebook users and 400 million Twitter users – and these numbers are increasing rapidly. It’s clear that social media is booming. People use it for everything: to obtain news, to be entertained and to research and buy products and services. In fact, social media offers a straight, quick path to your target audience – which is why you can’t afford not to be using it.