Common question: I don’t have a PR agency or a PR Manager in my business; does that mean PR is not happening?
PR is happening in and around your business whether you’re wrangling it strategically and thoughtfully or not. This is an important concept to get around which will optimise your DIY PR efforts and until you’re ready to bring in the PR big guns to do it all for you.
These are the ways in which you’re ‘accidentally’ doing PR things to build your business and brand.
- You have an incredible product or service that people re-purchase because it was a good experience.
- You have beautiful design surrounding your business helping to shape perception and positioning.
- You have a website where people can get to know, like and trust your business.
- You regularly share your opinion or invite your community to share theirs on LinkedIn or other social media platforms.
- You have compelling copywriting and a consistent tone-of-voice showing up on assets within and around your business.
- You have thoughtfully considered company culture and make special effort to create a workplace that is fun, compassionate and kind.
- You have legitimate fans, who naturally tell their friends about you. These are ‘organic influencers’, who love and appreciate your brand like a friend so they drive word-of-mouth publicity on your behalf.
- You create an experience or content that is easily share-able on your behalf. This drives organic social proof through publicity that is not of the media coverage kind.
PR is the sum of all impressions. PR is reputation management. PR is content. PR is story. PR is connecting you with the people who need what you’ve got most. PR is about building long-lasting relationships. PR is not what you say about your brand, it’s what others say about your brand on your behalf.
PR is anything and everything that influences perception. By its very nature (perception and reputation) PR is happening with or without you.
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So if you don’t have a PR strategy, or someone purposefully managing your PR, you might want to consider how your ‘accidentally doing PR’ approach is all adding up; possibly for you, or against you.
PR guides the organisations values, behaviours, positioning and identity and becomes the filter of all communications-led decisions made for a business.
When you start to take on the mindset that all of the behaviours in your business combine to create a reputation (= PR); you can start to elevate your approach to DIY PR in a way that is sustainable, thoughtful, conscious and empowering.
Words by Jade Roberts
raraPR Founder and Creative Director
raraPR is above all the sum of people who together help build brands and share stories. We are present in our determination to make a positive difference to the world by representing individuals and businesses that are doing good. We are an extension of the personal stories within us, those that we exist for and those within you that need to be heard.
RECOMMENDATION \\ If you are managing your own PR and going the DIY PR route for now, our PRBYYOU product recommendation to help you purposefully take hold of your public relations is the Media Strategy and Publicity product bundle. You can shop the DIY PR templates and tools here. OR you can browse this product recommendation HERE.
For more details about our DIY PR product range of templates and interactive strategies be sure to visit our PRBYYOU shop HERE.
