Content may sound like a nice hobby, but PR isn't really necessary, is it? Nothing could be further from the truth. Discover all the benefits of PR.
PR is Becoming Increasingly Effective
Regardless of what they say about fake news: highly educated professionals trust media for their information provision. In fact, they trust traditional media twice as often as social media. Consumers and businesses are more critical than ever before. Advertisements in newspapers or on social media are trusted less and less by your target audience. Therefore, PR is becoming increasingly effective, as also shown in the image below.
Unexpected Benefits
Realizing publications in media provides a number of important benefits:
- By doing so, you 'gain' the reach of these media outlets. For example, media such as Business Insider have more readers than your blog;
- Your brand becomes more well-known and credible. For many people, your company appearing in the media is a sign that your brand is trustworthy;
- Your news is shared more often on social media. The chance that a news item finds more readers is greater than with an advertisement.
Organizations with a strong reputation notice that they have numerous benefits, some of which you might not immediately expect.
A German study shows that companies with a strong reputation pay lower interest rates on their bond loans. Research from Harvard indicates that companies with a bad reputation pay each employee ten percent more salary.
Claiming Expert Status Pays Off
Companies like to show that they are experts in their industry. One of the main ways to claim that expert status is by appearing in independent news media. Not only large organizations benefit from this form of content. About 63 percent of business decision-makers believe that especially small or start-up businesses benefit from claiming expert status.
A study by Edelman (an international PR agency) among 1,200 marketers revealed that about 58 percent of decision-makers at a B2B company say they will favor a particular company if it presents itself as an expert. The opposite is also true: companies that do not have such expert content will not be considered as a partner. Presenting a clear vision contributes much more to a company's sales efforts than one would expect.
A Strong Reputation is Now More Necessary Than Ever
There are several important reasons why brands increasingly speak out on societal issues and therefore approach the media. Firstly, it is a way to engage with (new) customers and to profile yourself on themes that are relevant. Furthermore, over time more and more themes become politically charged. Your brand could suffer as a result. By communicating proactively, you gain an advantage. This is not only an advantage over the competition (where it is not known what their stance is on certain issues), but also an advantage over time. Your brand has already presented itself, for example, as inclusive or sustainable and will therefore be less likely to become the main subject in a discussion.
By building a strong reputation, your brand is also better protected against fake news. Research shows that it is difficult to adjust an existing image. That's good news for organizations. If you can build a certain image, then fake news will have less impact on your organization. If you are known as a committed company, a new report that contradicts this reputation will be less successful. PR helps you to arm yourself against fake news.
Conclusion
A better reputation leads to cheaper bond loans, lower wage costs, and improving your reputation with (potential) employees. The way organizations claim expert status is through PR. If you successfully claim this expert status, you will notice the effects on sales efforts. Furthermore, continuously work on the reputation of your company, so that a fake news attack will have less impact and you will be less likely to become the main subject in a political discussion.
