PR & Social Media

Making the connection between Public Relations & Social Media

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Public Relations
In the world of business where players are highly competitive, companies will strive to do something that would make them stand out from the crowd. This is when image building comes into play. Image is very important. A respectable and favourable image can obviously increase sales and profit margin, whereas negative publicity can damage a companys reputation and vastly decline sales. The best way for companies or people to enhance their image and reputation is to effectively manage their public relations through the use of a variety of communication channels and tools including social media. Cutlip, Center, & Broom (1994) defined public relations as the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the public on whom its success or failure depends. Broom (1997) specifically identifies public relations to include terms like relationships and mutual relations, dealing with measuring, analyzing, and influencing publics point of view. The primary goal of public relations is to enhance a companys status. It involves differentiating brands, generating new sales opportunities, and increasing enterprise value through both traditional and online media channels. Its key role is helping the company by providing information in a factual and easily understood format. This role is for generating public interest by managing the flow of information between an organization and its public.

Actually, public relations is earned media in the form of an article rather than paid media in the form of an advertisement. Comparing it to the normal advertising and traditional marketing, it is less costly and more effective because it gives exposure to credible third-parties to talk about how great your company is. With this, you are much more likely to gain public trust and have an easier time selling your products to the market. Thus, if PR is done right, it can reach a large audience without the expensive cost of traditional advertising and marketing. There are many public relations tools that can be used for maintaining good public relations. Some of these are the following: Print & Broadcast Media Press Releases and Press Conferences Photographs Cases Histories/ Studies Interviews/Features and meeting journalists Brochures Posters and Calendars Speeches Newsletters and Internal Publications Event Planning and Management Letters to the Editor Brief Analysis Corporate Advertising Conferences and Seminars Internet Website Email Audio and Visual News and Publicity Special Events

The significant use of PR is that it stimulates awareness of and demand for the companys products and service. It strengthens the companys image and creates an advantage over your competitors that are not practicing PR effectively. It creates more credibility and increases search engine visibility and organic results. It provides the public a precise picture of the company and a better understanding of how the company works. PR is a powerful tool in achieving the companys full potential. They provide quick feedback to the company from the public. Its main function is to set up and sustain communication linkages between an organization and the public in order to have mutually beneficial relationships.

The Importance of Relationships in Business

Business relationships are just as important as your social relationship with your family, friends and colleagues because a strong link between you and the public promotes customer loyalty and customer retention. Relationships with your customers are your key marketing strategy in business. While most businesses are constantly seeking new customers, the primary focus and priority should be on how to please and satisfy the needs of your current and existing customer base.

It is not just one sale you are looking for; it is years of future sales and lasting relationships.
- How to Say it: Marketing with New Media Lena Claxton & Alison Woo

Based on statistics, repeat customers spend 33% more than new customers whereas referrals made by repeat customers through word-of-mouth, are 107% greater than non-customers. In fact, it costs six times more to sell something to a prospect than to sell that same thing to a customer. Bear in mind that you have to spend twice as much to get new clients, as you will in maintaining your existing customer base. You will also have limited ability in attracting new clients if you cannot hold onto your current and existing pool of customers.

4 Stages of Establishing a Business Relationship

Awareness

Knowledge

Liking

Trust

David E. Hawkins, a technical author of the British standards Institution (BSI) PAS 11000 framework the worlds first collaborative business relationship standard, introduced an approach related to customer relationships and called it, Outside in Theory which poses a question that when organizations assess the importance and value of relationships, should they be evaluating such scenario from another perspective? It proposes a need to bring into play a much wider range of considerations than the traditional price, quality and delivery mantra. He concludes that relationships are multidimensional and need to be recognized for the value they bring and potential risk that emerge from failing to preserve the relationships. Formula for Lasting Client Relationships

Respct

Passion

Lasting Client Relationships

Social Medias Role in Relationship Building

Sometimes Internet marketers seem to do everything right tactically... but they can't seem to get the sales they're after. Maybe it's because you're focusing on "gaming a system" rather than building relationships. Paul
In a report published in 2010, part of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, it states that 47% of Internet users between the ages of 50 and 64 use social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn, as do 26% of users aged 65 and older. That is up from the 2009 figures of 25% and 15%, respectively. Today, you can see the growing popularity of social media in business. Almost all businesses, either small or big, are using social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Multiply, etc. in creating a stronger bond with its customers. Businesses can use social media to build and develop healthy customer relations. We should know that in every business operation, there is a maxim: customers first before everything else.

Rudo, Small Business CEO

In fact, in a survey made by Willcox Publishing involving 269 companies, the survey results indicated that 54% of these companies are using social media as part of their marketing strategies to post updates and to promote their products. Based on the study, LinkedIn (73%) is the most popular social media channel followed by Facebook (64%) and Twitter (63%). Providing good customer service is one of the proponents of social networks in building good customer relationships. Creating such a social community can help companies drive foot traffic into their store since word-of-mouth from customers themselves is a powerful tool in building product and brand identity. Companies can also use these social networks to get valuable information from the customers. Customers can provide feedback to businesses much quicker; be it complaints, inquiries or product reviews. A key feature of social networking sites is the ability to reach and listen to your customers voice as they share their experiences about your company, products and employees. Engaging with your customers and future customers through social networks offers real-time communication. Though there are privacy issues regarding these social networking sites, it is still a blessing in disguise for businesses online. Businesses can keep track of their customers preferences and the current trends in the market. They will also know how well or how poorly their competitors are doing and what customers are saying about them. With such valuable information, they can now provide a better service to customers with zero cost. Thus, the principal reasons why many businesses are attracted to social media are because they are userdriven, easy to use, and can be implemented and maintained at a minimal cost.

In social media your core tasks are building lasting relationships with your customer base and creating positive sentiment around your brand. Econsultancy

Sources
http://trustedadvisor.com/articles/trust-in-business-the-core-concepts http://www.pslcbi.com/pdfs/The%20importance%20of%20relationships.pdf http://marketing.about.com/od/relationshipmarketing/a/crmstrategy.htm http://www.google.com.ph/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FbuDNwgkYgAC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=public+relations&ots= vWPzyKnUJA&sig=TDDdCb58mYQ9xH5snwAbnGfxgIo&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=public%20relations&f=fal se http://printmediacentr.com/2011/12/the-importance-of-relationships/ http://www.financial-planning.com/blogs/marketing-maven-using-social-media-financial-advisors-26769621.html http://www.leadinginsight.com/business_relationships.htm http://voices.yahoo.com/four-stages-establishing-business-relationship-430257.html http://www.findandconvert.com/social-networking/ http://www.whillsgroup.com/insights/articles/the-formula-for-lasting-client-relationships-respect-and-passion

Gabriel PR
25 Sheppard Ave. West, Suite 300 Toronto, ON M2N 6S6 Tel/Fax: (416) 907-2560 www.gabrielpr.ca

Gabriel ress elationships

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