Brand Building using Public Relations
From Amazon to Disney, to Apple, customers love to pick a favorite brand and stay loyal to their products or services. Although they could get the same products from a different brand they always go back to their favorite one.
However, customers are smart.
They know what they like and where to give , which is why they really change their opinions on their favorite brands.
This becomes difficult for smaller businesses when they try to compete for customers’ attention.
These businesses have to work harder to create and build brand awareness, reach new customers, and then retain those customers. Additionally, in many industries, it costs about five times more to acquire new customers compared to what it takes to retain existing ones.
For example, a person could patronize a hundred different coffee shops in a town but will stay loyal to a specific one because of the value and great service that it provides.
Although plenty of business owners think marketing and public relations are the same , they’re actually different. Public relations is a very helpful marketing tool for small businesses to retain brand recognition. The way a brand is promoted is essentially through public relations.
This is also one of the five Ps of traditional marketing — product, price, people, place, and promotion. For companies looking to create longevity for their business, they should focus on all of those marketing aspects.
Additionally, some business owners believe that PR is expensive for smaller companies, and instead of taking smaller actions to build brand awareness, they end up not doing anything.
However, spending even a few hours per week on these five marketing aspects creates great opportunities for companies to promote their brands.
Drip Marketing
One way that businesses can build brand awareness is to consistently put themselves in front of potential customers. For example, companies can set up automated email campaigns that promote their services or products. After a while, the recipients of those emails will have an easier time recognizing the company’s name and will start paying attention to what the business has to offer.
These types of emails should be short and grab the viewers’ attention immediately while being Interesting enough to entice them to open and read them. They should start with the value the recipient will get by making a purchase and should always include a call to action that will lead them to the next step in their buying journey.
Thought Leadership
Pretty much everyone has attended a conference, meeting, or webinar where they listened to someone speak on a topic they know a lot about. Talking to the audience online or in public is another great strategy because it improves the company’s reputation and builds trust with the target audience.
This can be done through short columns or articles in publications that customers follow. Press releases are always the first go-to strategy for most businesses and thought leadership is something that many overlook in its ease and effectiveness to improve brand awareness.
Ronn Torossian is the CEO and Founder of 5W Public Relations. 5W PR is a leading digital pr and influencer marketing agency.
