While most businesses are familiar with what public relations is, they often confuse it with advertising. The true meaning remains pretty much vague for laymen.

Great public relations can have a profound impact on a company's ROI and online reputation. PR professionals invest tremendous efforts and time to achieve both. 

They aim to bolster a brand's reputation by delivering the right messages to the right audience at the right time. 

In our Essential Guide to Public Relations, we break down PR from a wide lens, from the different types of PR to how to craft a PR strategy. In this blog post, we explore a deeper dive into the many benefits of PR for companies - big and small!

PR 101: Managing The Impact Of Social Media

A few years ago, companies relied on word-of-mouth marketing and advertising to promote their products/services. 

However, with the digital age have come new challenges. With the advent of social media, branding an organization just through advertisement is no longer an option.

For instance, all it takes for a dissatisfied customer is an angry tweet or a YouTube video to draw negative attention towards a brand. Naturally, this is something that companies would want to avoid. 

This is where PR pros can help a company take a proactive approach to stay away from such damage or reverse any damage that's been done. In the times we live in, it's important to keep an eye on social media.

The faster the response is, the more effective the strategy is!

Building Brand Reputation

Building a company's reputation is never easy. It doesn't take much to destroy it overnight as we established in the previous section.

Public relations can improve the overall character and image of a brand. While online advertisements and commercials are valuable in promoting the products, they do not focus on the company's values.

PR lets customers know a bit more about the core values which form the foundation of an organization. 

Besides, the media keeps a close watch on how businesses handle their operations, and PR professionals act as mediators in managing that aspect. 

They communicate with news agencies to make the audience aware of the company. Unlike advertisements, public relations does not feel like forced persuasion.

Handling A Crisis Proactively

The public relations professionals don't just handle social media attacks but also manage any unexpected crises. 

For this reason, most companies have a crisis management strategy in place, and PR is a crucial part of that. 

The PR team is charged with taking responsibility on the company's behalf whenever something goes wrong.

In addition, the PR team guides the CEO on what to do next. It acts as a protective shield for the company. 

Irrespective of the size of the business, it's important to curb the bad publicity and weaken the blow. 

It's the only way forward when an unfavorable event occurs. 

Boosting Sales & Profits

With the help of press releases and business stories, customers can find new ways to strengthen their trust in the brand.

An effective strategy can help the audience resonate deeply with the company's message and values. 

Besides, it may help bring new customers to the door. More customers mean greater sales and profits! 

Increasing Brand Awareness

One of the major benefits of using public relations for SMEs is the creation and increase of brand awareness.

Their target audience can be thousands of miles away, but what matters is being digitally connected with them. 

This is why strengthening the online presence is of utmost importance, regardless of the nature of the enterprise. 

PR professionals offer indispensable guidance and support to companies. They leverage their industry connections and extensive experience to maximize reach. 

Apart from that, they maintain a customer-resonant image. By doing so, companies can create brand awareness among their potential customers.

Enhancing Brand Credibility With PR

An important part of building a company's reputation is enhancing its credibility. Without trust, no company can find success no matter what industry they operate in.

For this reason, we emphasize bridging the trust gap that exists between would-be clients/customers and businesses. 

Public relations can help enhance brand credibility using:

- Networking strategies

- Influencer connections

- Thought leadership pieces

They work with clients from various industries to boost credibility using the aforementioned channels.  

Now that we are aware of the benefits, let's move on to our next section: 

What is a PR Pitch?

For widespread media coverage, just contacting the agencies is not enough. The story idea that needs to be pitched should be newsworthy.

That needs an effective PR pitch. It is presented to:

- Social media influencers

- Bloggers

- Editors

- Reporters

It can be in the form of:

- A phone call

- An email

- A tweet/DM

How Can OnePitch Help?

Writing a pitch necessitates persuasive communication skills and creative thinking. It should be able to highlight the benefits for the audience as well as the reporter.

This is where OnePitch can help! Submitting a pitch through OnePitch (and receiving a result) has never been easier. Not only does submitting a pitch take less than 2 minutes, but it also helps in the following ways:

- Makes your pitches as succinct as possible

- Provides you with a pitch checker that details what aspect of your pitch may be missing

- Generates a completely curated media list for your news that you can use to save, pitch, and track journalists through your profile

Start pitching in a way that gets results with OnePitch! Click below to create your profile:

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Public relations is pivotal for establishing trust with existing customers as well as prospects. 

Businesses, big and small, can leverage it for controlling a crisis, managing brand reputation, handling social media, communicating core values, and more. 

Moreover, it allows them to be more transparent, honest, and responsive to the targeted audience.

Without a doubt, PR can work wonders to increase profitability and brighten the future of a business!

Just getting started in PR? Check out our article, PR 101: 3 Things to Know as a New PR Pro, to see what 10 PR pros had to say for those entering the industry.

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