Lis Anderson is founder and director at PR consultancy AMBITIOUS and an agency MD with over 20 years in the communications industry.
Every strategy, no matter how well planned or thought through, is redundant unless the right tactics are chosen. Your strategy sets the goals and how you will achieve them. This establishes your path. Tactics are actionable and measurable; these are the specific things you need to do to deliver the strategy.
The rise of digital means that you can pick tactics that get in front of your audience at the right time and place. There are so many to choose from that getting the right mix is easy.
In this article, I’ll focus on five tactics that can boost your business’s presence:
Become a specialist.
You have a specialty — something that sets you apart from your competitors. This knowledge and expertise can help build up your name in the industry. You can become the go-to person for your expertise.
Start with research to discover what the top questions and pain points are right now. Check out the searches on your website to see what the top-performing content is. This will show you what people are looking for. Talk to your customer service and sales teams to see what discussions they’re having and the problems being raised through the inquiries.
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Your expertise could help solve these challenges, so tell people how you can help them. Give them actionable solutions and establish yourself as an industry leader in the process. Begin by writing blog posts and guest posts exploring the problems and solutions. Build on that by booking talks for you and key people within your team. Webinars are a great way to meet and engage with people who are interested in what you have to say and offer.
Leverage your networks.
There’s no need to work in a silo to get business. In fact, a partnership or collaboration can significantly improve your online presence and build your reputation.
Find a business that works together with yours, something that complements yours and can provide services and knowledge that yours doesn’t. Create an approach together so that you both can gain access to each other’s audiences.
Combining forces generates attention further than your existing audiences. This is a powerful tactic for B2B companies as partnerships can really propel your brand into new areas and help boost your bottom line. Consider working with another business to co-launch a research report or co-host an event or webinar. Draw on each other’s knowledge and specialties to create a comprehensive package that will draw attention to you and boost your reputation.
‘Hijack’ relevant news topics.
Cut through newsfeeds and get your brand seen and heard. Newsjacking can be an effective tactic to use and one that requires prep to ensure you get the right story out at the right time.
This tactic involves staying on top of news stories to identify opportunities where you can place your brand. Find those trending topics where you can put your brand front and center.
As mentioned above, make sure you prepare for a newsjacking campaign. Identify the topics that are the ones you can hijack easily and comfortably. Develop your story so that you can respond to news stories quickly with ideas, commentary and thought leadership comments, which you can prepare in advance.
Create news.
Create content that will make an impact by developing your own news. A State of the Industry report or a survey of key stakeholders within an industry are great ways for businesses to crack the news cycle.
Businesses wanting to engage with potential customers can make a splash with a campaign that will create news. For example, the Norwegian postal service, Posten [[relationship?]], created a Christmas advert, called “When Harry Met Santa,” that got everyone — from Brazil to Japan — talking. The video — which showed Harry and Santa falling in love over the years, and which ended in the postal service helping Santa deliver gifts so he could spend more time on Christmas with Harry — was made to celebrate “the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Norway.”
Another example: when Gymshark, a British fitness apparel brand, pranked celebrities into having them wish “Jim Shark” a happy birthday and got them to share bespoke messages for “him” via Cameo to raise brand awareness for its Black Friday sale. The campaign quickly went viral across social media.
Choose the time of year.
Plan your content and news so that it hits at the right time of the year when journalists and editors are looking for that topic. Use Google Trends to understand when people are looking for information on certain topics and make sure you prepare content ahead of time. Media outlets also have a forward features list that you can use to create copy around.
Choosing PR Tactics to Break Into the News
These are just five tactics that can boost your profile and improve your reputation, both online and offline. Try different tactics to see which ones will work well for you, and include them in your PR and marketing mix.
Building your reputation in the right way will ensure your brand is relevant to the right people. Ensure your PR and marketing strategy delivers the results you need in 2022.
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Author: Lis Anderson, Forbes Councils Member