By Chris Bradley, Partner, The Marketing Practice
It's one of the most frequently asked questions during my time in engineering and industrial marketing—that is from those brave enough to ask—because no one wants you to think that they don't know. What exactly is public relations and why do the public matter to my engineering company's marketing strategy?
Well, it's a good question, so let's see if we can answer it. Public Relations (PR) is the strategic communication between a business and its stakeholders aimed at fostering trust, building greater awareness and enhancing reputation and credibility. These stakeholders can have a significant influence on the operations and success of a business. They include customers, potential customers, employees, suppliers and the media to list just a few. These stakeholders are known as 'Publics' and hence the term Public Relations.
There, does that answer the question? Well, probably sort of, but then we usually get the next questions—how do we do good PR and what's the difference between PR and advertising? Now it get's a bit more complicated, because the line between advertising and PR is blurred, but I'll do my best. Advertising is paid for, and is scheduled to appear at the exact times of the advertiser's choosing. It usually contains strong sales messages with a call to action and is repeated over and over again during the advertising campaign period.
For example, a company providing maintenance services to industry might have the slogan, or copy headline in its advertisements, 'Here When You Need Us 24/7'. It's a simple message, repeated again and again, because that's the single most important message it wants its customers and potential customers to have fixed in their minds. The company is available 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to provide an immediate response to its customers whenever urgent maintenance is required. Advertising provides the umbrella beneath which all other forms of marketing communications, and sales, takes place.
PR is more like a drip feed of information providing a more in-depth look at the company, it's philosophy, it's activities, how it works with customers to meet their challenges, providing company, products and service news. It should include case studies, how-to articles, best practice articles and guides that its customers will find helpful and useful. PR, unlike advertising, isn't paid for, nor is it repeated over and over again. Rather, a PR practitioner will constantly be looking for new material that will engage and enthuse, help and assist the company's customers.
So, in the modern world how do we do good PR? Create regular, exciting new content for your web site, with SEO in mind, on sections for news, articles, guides, and blogs. Combine this with your social media and email marketing that delivers your messages to a wider audience rather than simply relying on your content being seen by visitors to your web site.
Issue regular press releases and articles to the relevant engineering and industry publications. Getting your news, case studies and best practice articles published in the press will enable you to reach thousands of engineers and specifiers across the UK and position your company as a voice of authority within your sector.
When magazines publish your stories online they tend to stay there indefinitely and work wonders for your online visibility. Additionally, consider paying for your content to be distributed via magazines' email marketing and social media to reach a much wider audience than could be possible by only using your own channels. And don't forget engineering exhibitions to showcase your brand, your products and services and meet customers face to face.
PR and content creation is an ongoing project, a continual conversation between you and your customers with a more engaging and in-depth story telling approach, that thrives beneath the central pillar of your strong advertising messages. PR and advertising both serve different purposes. Both are important and both work together, hand in glove.