The power of good public relations (PR) is vastly undervalued because it is not understood. Without understanding, there can be no mastery. Focus is put on paid marketing efforts, but you can only spend so much money to promote your brand before you have to prove its worth.
The key word here is public. Never before has the public been involved in actively directing brands’ services, product design, and overall strategy. Consumers have become more discerning with the proliferation of media and advertising available to them.
Not only that, consumers have an array of products and services to choose from in any given industry. The advent of social media has exasperated the need for brands to actively listen and engage with the public and meet their needs.
These factors drive brands to show their customers how they deliver on their brand promises and when they do, that is where PR steps in - to toot the brand’s proverbial horn.
Most brands have a promise that they are set on fulfilling for their customers. That promise is not just one thing. It is multifaceted and extends to:
A brand’s corporate identity - logo, chosen colors, visual language, tone of voice
Digital identity and persona - the way the brand handles and engages with audiences online and via social media
Ethos and internal culture - how do the staff, whether it be the receptionist, CEO, or after-sales team, uphold the brand in their interactions.
Everything a brand does has the ability to affect the public’s perception of it. AmaZix firmly believes in the power that PR can have in actively promoting and growing interest in your blockchain project. Usually, as part of an integrated and strategic marketing campaign, we implement the following PR best practices to make sure our clients get the results they want:
- Inside Out
Ensure the alignment of internal operations, ethos, and company culture to your desired external identity. For example, there is no point in building a brand of integrity externally when you don't treat your staff with integrity.
Content is everything - king, queen, prince, and the pauper.
Define content tracks that:
Make your brand purpose, goals, and personality evident - define your promise to the consumer.
Showcase your project or brand’s strengths -- put a spotlight on what you do well or how you have delivered on your promise.
Differentiate you from your competitors
Are highly searched for and are attractive to the audiences you want to target
Listen, engage and learn.
Facilitate a good rapport with your audience - make sure that lines of engagement are open and that you are listening so that you can rise to meet expectations. AmaZix employs various social listening techniquesto speed up audience discussions, queries, and requests.
Make friends with the media.
Nurture relationships with the media - we deliver good quality content relevant to their audiences, newsworthy and professional.
Build communities
Build communities around your projects - AmaZix started with their community service and moderation offering five years ago and has grown into a multi-faceted agency. If there is anyone that can build audiences around your specific project, it is us!
Measure, monitor, adapt and repeat.
Measure the impact of PR efforts - there is no point in undertaking any activity if you don't have a target in mind. At AmaZix, we set your objectives, monitor and report impact, and then tailor efforts according to the feedback and result.
Be ever-ready
Plan for the worst-case scenario - in the advent that your brand does not deliver its promise, it is necessary to have a plan in place to manage this. That usually involves identifying how badly the brand will be portrayed publicly and how this negativity will reverberate in the industry. A tactical approach to different levels of crises needs to be put in place so that time is not wasted in this instance and negativity regarding your reputation can be nipped in the bud.