Whether you’ve recently launched your SME business or have been in your industry for a while, investing in PR has the power to transform your business, increasing your leads, sales and profits. In this blog, we dive into what PR is, how it differs from marketing, its advantages and why it’s so important for your SME in today’s competitive climate.

Public relations and marketing work together in tandem and should be a part of any communication strategy. This is because having a strong public relations strategy will help you build your brand awareness and reputation organically, improving your trust and credibility with your key target audiences, whilst marketing is more focused on driving brand awareness, generating leads and directly promoting your brand and services.

What is PR?

PR, ultimately, is all about taking control of your business’ narrative and building your reputation amongst your key target audiences, whether that be the media, influencers, employees, or the public, and influencing their opinions by telling your story in the right way.

PR comprises multiple earned and unpaid media channels and formats such as press releases, story pitches, press or news conferences, thought leadership, social media, interviews with journalists and more. The more consistent and proactive you are in your PR strategy, the more likely you are to appear in relevant national and international media where your target audience is going to be, maximising your reach. There are two types of PR: earned and paid media coverage. Earned media coverage is the most credible format, and is considered more valuable than paid advertising or marketing.

It’s important to remember that every business, no matter if they are a large corporation or a small business, depends on its reputation to survive long term and succeed. There is a common misconception amongst business owners that PR isn’t worth the time or investment unless you are a global corporation with a huge budget. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Why is PR so important?

There is an old saying that goes: “Advertising is what you pay for; publicity is what you pray for”. However, in this day and age, publicity is no longer something that you have to hope for; you can build a strong, comprehensive public relations strategy that helps build a positive reputation for your brand.

Something that we believe in very strongly at Squirrels & Bears is that hope is a bad marketing strategy. If done right, a consistent PR strategy can help you build brand awareness, as well as your brand reputation, by communicating and building strong relationships with your businesses’ target audiences.

Another reason why PR is so important for your business is that potential or existing customers or clients make decisions about your brand based on multiple factors, but the most influential factor is how they feel about your brand. Whether they like it or not is often hugely up to you. Your target audiences are a lot more likely to listen to an opinion or press feature from a reliable, high authority and objective source, so building that trust and credibility is instrumental in determining your business’ success.

If your business is suddenly surrounded by controversy and inundated with bad customer reviews for example, that can easily change how customers feel about your brand and even prevent them from buying from you in the future. Having a PR agency at your disposal to help mitigate the damage and turn the tides in your favour can help save your brand. The emotional connection that your audience feels towards your brand is the most powerful one as it keeps you on their mind so that when they are ready to buy from you, you are at the top of their list. Don’t underestimate its power!

What are the advantages of PR?

So what actually are the advantages of PR for SMEs when it comes down to it?

1. Builds brand awareness and recognition

PR helps establish and build both brand awareness and brand recognition for your business, which, in other words, means informing the public that your brand exists and what makes you unique, following this through with recognition using tools and methods that foster trust, consistency and credibility.

2. Increases leads, sales and profits

Investing in PR can be highly beneficial for your business’ profitability in the long run as it helps gather interest from potential customers and stakeholders who see you mentioned in high-profile media publications, which can bring about new leads and conversions.

3. Boosts trust and credibility

Trust is something that money can’t buy and is a valuable asset which every business should strive for from their target audience. Without trust or credibility, it will become increasingly difficult to grow a loyal customer base or following who want to buy from you or who want to listen to what you have to say.

4. Improves website traffic and domain authority

The more your brand is mentioned in the media, ideally, across a cross-section of high authority websites, the more likely people will discover or visit your website. In turn, the more mentions you get, the better your SEO ranking, meaning you will appear higher on search when someone searches keywords relating to your brand or services.

5. Enhances your digital presence

The great thing about PR is that it enhances your overall digital presence, helping you become more visible to your target audience on platforms such as social media, whether that’s through content or influencers, which can drive traffic to your website as well as encourage further earned media coverage.

When considering your marketing strategy going forward don’t forget to utilise both marketing and PR if you want to truly tap into your full business potential. Not only will PR help build your brand awareness but it will also help improve your brand reputation, trust and credibility with your audience as well as boost leads, sales and profits.

To find out more about our bespoke PR services at Squirrels & Bears, email Petra Smith at hello@squirrelsandbears.com to find out more about how we can help you get started with maximising your business potential.

What is PR and why is it so important for SMEs?