The world of public relations (P.R.) has changed dramatically in the past decade. With breaking news more accessible and searchable, many brands are finding that controlling the narrative is an arduous task. Join that with the ever-changing standards of practice and options for analytics and data, and many are finding themselves over their head.
While the omnichannel revolution or the rise of streaming services and over-the-air media have changed how we consume and share content, the truth is, earned and purchased media has come a long, long way. We’ve found at Lobeline that while many brands struggle to see the line from public relations to sales, it’s there and waiting to be drawn.
So, what do we know that other brands don’t? There’s a short string between P.R. and sales, and written on that thin line is Strategy, Data, and Follow-Through.
- Strategy understands how P.R. fits into the overall structure of the brand storytelling process. It understands what role the media plays and how to leverage different content delivery methods to lead to trust and action.
- Data tells a story unlike any other. The old way of understanding public relations was to look to “impressions” or how many eyes were on a particular release or news story. The new way is to use data to effectively target certain members of the media and public—after all, an effective understanding of your target audience can save time and boost conversion.
- Follow-through is all about not dropping the ball after the story is released. Creating meaningful customer journeys, led by P.R. strategies, is one element of what we accomplish for our clients.We work with each piece that’s landed in the media to ensure it flows back to the website or captures information so we can retarget in an effective, best practices way.
Here are two solid strategies to create true conversion—linking P.R. directly to sales…
- Acknowledge that P.R. is part of the sales funnel. For many years, the line between marketing, public relations, and sales has beensevered, leading to approaches that are in a silo, segmenting valuable data that could be joined for the benefit of the brand. When placement leads to sales, who takes the call? When a release leads to a potential investor reaching out, what’s the process? Answering questions about how P.R. fits into the model elevates the position of the brand for all.
- Tie it all together. If your P.R. team isn’t speaking to your marketing team, how will you be able to decimate data? By ensuring your public relations efforts are a part of the overall plan, you’ll not only have better preparation but more positive outcomes as well. While P.R. is certainly higher in the funnel, as a part of the “awareness” process, it can have deep, deep ties to sales data and brilliant outcomes.
The world of P.R. has changed, and executives that are effectively using media strategies are seeing much better bottom-line numbers. In fact, we believe that P.R. is a SALES job as the actions our brands are taking right now are either leading to conversion or acquisition. The end game is ever important in this busy landscape.
Are you ready to develop a lasting strategy that proves its ROI? Let’s dive deep.
