The ability to communicate, and communicate well, is one of the biggest factors in business success. If you’re unable to promote your services and effectively communicate your messages, your potential is limited. Hutchens PR helps its clients navigate the top communication challenges by implementing strategic programs that help companies craft messages that resonate, gain credibility with key stakeholders and most importantly, achieve their bottom line goals.
| 1. Messages are the medium
Today we are overwhelmed with messages. Some are just 140 characters long, others are much longer. But all the messages that bombard us are trying to shape our opinion, elicit some action, or both. So how can you create and deliver messages that resonate with your audience? Here’s the key test: If someone can easily recall, repeat, and transfer your message, you did a great job of crafting and conveying it. 2. Targeting the right media for your message Five hundred press releases is the average number delivered to the New York Times every day. Metropolitan daily newspapers receive almost 250 and most local TV stations are in the 200 range. So, how do you keep from getting lost in the shuffle? The first step is to know how to pick the right media for your message. The better you target your media, and match your message to the medium, the better your chances of getting noticed and rising above the din. 3. Do you really need to be on Twitter? Despite the fact that Twitter has more than 32 million users, has received massive publicity and has produced remarkable results for companies, many executives still don’t “get” Twitter. Granted, it can seem like a bizarre online cocktail party where everyone is shouting and no one is listening. But for those who understand and learn to use it effectively, Twitter can be a powerful business tool. 4. Driving traffic to your website Search Engine Optimization is more than a simple technique to increase traffic and sell products or services. In fact, SEO is a science. It helps you build constant growing traffic, which also helps you gain credibility and trust from visitors and build a real community that’s interested in what you have to offer. In business, knowledge is power. In marketing terms, this means doing an amount of research that would make a doctorate student’s ears bleed until kingdom come. In order to create lasting respect and understanding, whether with internal, external, or trade audiences, public relations strategy should be based on effective and thorough research. YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Web with more than 2 billion views a day. And contrary to popular belief, it’s not all just silly cat videos and adolescents injuring themselves. Your customers turn to YouTube’s search bar every day to look for how-to’s, product reviews, and other information about the companies and brands that interest them. 7. Bulletproofing your reputation Corporate reputation is made up of stakeholders’ perceptions, feelings, and opinions about an organization. Almost 80% of reputation is driven by factors other than a company’s products and services, which is only one of the dimensions of corporate reputation. 8. Making a great first impression You are a civil engineering executive. A reporter from a national publication calls to discuss bridge safety. The reporter has a tight deadline and will call back in half an hour. Is this is a chance for your company to get national attention or a potential disaster? 9. Establishing yourself as an industry thought leader Being known as a thought leader in your industry is a huge step in the right direction toward increased credibility for your business and its products/services. It can also help your business stand out from its competitors. Think about it: are you more likely to trust and purchase from a company whose leaders you recognize as experts in the industry, or a company whose leaders you’ve heard nothing from? Rather than scurrying about when a crisis hits, it makes a lot more sense to have a game plan in place ahead of time. Start by determining what can happen (make lists of scenarios) and then assume it will. Decide what you will need to do, create a crisis portfolio; and align the action to take with the crisis level. When the crisis hits, work the plan. |