There are two areas that are key to the success of any business: branding and public relations. Your branding is the image your business presents to customers and potential customers. Through it, you build your business's identity.
Coca-Cola is an excellent example of an iconic brand that has used branding to make itself immediately identifiable to consumers. The soft-drink company has become a giant in its industry by branding its flagship product as a classic piece of Americana.
PR is also about image management, both by spreading the right information and managing any potential issues that could affect your business's reputation. To get the most from your PR efforts, branding must be a part of your PR strategy. Here are four key reasons why:
Image
The importance of your brand's image can't be overstated. How people perceive your company is perhaps the most significant factor in whether they do business with you. Your branding should communicate your values — 64% of people start a relationship with a business due to shared values.
A good first impression is crucial to building that brand-customer relationship. In fact, 35% of respondents in a survey stated that brand quality and image is the most influential factor in establishing brand loyalty.
A prime example of how brand impression is tied to the customer experience can be found in the way luxury brands focus on creating a perfectly refined brand image that resonates with their audience. For example, the luxury brand Hermès has made a point to shun mass production and outsourcing in order to maintain total control over their brand image and products.
The first step to creating a brand identity is to find the story behind your business. This is essentially where you consider why you started your business to begin with and then identify the missions and values you want your brand to align with. Once your story has been established, you can create a series of branding guidelines you want your website, logo and all communications to adhere to.
One of the areas to consider when developing branding guidelines is the tone of voice you want the brand to convey. Do you want your business to sound professional, fun, witty, sarcastic? This is the time to consider what type of personality you want your business to have and to make sure everyone on your team is on the same page.
Another thing to consider is the key points you want your target audience to know and understand about your brand when they see your website or social media pages. Any potential communication with your audience should relate to those core points in some way. Honing in on the key points that define your business will also lead to more PR opportunities and greater success when those opportunities arise.
It's obvious that your business needs the right image, and it needs to demonstrate that image to people from the very first interaction. With proper branding, you can figure out the image you want for your business and how to present it to your audience.
Succinct Communication
If a reporter can't figure out your brand right away, they may question whether it fits their audience. You're more likely to get PR opportunities when people can immediately understand your business, what it does and what it values. With the right branding, your PR team will be able to communicate the brand more easily to reporters and generate more positive press.
Trustworthiness
It's tough to get good publicity if your business doesn't seem trustworthy, but the inverse is also true — a trustworthy business will have an easier time getting good publicity.
That's certainly not the only benefit of building trust. According to a study, 94% of consumers claim that they're likely to show loyalty to brands offering total transparency. Likewise, 73% would be willing to paying a premium for a product that has total transparency over one that doesn't.
First and foremost, in order to gain trust in the marketplace, you must provide a reliable service or product. Aside from that, by being consistent and accessible to your clients and customers, you'll gain an edge over most of the competition.
People are naturally skeptical of businesses, which means gaining their trust isn't a small feat. Your brand's story and values can be key factors in why people decide to trust it.
Reputation Management
One thing branding and PR have in common is that both focus on controlling the messaging around your business. If you don't do that, you're leaving the door wide open for other people to make their assumptions about your business.
This all starts with your branding. Efforts to manage your reputation using PR won't be successful if your brand is unclear. Branding allows you to take control of the narrative. It's the first step in building a positive reputation for your business.
Let's say that your business ends up going through a PR crisis because of a controversial social media post. You'll be much more likely to weather the storm and come out without a damaged reputation if you've already established a positive, trustworthy brand image in the eyes of consumers.
Branding and PR may require separate teams and strategies, but to get the most out of them, they need to work together to build your business's image. When they're in sync, both will be far more effective.
