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Running a business has been challenging and required a lot of hard work since, well... forever.  

That is never going to change.  

If you want to run a business successfully, you will have to put in the hours, sweat, and tears. It is your effort that will make you different and a cut above the rest of your competition.  

It is extremely important for your product or service to solve specific customer problems/pains and to be of top quality. However, it is also vital to be able to market the solution you are creating so as to not have it get drowned without getting the attention it deserves. In today’s face-paced and highly competitive business world, you and your business will thrive if you have a strong public image and reputation. Especially for startups and smaller businesses, your ability to effectively communicate with the public and manage your brand image will make all the difference when attracting and retaining clients, customers, partners, and investors.  

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This is where public relations (PR) support comes in.  

By leveraging the expertise and guidance of PR professionals & teams, your business can develop better communication strategies and plan your marketing verticals better.  

What Does Public Relations Entail?

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Public relations (PR) essentially entail all sorts of strategic communication processes that organizations use to build relationships with their consumers, target audiences, media, investors, and other stakeholders. PR requires the use of various techniques and tools to create a brand image for the company and its offerings.  PR aids brands in building, and more importantly maintaining, a positive and caring reputation amongst its target market and the rest of the stakeholders. PR professionals that support brands do this by creating, curating, and releasing various types of content.  

What Does PR Support Mean?

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PR support refers to all the activities that are conducted by the PR professionals that businesses work with. These professionals create content in the form of press releases, media communication, interviews, speeches, social media posts, and other marketing materials. They are also in charge of handling the communication you and your brand have with the media and the world outside the business. This maintains a sense of consistency since just one party is conducting all the communication and since they are professionals, you can focus on your other work without worrying about statements that need to be made outside the office.  

What are Some of the Tools & Techniques PR Professionals Use?

Media Monitoring / Relations

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PR professionals work in tandem with as well as collaborate with journalists, news channels, and media outlets to secure and manage coverage for businesses. For instance, if you are launching a new disruptive product that solves consumers problems, having PR support can help you get a spot on the local news or interviews with renowned journalists. This includes writing media pitches and articles that would be published by media outlets. If you have an internal team writing your media pitches, PR support can proofread and advise you on making it better whilst also taking the responsibility of sending these to media outlets, along with other background information, photos, meeting times/dates to manage your time. Alongside this, PR support would also include sending media alerts to consumers and grabbing opportunities to promote the business (client), just like agencies who work with actors and create photo opportunities with paparazzi closer to their clients’ new film releases.  

Social Media Management

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PR Support can work with your social media managers and marketing teams to create a unique and powerful brand image for you in the market. They will not only help you establish yourself by promoting you, but also make you memorable by utilizing content creation as a major tool. They will help you create content that is engaging and interactive so as to increase and retain your followers on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok. In the long run, they will help you create brand loyalty and may use tools such as pools, discussions, giveaways, and meet-up opportunities to incentivize followers to remain brand loyal.  

Influencer Marketing

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Whether it is nano-influencers or renowned celebrities with millions of followers, PR support professionals will help you and your brands reach out to other creators & artists to collaborate with. They will not only play the intermediary and represent you (making you look far more professional than if you used just cold outreaches), but also manage the communication between the parties. They may help you discuss ideas and logistics of the process of creating content together, whilst some may even have a creative team helping you creatively, for instance, shooting your videos, taking behind-the-scenes footage, amongst other things.  

Event Sponsorships

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PR professionals will help you get sponsorships for events you conduct as well as managing you as a sponsor for other events. To increase brand awareness and visibility, they will help you connect with other companies and become sponsors for events that match your brand’s goals and missions. On the other hand, when you conduct your own events, you will be able to get sponsors who may help you financially and showcase their support for your solutions, making you more visible in the market after the partnership.  

What are the Benefits of Getting PR Support?

Building Credibility: PR support can help your business and brand in building credibility in the long run. By working towards crafting a positive image and good reputation, professionals can help your brand communicate its missions, goals, and solutions in a creative and memorable way. Having a PR team can also make your company feel and look planned. This can be especially impressive for consumers as they will look at you as extremely prepared whilst investors may prefer to give you funding due to your professionalism.  

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Increasing Visibility: Having professionals use their network to increase your brand awareness will help you increase your brand name and visibility in the market. Consumers will know of you and be more inclined to buy your products/services whilst competitors will be aware of you and look at you as competition, which can be motivating for growth. You will also be able to forge long-term relationships with media outlets and professionals in higher ranks, which can all get you access to a higher audience and rounds of funding.  

Better Crisis Management: Businesses can never be immune to crises. You and your brand can randomly have issues, whether they are production delays, miscommunication, legal matters, or something else. Having PR professionals as your spokespeople will help you handle the situation in a calm and professional manner, especially when talking directly to consumers could make the situation worse. PR professionals can also keep a lookout for any media mentions about your business, which could help you become more responsive and answer media enquiries quickly. Handling issues swiftly will minimize any damage, financial or reputational, and protect your brand image in the long run.  

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Cost Effective Marketing: PR support can be a cost-effective way to market your business. Unlike traditional advertising, PR strategies can generate media coverage and buzz without a high advertising spend. This can help small businesses, startups, and solopreneurs, with limited marketing budgets, compete with larger companies in their industry. In the long run, this can also help you attract newer customers and retain existing ones by focusing on marketing and promoting your business effectively.  

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Skill Development: PR professionals can help you improve your own skills, whether they are marketing, networking, or crisis related. Learning from them and communicating with them can help you improve your own management style. Moreso, hiring a PR agency and working with people from different backgrounds can help your business become more resilient and adaptable in the long run.  

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Storytelling & USPs: You will be able to become better storytellers as well as effectively showcase your brand story and its unique selling points (USPs) to your consumers through the use of PR professionals. For instance, if you want to promote your product/service through an audio method, getting a PR consultant who is an expert in creating/managing podcasts, would help you curate your story better, making your business more visible and memorable.  

As an entrepreneur, freelancer, or startup, you will face problems in your journey. Many of which may affect your business majorly, in the short and long run. Handling those, whilst continuing normal operations, can be extremely challenging.  

But don’t worry!  

Now you don’t have to do it alone.  

At Doerscircle, we have a single solution for all your PR worries and needs. From creating complete PR plans and distributing pitches to the media to getting social media advice and press coverage, you can leave the hassle work to us.

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With Doerscircle and Prospr (solution partner), you will be able to:  

• Develop your company story
• Create a PR plan with professional guidance
• Two consultation sessions to align your PR plan with your social media
• A relevant media list + Distribution of pitches
• A final PR pitch review by experts
• Guaranteed press coverage (a story) with the media

Here at Doerscircle, our goal is to provide you with the solutions and guidance you need for all the headaches you have to face during your journey while helping you focus on your main goals as a business owner. We hope to curate exclusive solutions, benefits, and content, alongside build an inspiring and creative community of Independent Doers like you.

Starting a business can be extremely stressful.

But we are here to make it easier for you.

Check out the PR Support solution now and sign up as a free member to never miss an update!