3 Steps to Perpetually Positive Public Relations

January 8, 2019

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Positive Public Relations

When it comes to promoting positive consumer PR, you should do all you can to make certain that positive headlines and stories are not “one-and-done” scenarios. Instead, you need to create an environment that uses current positive stories to trigger new positive stories, so your brand stays in front of your audience and connected to a positive context.

There are a lot of reasons this is an important aspect of public relations, but the two biggest are this:

· When people see your brand connected with a series of positive stories it has a collective effect, creating sustained and reinforced goodwill

· That sustained goodwill can be a bulwark against any eventual negative headlines or stories

These two sides of the same positive PR coin can create a self-sustaining and protective PR shield around your brand, drawing people in like a magnet, while defending your brand from negative connotations. This result is cumulative, though. It takes work, careful planning, and time. Here are three steps to get you started.

Trust Your PR Partners

Whether you work with an outside agency or an in-house team, give them the creative freedom to help you the best way they know how. In some cases, brands can be assumptive, overly careful, and boring in their PR efforts. When you do the same things everyone else is doing, it’s difficult to stand out in any way.

Communicate clearly, but avoid micromanaging the creative team. You hired them because they know what they’re doing. Take the risk of trusting the process, and open yourself up to greater rewards. Set realistic, measurable goals, and make sure your team understands that you will hold them accountable.

Pay Attention to Trends

One of the most important factors in any news story is relevance. You need to be connected to something the audience is interested or looking for. One of the best ways to make sure you are is to keep up on current trends and look for ways to connect your brand with those trends.

Is there a service or product you offer that could be associated with something “hot” right now? Do you have a cause or a perspective that intersects with something in the news? Are you connected with a celebrity or influencer whose audience is growing? If the answer is “yes,” don’t leave that money on the table. Take full advantage of your connection to trending topics.

Use One Positive Story as a Springboard

When you have one good PR experience, don’t rest or settle, you should already have another story waiting to launch. Then, just as that story is gaining peak traction and attention, begin to seed the new story to media partners and fans. This way, because your brand is still high in the news cycle, the new story will have more traction and staying power… Meaning, it’s more likely to get published, and more widely.

This is the key step in the process. Having another story on deck ready to fire is vital to keeping your brand in the news and maintaining a positive press presence. Do this well enough, often enough, and you will encourage media contacts to start coming to you for good, fresh content. Deliver, and that’s when the cycle really picks up.