World Cup Fever! Meet your PR dream team
We’re getting into the World Cup spirit and it got us thinking about the different players that would make up the perfect PR football team. (Bear with us, really!) From thought leadership to social media, research and media outreach, there are lots of players all integral to that winning line-up.
Whether your goal is increasing brand awareness or gaining media coverage, you’ll need to build a team with different talents and skills to keep possession over your opponents and score those winning goals to keep your fans (your customers), and the rest of the bench (your Board, partners and employees) onside.
So, if PR was a football team, who would the players be? Here is our PR dream team line up…
Player 1: Media outreach
Skills: Media outreach is excellent for building relationships with key members of your target press; leverage these relationships correctly and you will have journalists that are genuinely interested in your news, products or opinions which will greatly help when scoring your coverage goals. Media outreach works closely with events and research – watch and you’ll see these three team players set each other up each time for that cracking shot on target!
Player 2: Research
Skills: Research is a key team player in helping to gain both market and thought leadership. Research that comments on the state of the industry, a major foul, or a problem that needs to be solved (by your company) will demonstrate that you have expertise in the industry and will be of great interest to the media in your sector as well as press on a national scale.
Player 3: News hijacking
Skills: When something happens in your industry – or an industry you want to be in – a great tactic is to tackle the issue by sharing your thoughts in the form of a comment, Letter to the Editor or longer opinion piece. If a big corporation has been hacked, could your organisation have stopped it from happening? If news breaks that another retail giant is closing its doors, what does the future of the high street look like, and how will your organisation play a part in that? Commenting on issues relevant to your company will move you from the bench and into the on-pitch action.
Player 4: Client relationships
Skills: You’ll see client relationships covering the length of the pitch and working closely with all of the other players to keep possession and take the lead. Client relationships can act as the team manager, captain, midfielder, forward and goalkeeper: a successful client relationship is one that is open, honest and collaborative with clear direction and understanding of team tactics and formation to action what is needed to keep the PR campaign creative.
Player 5: Case studies
Skills: Case studies support your efforts to both score coverage goals and get the ball in the back of the brand awareness net. By highlighting how your company has actively solved an issue one of your customers was facing, with clear evidence and testimonials from their spokespeople and yours, you’ll be showing how your expertise can be applied to various situations and generate positive outcomes for the company, knocking out the competition.
Player 6: Thought leadership
Skills: Often named man of the match, thought leadership underpins all of our PR campaigns by building credibility, expertise and direction within the campaign and the industry. A well-constructed opinion article will be one of the biggest goal scorers on the team and will see your company climb up the league tables and gunning for silverware.
Player 7: Market leadership
Skills: When news dries up and there are no more company announcements to make, market leadership can often be shown the red card. But market leadership doesn’t just mean new hire press releases or product updates, it also comes in the form of winning awards, attending conferences and working with other companies or partners in your sector. Market leadership scores the most goals when it works alongside thought leadership, so you’ll often see these players working as a dynamic duo on the pitch.
Player 8: Social media
Skills: Social media has the great ability to be being targeted and hitting the masses at the same time, and you’ll often spot social media running across every side and corner of the pitch. What’s important is using the right channels for your company and populating your news feed with varied content that will interest your fans.
Player 9: Events
Skills: Events not only provide a brilliant networking opportunity for your key spokespeople, but it also provides an opportunity to connect with key players in the media and showcase your news and updates. What’s great about events is that you have an avid fan-base waiting to hear what you have to say, so you won’t be stood on the sidelines waiting for your big moment to shine.
Player 10: Marketing collateral
Skills: Marketing collateral might not be the attacker of the team, but it forms an integral part of a solid defence line up, ensuring messages are aligned across the company and is a great source of content to use within the PR campaign. Making sure the content is closely linked will make sure your fans – your prospects, customers and the media – all receive the same message, no matter what the format might be.
Player 11: Blogs
Skills: Blogs, and your website in general, can be the first port of call for a customer or other organisation looking to learn more about what you offer and how you could help them. Your blog needs to show a variety of content about your team, your products, your views and your connection to the industry and it should be updated regularly to keep Google interested in the content on your website. Getting the content right on your blog will line up your position and see the ball soar to the back of the net.
FULL TIME
What do you think of our team line-up? Get in touch to see how our PR campaigns will help you score coverage and brand awareness goals and propel your company to championship place!
Tweet us @NeoPRLtd.
