Building a Sustainable Brand: The Place of PR & Online Media

Writer, designer and one of the pioneers in socially responsive architecture, Cameron Sinclair on business sustainability said, “When sustainability is viewed as being a matter of survival for your business, I believe you can create a massive change.”

Now more than ever, PR is important, perhaps the most valuable tool in building a sustainable brand. When properly harnessed with online media tools, brands do not just have a chance at having their stories told in the most real, most human, and action evoking forms ever, they have an extra go at amplifying these stories to reach their target audience online and beyond the internet. 

Businesses are heavily investing in digital marketing, advertising products, or services in a bid to generate instant purchases that lead to sales. While this is great, to a large extent sales advertising doesn’t really contribute much to the creation of a sustainable brand. 

What really makes a sustainable brand? 

A company’s ability to retain customer appeal for decades, even centuries. Think of what Nike has been able to do, Coca Cola, and local brands like Oando. How these giants have managed to hold down their share of the market for so long, while expanding their reach – that’s some strong element of brand sustainability.

That didn’t come from “Buy Nike Shoe” campaigns. Neither could it have stemmed from “Top Up Your Gas Here” ads. It’s something beyond that and here’s where you start thinking of Public Relations (PR).

PR communicates with the public in ways that build mutually beneficial, long-lasting relationships between them and your organization. That’s the main goal here, it is why PR is king.

There’s only so much that sales-tied advertising can achieve when it comes to brand sustainability. And unlike advertising, PR gives your brand some depth and personality. At a time like this when authenticity is the driver of brand loyalty,  PR gives you leverage, enabling you to communicate your brand’s story in ways your audience finds credible. Interestingly, digital media even make this a lot easier.

To create a sustainable brand, keep in mind that you need to connect with the audience at their core. Hardly will sales advertising do that. Organizations that stand the test of time take deliberate steps to build brand loyalty, which automatically puts them in the customers’ minds much longer than their average competitors.

So, to achieve this, where exactly do you start?

 

• Understand your audience

 

How do you achieve this? Take the time to understand your audience deeply, particularly what moves then to engage with brands. Digital marketing makes this easy, with a number of data research and analytic tools you can use. 

Meltwater is an example of that, letting you track key behavioral patterns that could help you understand your audience.

You can also explore surveys if you need some more specific responses from a cross-section of your market.

 

• Where can you reach them?

 

Very vital, find out where your audience spend their time, what they like to read, what information matters to them.

If you have established entrepreneurs as your core audience, you know they are frequent business magazine readers. Business shows and international TV’s are also not far from them. Social habits would include LinkedIn, and they most likely would spend their leisure time on similar social or networking platforms

However, while it is important to keep the audience in mind, location of reach, and other important knowledge of your audience, how does PR come into play in helping you build a sustainable brand? 

 

PR for Brand Sustainability

We can’t say it enough but PR has unique ways it helps consolidate your brand’s positioning while creating a long-lasting positive perception.

These four ideas can help you get started.

Create Thought Leadership

Starting from here, in every sense of it, show that you know your onions. Create content that displays your expertise, offering beyond-the-surface insights that not only resonate with your audience but help them in practical ways.

Think of an insurance company that invests in educating the public on how the industry works, what insurance does, and what they stand to gain. 

It’s nothing new that most people consider insurance a waste of resources, especially in this part of the world. So, a top-level, non-sales public education would do a lot to change people’s orientation, while also positioning the brand as the go-to insurance firm, for years to come.

Create Value, Communicate It

This is an age-long tip, sadly many businesses are not approaching it the right way.

We have seen companies approach this with very shallow depth, or going overly profit-driven in their approach. 

In its simplest form, create value – one that can earn you awareness, talkability, and loyalty within your market. For example, a bank actively involved in CSR projects, naturally, consumers get an impression of care and responsibility, attributes that are not taken for granted in this part of the world.

However while doing that, don’t forget the most important element: communicate whatever you’re doing. That’s the only way your value creation adds to your brand-building efforts.

Build Relationships

Create a community around your brand. Social media gives a huge opportunity for that. Don’t stop at that, engage with other brands and people within and outside your industry as well. Creating or participating in partnerships with other brands gives you access to a wider audience than what you immediately have, at the same time, you get some extra public thumbs-up for not functioning on your own. 

Put in mind that Illegitimate, unreliable companies don’t get into partnerships. Relationships are very important.

Spur Conversations

As a business, you have brand values that you consider vital to the image of your company. Why not talk about that more, using every communication channel available to you?

Let’s take gender inclusion as an example. If that’s something very important to your brand, and you talk about it often, you naturally find a place with the right groups, communities, and individuals who share that value. 

You stand for it. Talk about it. 

We just gave you all you need to build a sustainable brand. Start creating value, express your thought leadership, don’t operate solo, get talking about what you stand for, and see your brand come alive.