The public perception of your brand is dependent on how you communicate with your audience.
On normal days when operations are business as usual, how are you perceived? During troubling times like the year 2020, how has your brand been perceived?

Perhaps now is the time to change public perception about you from negative to positive. Some of the brands highlighted below went beyond being everyday brands to human brands. They empathized with people and not only did this act change perception about them, but it also skyrocketed their sales.

The past few days have seen Nigerian youths stand up to protest police brutality in the country. The protest gained global momentum, becoming the center of discussion in many places.

In the middle of this, Chicken Republic chose to support the protest in a unique way. Unusual as it seems, the restaurant decided to share food with protesters in Lagos. For hours on the day, Chicken Republic was at the top of social media trends, with millions of Nigerians pledging their support to the brand.

Flutterwave also got a resounding applaud for leading the fund-raising campaign to support the protest. The impact of this was felt when the CBN summoned the Fintech, only to fuel the fire of a fresh protest.

This doesn’t say your business has to financially support social causes to be heard. In little ways that you can, the most important thing is to not be silent.

Be human, it goes a long way.

According to a recent study by The Manifest, 96% of social media users engage with brands from time to time, which goes to reinstate how valuable this pool of audience could be for your business.

But it’s easy to assume that, unless you’re one of the big players, you really can’t stand tall within your market. That’s especially true of SMEs, whose marketing scopes are usually limited by budget constraints. 

Does that mean you should consider social media as a less important part of your business, and marketing strategy? Not at all. In fact, social media is where you can stand head-to-head with supposedly big brands. 

Armed with the right strategy, you could make a competitive brand of your business in no time, using social media as the driving force.

In this article, I’ll discuss six simple ideas you can apply now to give your brand some competitive advantage in your industry. 

Content is Everything

This goes without saying. If you’re doing anything on social media, make sure quality content is a part of that. And by quality, I mean content that is relatable and engaging to your audience. 

If you were to be your customer, what would you like to see coming from your social media platforms? So, you’ve got to be deliberate about this, and ensure your content has a place in their minds.

Choose what Platform Works for You

It’s basically unrealistic to expect yourself to be present on every social media channel. Neil Patel mentioned that understanding your audience is very key to this decision. 

Take the time to research who they are – their challenges, their lifestyles, etc. That’s mainly to help you determine what social media platform flows with their persona. For example, the highly professional spend a bulk of their time on LinkedIn, while curious conversationalists are right there on Twitter. 

Don’t Leave Negativities to Thrive

How responsive you are to negative reviews and customer complaints determine your brand positioning in many ways. 

If you allow negative representations of your brand to linger, unattended to, it erodes public trust, which puts you at a disadvantage against the competition. And when you resolve issues, make that public as well.

Automate as Much as Possible

One very vital reason why you should automate your content sharing on social media is to give you enough time to do other important things on social profiles. Think of the need to engage with other content, and respond to customer queries, and actually work on your business. 

Whether you’re handling that yourself or you hire someone, resist the urge to come to social media to post every day.

Keep an Eye Out for Best Practices

It’s also important to stay the cutting-edge of using social media for business. Competitors and learning resources could be helpful guides for you, to enable you to remain competitive day in, day out.

It helps to have a schedule to read blogs, listen to podcasts, or check industry reports, basically to sharpen your skills and the knowledge of the audience. Social Media Today and Social Media Examiner are some very helpful blogs for social media, and marketing voices such as Neil Patel also have periodical podcasts.

Invest in Social Ads

There’s only so much you can do organically. The reach is always limited, and you may wait endlessly to get customers, without any ads. 

So, have a plan for social media ads, on any platform you’re using. Facebook (and Instagram) offers the cheapest advertising options though, but anywhere your audience spends their time, don’t hold back on advertising.

In Conclusion: Play the Big Boys’ Game

I understand that you run an SME, but one undeniable fact that you’re pulling the same audience as bigger companies. And the best way to win at such a game is to play like you’re also a big player.

The ideas I’ve highlighted above are what your supposedly bigger competitors do every now and then. So, you should do the same, and see their results trickling in for you as well.

Has any of these ideas helped you in the past? Share your thoughts in the comments

And if you need help getting a perfect social media direction for your business, our team would be excited to help. You can talk to us here.

In a recent report by Oberlo, about 71% of online buyers base their purchase decisions on their relationship with a brand on social media. This just means, the more brand loyalty you can pull online, the more results you can expect in sales. It’s a direct relationship.

“I already use social media, and we post every day” – that still doesn’t equate automatic brand loyalty. So, let’s start with understanding what that even implies.

Brand loyalty is when a customer prefers to do business with your company, not because you’re the only option, but because they trust your brand, and feel comfortable relating with you. That’s one thing you can’t just wish to happen.

In fact, if you’re not deliberate about creating brand loyalty, you won’t get it. It just doesn’t happen on its own.

Remember that waitress acting awkwardly the last time you were at yours? Would you like to be his friend? It’s a no, neither would most people there.

It’s left to you to determine how others see your company, and social media can help you influence that in a lot of ways. So, how exactly do you create brand loyalty (or make friends, if you’d prefer that) with social media?

• Come to Help

Apparently, you know your audience. Now, ask this question, in what ways can you make their life easier, without selling out, and while staying in your business direction? 

You would have seen how some banks are constantly providing ideas to keep your account safe from fraudsters. Do you offer services? Get the audience to ask you questions about their challenges. Talk about things that matter to them.

This was a 2016 report, and the need to be there for customers on social media has continued to expand. Create that impression that you value their wellbeing and success, as much as you do their money. 

• Engage

Now, your company will be living in a silo if the only thing your team does on social media is just to share content, and that’s all. How about engagement?

It’s actually better even if you don’t share content, but engage with others, if you have to choose one. The second has more value to offer your business when it comes to brand loyalty.

No one wants to do business with a company that just isn’t responsive. You personally won’t. But it’s actually something most businesses do on social media. Perhaps we can blame that on unproductive staffing.

Having a plan to engage will naturally shape the direction of your content, giving you endless opportunities to start interesting, immersive conversations.

• Stay Real

So, while doing all of these, one thing that trumps your brand loyalty strategy is to appear as real as possible. It’s easy to get mechanical in the middle of endless social media designs and overly pro approach to content.

Show the humans behind your brand. Tell your story as often as possible. Think of how much you know about what goes on behind the corporate walls of global companies, like Google.

That’s also where public relations comes in. Be deliberate about creating stories and realities that present your brand as a lovable, responsible one. If you’re wondering how to go about that, find out how our team can help.

• Don’t Forget to Sell 

By all means, you should be relatable in your approach to social media. But that doesn’t mean you should put selling on the back seat. Talk frequently about what you sell. That’s the only way money comes in, isn’t it?

The whole purpose of having engaging content on social media, helping your audience in ways you can, and doing a couple of other things to earn brand loyalty – is to break the barriers to sale. 

When was the last time you bought a product the first time you knew about it? That likely hasn’t happened, ever. It’s the case with most other people. They want a relationship first, no matter how little, before they convert. 

I’ve heard people talk about social selling like the Forbidden City. That’s just some religious ideas that don’t add to your bottom line. In fact, customers even become more loyal when they can solve their problems, using the solutions you provide.

Go Build that Loyal Audience

Social media could do a lot for your company when it comes to brand loyalty, and if approached the right way. The value is just too much to ignore.

Want to build a brand people want to be associated with, with social media? You’ve got the strategies to fly with.

Are you using one of these strategies already? How has it worked out? Tell us about that in the comments.

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. 

You should begin to own your voice on social media from the first word. 

“If you communicate you can get by,  but

if you communicate skillfully, you can work miracles”

– Jim Rohn

As a brand, if getting by is your goal then it is fine to continue without having a social media voice but if not, you need to find and own your brand’s tone.

Why is owning my social media voice important to a business?

For businesses, it has since become important not just to have a presence online but more importantly to have a voice and be able to own that voice. Is it safe to conclude that you must know why it is important that your business is on social media?

If you don’t know, it’s not too late to hop on this train so I suggest you read our other post on why your business should be on social media.

Here is an outline of a few steps to take in ensuring that you own your voice on social media. 

• Determine Your Tone. 

If you say the same joke as a comedian, will laugh the same way they’d laugh at the comedians’ jokes? Well, maybe not! 

Cos you don’t sound like a comedian. 

Safe to say, you don’t have the tone of voice!

You have to decide what kind of voice you want to project on social media and stay true to it. There are hundreds of options to choose from, ranging from happy, sarcastic, adventurous, bold, cool, creative, eccentric, friendly, fun, vintage, urban, etc, you can choose any adjective you want.

• Write the way you talk

It suddenly feels lighter when you do not have to send an email or write a formal letter right? That’s because it is easier to say it than to write it.

However, this should not be the case, you should write like you talk not like a robot or like you are writing an email. 

For instance, after a conversation with someone would you say “best regards”?, That will sound awkward right? So you’d rather say “see you” or “talk later”. The same applies to social media, avoid talking in a mechanical tone like an automated response.

People already have to inconveniently interact with machines, what you don’t want to do is add your social media platform as one of their ever-growing sources of discomfort.

• Think like the reader

Don’t just try to wear the shoes of the reader walk in them. Genuinely ask yourself, if you were a part of the audience you are talking to would you be interested in the industry jargon, would you like your own tone of voice?

If that answer is no then your audience is probably not interested too. What is the point of talking if nobody is interested in listening?

If your brand would want to come across as a ‘we-like-to-groove’, apart from the ‘hardcore’ values like ‘excellence’, ‘promptness’, ‘value-adding’, fun is part of who they are.

So it will not come as a surprise when you visit their social media pages and you feel it is fun.

Take the week! Audit your brand tone on social media!

So much data can be gotten from social media as we have recently seen and marketers and key decision-makers in businesses now depend on social media for business exposure, traffic, and market insights.

Businesses have been propelled toward being involved in social media and your business should be there too if it’s not yet there. You should be attracted to any channels or arenas that large swaths of your consumers gravitate to.

Social media has changed the way we live our lives. From the way we get our news to the way we interact with brands and products or even socialize. Social media is everywhere. It’s unavoidable, it’s powerful, and it’s no wonder 8% of all companies  are now marketing on social media.

Consider these 3 reasons and make up your mind to take your business to the next level using social media.

– You have the largest market ever!

Remember when we said there are about 3.2 billion people on social media, well, Facebook alone has about 2.3 billion of that number subscribed on their network. Do you know what this means for your business? I think you should do the math if only 1% of those people were to buy from you.

Facebook was the first-ever social network to surpass the one billion active user mark, reaching this milestone in the third quarter of 2012 and it remains the most actively used.

You shouldn’t just be thinking Facebook alone, there are other platforms that can provide the visibility and drive traffic and sales for your business.

– Generate Leads and Make sales

No matter what you sell, social media can help you sell it and fast!

Social Media Examiner’s annual global survey of social media use by small businesses reported, 90% “increased exposure” as the top benefit of using social tools and lead generation at (65%).

Each time an individual interacts with your brand on social media, overall awareness of your brand is increased. If a customer likes your Facebook page or one of your posts, friends and followers of that person will see that engagement, followers of your brand may see that engagement and overall awareness of your brand increases.

These are leads, potential customers that can further be converted into customers and brand evangelists. This conversion largely depends on your sales funnel.

-73% of consumers are likely to buy from a brand that responds to them on social media

 According to a research by Hubspot, brands who are on social media and take the time to care and respond to questions and comments by consumers on social media will reap the benefits.

When people search for your brand, they want to connect and communicate with you. Are you communicating with them?

Imagine chatting with your Bank A on Facebook and no one responds. What comes to your mind?

Yeah, we know, you are not happy and you might lash out at them. Then someone comments a suggestion to try Bank B. You give it a try and they respond promptly and courteously, addressing your inquiries and solving your problems. Do you go back to Bank A, I bet not, and you even dissuade others from banking with them.

Likes, comments, reshares, retweets, are all magnets that attract people to you on social media.

Really, we can go on and on about the effect of social media for your business but at this point, we want you to pause and ask yourself what you will do with this information.

Do you think there is more value social media can add to your business? Do you want to join the other businesses on social media who are already reaping its enormous benefits to grow your business? If no, then it is fine (we’d advise that you say yes) but if yes stick around to read our other blog post on how to harness social media for business.

According to Mr Okafor, who spoke at the Pre-fair press briefing held in Lagos recently said the commerce sector is now more technology-driven than ever and the business-enabling platform is set to use the fair to bridge the gap to aid access to required skills and partnerships for SMEs in the country, Africa and the rest of the world.

Chief Executive Officer, Connect Nigeria, Emeka Okafor, explained that amongst other things lacking, access to funding poses a threat to the growth of the SMEs sector as well as operators’ unfamiliarity of socio and technology know-how to grow businesses in today’s tech-driven world.

The fair, which held recently at the Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos, featured dedicated masterclasses facilitated by pioneers in various industries, with hundreds of businesses exhibiting their products and services. Mentorship opportunities by leaders in various sectors of the economy was also made available that was taken advantage of by small business owners.The 2019 edition of Connect Nigeria’s Business Fair themed GROW GLOBAL, had in attendance, key players in the economic, social and technology sectors and keynote speeches were delivered, as well as an interactive panel session. Some of the key speakers were Co-Founder, So Fresh limited, Mrs Abimbola Balogun; Chief Executive Officer, Farm crowd limited, Mr Onyeka Akumah; Co-Founder, Platform NG, Mrs Uju Obuekwe; Managing Director, SB Telecoms, Mr Afolabi Abiodun, and General Manager, Win-Win Kitchen Limited, Mrs Florence Opawoye among others.

Despite government responsibility in this regard, Connect Nigeria has decided to grab the bull by the horns and chart the course for businesses to excel in Nigeria. We are in awe of the good work that Connect Nigeria does to grow our economy and we are hopeful for other innovations they will unveil later in the year.

There’s no guarantee that a PR campaign will produce the desired results, and the costs can be quite high. Yet, a successful campaign can help you expand your business in ways you never could on your own.

But you damned the consequences anyway; you’ve long since been engaging with a PR firm, but you somehow no longer feel up to it? Here is how to know when you’ve had enough, and quit right over.

Or perhaps you are considering engaging a PR firm soon…

Wait! Look out for these 5 red flags before you sign on the dotted line:

They can’t demonstrate real results

Choosing a PR firm is like choosing a wedding planner. You want your campaign to be a memorable success, you want the agency to represent you in a way that fits your character and style and most importantly, you want to be the undeniable star of the show.

If you are a tech startup you want to hire a firm which has experience working with startups, understands the ecosystem, the way that startups work and who also has extensive media reach of startup audiences.

If you are an accounting firm, you want to hire a firm who has extensive knowledge of accounting as a profession and which employs writers who are able to express themselves clearly using the jargon and technical language used within your industry.

It’s not just about choosing the most affordable option.

But if you’ve just began speaking with a DIY (Do it yourself) PR agency with no previous nor current clients, has vague or next to no ideas for your upcoming campaign or what communications they suggest would be most suitable for your announcement; and doesn’t offer a structured onboarding process before any payment is made, then, keep on walking.

Before choosing a PR firm, it’s important to look at their current and previous clients, and be sure that they have worked with companies in the same industry as yours.

Any respectable firm should be able to produce examples of successful campaigns for clients from a range of industries, and then offer a strategy based on previous results that will work for your specific case.

The firm is not transparent with you

Bad practices have led to PR being tarred as a profession full of “fluff and flair” where information is misrepresented and every company is the “best” and “the most innovative” in their field.

For this reason, you should write off any company which guarantees results on leading publications, and offers to promote any announcement you have regardless of whether it is newsworthy or not.

If you’re currently engaged with a “Yes man” PR agency that is ready to mold together a narrative that will excite the press or impress the audience, even at the expense of truth and PR ethics; then such agency can’t just be trusted. On to the next!

The new school of PR professionals agree that the three “Ts” of a great PR experience are Truth, Trust and Transparency. A company should be willing to maintain a level of transparency with you, from start to finish.

They should also keep you up to date with the process of your campaign, and allow you to edit/review pieces of work, which they aim to pitch to the public.

Remember, they are publicizing your company, your product or service and most importantly your aims and values, so you should be made an integral part of the process itself.

They are proposing marriage without dating you first

You are engaged with a PR agency that has put you on a 9 months retainer or more with them, from the word Go, without you assessing their services first. So, you are expected to pay up to nine months up front for their services, on top of on-boarding fees and expensive monthly rates.

Some PR firms will put you on retainer, requiring an upfront payment so they will be available to offer their services as needed. But you want the option of getting out of such an arrangement.

Usually, a review after three months is ideal; if they are not delivering after 90 days, you know whether it’s going to work or not.

The only way to truly test the value and expertise of a PR firm is by trying them out, and you don’t want to be stuck paying for another four to five months if your first cycle goes awry.

This is not to say that you should change firms immediately you don’t yield a million sales on your first cycle. But, at the end of the day, if the firm’s process doesn’t click, fails to communicate efficiently; or poorly portrays your values and vision, it’s always good to have an escape chute to call it a day early on in the process.

However you should note that a full cycle PR campaign can take anything from six to eight weeks in total, so don’t throw in the towel if your phone isn’t ringing off the hook in the first week.

You don’t feel like you’re in love anymore

If you’re currently engaging an agency and you just don’t feel connected; maybe because there are some grey areas in your contract with them, or you don’t know exactly what their services are worth, you don’t feel they’re competent for their engagement with you; or something is just off the hook.

Then, you may need to audit that relationship. Check more on how to dress for your first date-night with your PR firm

It is important that you like the team you’re hiring. Of course it is important that they are qualified and will do a great job, but it is equally important that you like the PR firm, and want to work with them.

It’s really no different from hiring people to work within your own internal team, you want to be excited to work with them every day!

They don’t know how to make things work

Whether it’s traditional media placements or online promotions, your PR firm needs to know precisely which media platforms would engage your target demographic most effectively. You also want a firm that has experience with both old and new media if you plan a variety of campaigns.

But right now, if you are currently engaged with an agency that is completely clueless about what media platforms to engage your audience on; keeps coming back to you for ideas on how you think they should run your promotions; is not open to you about the specific strategies they are planning on deploying for your publicity; and if you altogether just feel like something is not right; then you really need to use the door.

What Now?

Be sure to engage with a PR firm that has got you covered.

The choice of engaging a PR agency for your business, can potentially make or mar your business efforts. So, you want to be sure to do it well.

By “well” meaning, having the right agency, for the right reasons, with goals set to deliver a positive impact.

If you’re currently experiencing the above deal breakers in your relationship with a PR firm, and you’re looking to change agencies; you should begin to Rethink your Engagement here

“No. You are the founder of your brand;

Its greatest ambassador, its most eloquent evangelist.

Why entrust your baby’s reputation to someone external,

When your own channels and networks, may well be sufficient to getting the word out?’’

Or, so you think.

Here is the true story:

Great communications can be the difference between the rapid acquisition of customers and eventual fast growth, or the slow death of a business idea as it is perked to extinction by more agile competition.

Great communications can help your business establish itself as a top player in your sector, and place your products and services in the trend-setting position you think they deserve.

Then, hiring a PR agency that’d ensure this communication for your brand, will be well worth it.

So, here are the 4 actual reasons to use a PR agency:

1. You Need to Tell Your Brand Story and Build a Go-to Pitch

Your company’s brand story should address the problem that you’re aiming to solve, and explaining why it matters. It should include where the idea first came from too. If your business is selling a wristband that predicts when seizures may occur because the founder’s spouse is epileptic, you’ll want to talk about that.

Pull on some heartstrings. Expose the problem or opportunity for an improved life that your audience may not realize, it needed.

Now if you don’t already have this, you need it, and PR agencies can be helpful in identifying and building a captivating brand story.

2. Helping You Identify the Hooks within Your Core Story

Startups tend to know they’re doing something worth caring about, or else they wouldn’t care about it themselves. This thinking often leads to the assumption that it’s obvious to potential customers why they should care, too.

But sadly, it’s a no. Customers don’t always understand at the flash of the lightning, that way

PR firms can help in teasing out the “hook” of your company’s story.

Great PR agencies can help your startup move from “We know we’re amazing,” to “This is why people should care that we’re here.”

3. Opening the Door for Beneficial Connections

Your own networks and channels should form the foundation of a community around your business. But when that network reaches its capacity to deliver your business needs:  customer acquisition, finding talent, differentiating yourself in a noisy marketplace; the right agency is then the answer.

What you are buying is a network of quality relationships in a sector that extends beyond your own, and strategic expertise on how to make the most of them.

A good communications agency is a brokerage between your brand and the media.

It understands the needs of the online audience as well as knows your objectives towards them. The PR agency’s job is then, to spend its time working out how to bring the needs and objectives together, in lucrative ways that is beneficial to both parties.

A great PR agency can offer a suite of services including media relations, social strategy, content strategy and engagement – often described as ‘below the line’ marketing, or earned media.

Broadly, it’s about getting influence and recommendation for your brand, from a respected third party: in the news, on the web, from the podium at an event…

The alternative is paid media, ‘above the line’ marketing which is traditional advertising: in-person pitches, outdoor, etc.

And your business may well need a mix of both.

4. Writing on Your Behalf

For stellar writing that will capture your brand’s voice, a dependable PR agency with copywriting services is going to be a way better (and much less expensive) ongoing option.

The growth of your brand can very well be accelerated through marketing and compelling content.

And getting a PR agency to do justice to this, shouldn’t be negotiated.

Sounds good? What’s next?

Rethink your engagement with Phyllion.

Corporate Relations is at the very core of our business. We help you identify your communication objectives, stratify your audiences, and together we determine the best way to speak directly to them, the way they want to hear from you.

We invite you to explore more about our services. See what we do best HERE.

Thanks for stopping by! If you were inspired by this post, you can let us know in the comments section.

You have unlimited access to advertising your business content to everyone in the world – at little/no cost, at the same time.

But here is a plot twist to the story:

“The average person is exposed to about 4,000 ads a day”, says Walker-Smith, an advertisement creation expert in the USA. Let us explain.

The popular ones we can imagine: Facebook ads, Instagram posts, Twitter notifications, Pop-up advertisements on the side of mobile screens/laptops, Email newsletters from organizations (unsolicited), Advertisement series at the cinemas, malls, and public shopping plazas…

And any other one you can think of: Posters on public buses and transport system, Bill boards on major roads during commute, Stickers on tricycles, motorbikes and inter-community transport systems, Advertisement on the radio/television stations, Logo showcase on T-shirts, bags, vehicles, etc.

What’s more? Several other business owners are parting with Millions of Naira/Dollars to keep your target customer, engaged 24/7 online.

Organizations are spending a big chunk of their financial budget yearly, on advertisement and marketing.

So? Your target customer online is busy, distracted, and bombarded with series of other marketing information – at the same time. How can anyone remember an ad they saw 25 minutes ago, when they have seen 56 more marketing campaigns afterwards?

Well, except such ad is personal (relevant to the viewer), creative, engaging, informative, or humorous.

The competition is stiff – but approachable.

How? By creating a compelling marketing campaign.

The clue is to stand out of the competition, and stand tall among the crowd. You do this by adopting a creative, intellectually-stimulating, humorous, out-of-the-box, daring marketing campaign.

Below is an advertisement material that looks just like what we’re describing up there. Then, we will go ahead to let you know why we love this marketing campaign!

In your first 17 seconds of watching this 00:39 seconds pieced ad, what point did you think they were trying to make?

To be honest – I didn’t know too.

So, why did I watch it to the end? I wanted to find out!

Three Reasons why we love this marketing campaign; and the 3 Reasons that can make yours a difference:

1. It is Personal & Engaging: In one word – appealing ad. The marketing content could make the viewers relate to it on a personal level. It wasn’t some robotic movements in space trying to figure out if living elements existed in Mars. No, the marketing content was simple, personal, and hinged on curiosity to get viewers to watch it to the end.
2. It is Out-of-the-Box: One word: creative ad. Yes, toilet rolls are made from papers; and the marketing content communicated this in the most humorous of ways. More so, the ad ends on a great note: “Paper has a great future.” Nobody probably saw that coming – the relationship between the showcase of series of Papers in a home, and the advertisement of a toilet paper. How well do you know your product/service, to get creative about its marketing content?
3. It is Daring: One word: daring ad. How in this tech-driven world could anyone have the guts to downplay the value of “technology” in an advertisement? Like, who would listen to such ad? Who would believe it?? Well, this marketing material that we love, went all the way out to break the ice. How they could convince us that ‘technology has limitations’ and take us to the realm of “Paper has a great future”, was funny, interesting, and creative!

Do you want to stay on your target market’s mind long enough?

How compelling is your marketing campaign?

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For us at Phyllion, we believe that a good publicity is one that is strategic and planned to achieve projected results, and it does. We help our clients generate the right messages to the right target market, through effective media engagement, using the right channels.

With in-depth understanding of who your target audiences are, what they care about and are willing to pay attention to, we create content for your organization that ensures exciting returns from your marketing campaigns.

You can trust us to create a worthy experience as you enjoy the spotlight. See what we do best here