PR is strategic communication that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their audiences. And although public relations as a formal practice is a century old, it has changed to keep up with the times. So much so that, in some cases, it can feel dizzying to keep up with the changes.

In 2023, PR is all about encouraging engagement and fostering relationships. Modern technologies and platforms like smartphones and social media lend themselves to supporting this type of PR—which, at its core, is about influencing, engaging, and building relationships in a way that shapes and frames the public’s perception of an organization. 

There are a lot of activities that you may already do that accomplish PR goals, and you may do these things without realizing you’re engaging in public relations. Remember, the goals of PR include:

👉 Anticipating and interpreting public attitudes and issues that might have an impact on your business

👉 Protecting your business’s reputation (both reactively through crisis communications and proactively)

👉 Generating awareness by creating content that engages customers and generates leads

👉 Attracting media attention and informing the public about company news

👉 Enhancing your brand reputation

In reality, any activity that accomplishes one of these goals can be considered PR! Here are five examples of things you may already be doing, or that you would like to do, that you should start thinking about strategically, because they’re actually a PR play.

1. IG Lives with Biz Besties

Y’all might feel like an IG Live is just something fun you’re doing together to get some fresh content up on the ‘gram, but when you go live on Instagram with a biz bestie, you’re upping your business’s exposure and gaining credibility in the eyes of a new audience. This is especially true if you’re providing some solid information that appeals to your business bestie’s audience. 

IG Lives are delightfully informal and a great way to share useful information in a very low-pressure environment. You’re not asking people to leave the house to go see you speak at an event, you’re not asking them to sign up for a webinar and put it in their calendar, and you’re not even taking their email address before giving them access to your spiel. IG Lives are a fun way to show up in your feed (and in your business bestie’s feed), while ALSO accomplishing the PR goals of generating awareness, proactively building your reputation, and enhancing your business’s reputation. 

2. Giveaways 

Running a giveaway is a fun and nice thing to do, and you may want to do this for a variety of reasons and with a number of goals in mind. If you’re trying to grow your social media presence, for instance, you might run a giveaway that gets you a bunch of new followers. 

No matter what you intend to achieve by hosting a giveaway, you can be sure that you’re also accomplishing PR goals when you give something away that people want and will enjoy. By giving something away, you’re sending positive mojo out there into your community, and that wins PR points by shaping your audience’s perception of your brand.

3. Podcast Interviews

When you’re a guest on someone else’s podcast, that’s a PR play for sure. Building your individual authority on a topic, exposing yourself and your business to a new audience, and getting your brand name in front of people—whether it’s the first time they’re hearing it or the 70th time—all work in your favor. 

Podcast hosts tend to vet their guests pretty thoroughly; they don’t just invite anyone on, usually. If you make the cut, that means your expertise and your message are something the host believes will be valuable to her audience. Think of your podcast interview as a first impression. It’s not only introducing your brand to people but also crafting your business’s reputation in listeners’ minds. 

4. Attending Conferences or Networking Events

There are a ton of reasons you might want to attend a conference or networking event, and you may not even be thinking about PR. However, you should be. Networking is so important, not only because it broadens your horizons, connects you with new resources, opens doors, and creates a support network but also because it helps build your reputation through awareness and enhance it through personal connection. 

There’s just something magical about putting faces behind brand names. Think about it—if someone likes you, they’ll probably also be more apt to like your brand. They’ll be more likely to tell other people about your brand if they care about you and your success. And those people will be more likely to remember your brand because they heard about it from someone who has a personal connection with you, even if they personally don’t. 

5. Happy Clients 

Your goal should always be to create happy clients. But when you consider how happy clients are also PR, you’ll be extra intent on making sure you’re doing everything you can do to exceed their expectations. In case you’re thinking that we’re just talking about leveraging happy clients as opportunities for success stories or testimonials, we’re not. Success stories and testimonials are great, but you can also turn happy clients into affiliates, essentially incentivizing them to evangelize for you. 

A happy client is perhaps the best salesperson for you and your brand. Their friends would rather hear from them instead of you, because there’s an elevated sense of trust there. Happy clients turned affiliates generate awareness, enhance your brand’s reputation, and help protect your brand’s reputation, too. Say you get a few negative reviews. If you have a bunch of happy clients, it won’t be devastating, because those happy clients will keep evangelizing for you despite the presence of naysayers.

Are you sold? Which of these five things have you already been doing without necessarily thinking about them as PR? We hope that you’ll now start to approach these five activities a little bit more strategically, because they really can (and do) help accomplish key PR goals. 

If you’re ready to take action in your next level of business, book a call with us!