media update’s Nakedi Phala reveals how to sharpen your PR tactics with content creation that will have an effective influence on your audience.

PR has quite a number of fundamentals, such as the art of influencing. But, how do brands influence audiences? Who should you try to sway and at which point should you guide consumers towards your offering? Well, it’s safe to say that the tactics used by these practitioners are the key to swaying your consumers to one side or the other.

The big question is: How can brands go about creating influential messages? To answer this question, it's important to take into account PR practitioners' reasons for creating a strategy with a purpose to influence. These reasons include creating a following for their client’s as opposed to leading audiences to competitors or even changing the mindset about a company by changing their reputation for the better.

These are things all brands need to incorporate into their business strategies, and it’s something they can do by utilising PR tactics.

Here’s how your brand can utilise PR methods to influence your audiences:

1. Use the power of social media influencers

The social media space has a number of features to consider if you’re looking to influence your audience about a cause, campaign or brand.

However, the most compelling PR strategy most practitioners go with is to utilise social media influencers. These are people on social media with a high number of followers who are skilled at talking about a brand's products and services in a way that consumers find to be authentic and relatable.

Using an influencer can give your brand a great reach, as their followers will see that their favourite Internet celeb is making use of a particular brand’s offering, which will lead them to also making use of the same products or services.

Essentially, it’s a lot easier to convince consumers to make a purchase when it’s coming from someone they admire or trust.

2. Practice the art of consistency

In order to make an impact on the minds of audiences, PR pros are consistent in their efforts.

This means that, as a brand, you need to be the same with your messaging, as this allows you to earn your audience’s trust over a long period of time. When you’re unchanging in your communication efforts, you’ll see that, in no time, your brand will come across as reliable, which will most definitely increase your audience base.

For example, a brand like Nike has, for a number of years, been consistent in sharing content that promotes diversity. In doing so, consumers who share the brand’s values would buy the brand’s products based on its regular standing in society, its consistency and belief that it has pushed for many years.

Repeat your message, stick to what works and give your audience time to learn and understand what your brand is all about, its position and vision.



3. Play a social responsibility role

The public thinks highly of the work brands do without seeking for anything in return, such as playing a socially responsible role. This can include anything from donations, aiding a course to sponsoring events.

Having a CSI or CSR initiative in place will allow your audience to see that your brand is keen to do good for the community, meaning you’ll be known as the company that is helpful and responsible, as well willing to help with issues that are affecting people that don’t have the capacity to help themselves.

It should go without saying that consumers are keen to engage with brands that do good in the world, and this type of PR can especially come in handy when your business is going through a crisis.

Intensifying your social responsibility efforts after a crisis is a great way to help change the negative perceptions certain consumers have of you. And, it can certainly fast track the restoration of your brand’s image.

For example, if your client is a mining company and it just so happens that your fumes have harmed the health of a particular community, people are bound to get angry. In order to restore faith in your brand, you can then educate others about the dangers of the fumes, and even offer health screenings or switch to the use of environmentally-friendly chemicals, which can help change the minds of residents about the brand.

Additionally, it never hurts to apologise for the inconvenience that the company caused and you could even offer to help out the people in the community who were affected by this problem.

4. Improve industry knowledge

PR pros have to constantly keep up with trends and updates occurring within their industry, and your brand would do well to steal this tactic and make it your own.

Learning about changes in your industry will help you to stay in the loop, allowing you to become equipped with the knowledge of how the game is played in your brand’s space.

When you have vast knowledge about something, increase the pace of learning to transform into an industry expert. Once you reach this level, you’ll know exactly who’s who, meaning you’ll be able to associate yourself with the right brands, which will improve your relationships with key players in your industry as well as their audiences.

When consumers perceive you as a specialist or expert in something, they’ll be a lot more likely to purchase your offerings as they’ll find your brand to be more trustworthy and reliable. And we all know that this builds loyal consumers that continue to go back to your brand and also spread the good word.

In order to capture an audience, you need to influence them first by creating reciprocatory strategies. What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments section below.

Weshu... oratile ditaba tjarena akere na? Refe maikutlo agago.

For your campaign to be excellent and achieve success, you need to put in that little bit of extra effort to get the results that you desire. With that in mind, here are Four things that make up an excellent PR campaign.