Tips On Establishing An Effective Community Relations Campaign
Community relations is a crucial component of your PR strategy. By doing positive things for your community and those who support your business, you create rapport and trust with your customer while also improving the public’s perception of your business. Today, we present a few tips on how to position yourself and your business to create a community relations campaign that will help set you apart.
Hire a professional.
Most large companies and major corporations have an entire team of community relations consultants at their beck and call. As one of the leading PR firms in Raleigh, McKeeman Communications will sit with you to discuss your needs and budget to ensure that your outreach efforts align with your goals, are set up for success, and, of course, make the most impact.
Review your company’s values.
If you have not assessed your mission statement lately, now’s a great time to do so. Work with your public relations team to ensure that your community relations activities align with your company’s core values.
Set clear and attainable goals.
All goals relating to your business should follow the SMART methodology. This means they are smart, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. Be selective about your community outreach activities, and start small so that you can best measure the impact on your budget and give your employees an attainable goal they can reach.
Partner with other companies or participate in already-established events.
One approach that many PR firms utilize as part of their clients’ respective community relations strategies is to create business partnerships to expand both resources and reach. By collaborating with complementary businesses or bringing your product/service to an already-established local event, you can support one another while you each support your community. As an added benefit, this can grow into a reciprocal relationship that brings each company new business and brand halo within that community.
Get your employees involved.
Your employees are not only the backbone of your business, they are also an often untapped cache of information and insight. Ask them which community projects they are most passionate about or that they believe your business is best suited to handle.
Choose your first project.
There are so many ways to give back to your community, but you cannot begin with all of them. Most PR firms in Raleigh will suggest creating your first campaign based on those company values that you’ve recently reevaluated. They will then help you create a timeline, budget, and project tracker to ensure your event or activity goes smoothly from start to finish.
Finally, remember that your community relations projects should not be built around helping your company. Instead, your outreach efforts should benefit the community. You may not see an immediate return on your community relations investment, but trust that the first campaign sets the gears turning toward helping you run a better “people first” business.
McKeeman Communications is known throughout Raleigh and Charlotte, NC as one of the most dedicated PR firms in the area. If you are looking for a new public relations partner, contact us today for your free 60-minute consultation.