Rethinking Media Relations

Posting fresh content regularly will help attract potential customers to company Web sites. Yahoo!, Google, MSN News, and other search engines rank new and recently updated Web pages higher in their search results, making it more likely that a user will visit the site. Offering relevant, customer-focused articles will help lure potential customers and keep current customers up-to-date on the latest industry trends and product offerings. But remember, efforts to enlighten customers should be distinctly separate from marketing campaigns.

“Customers know the difference between an approach that’s trying to sell and information designed to educate or help them make decisions,” McKinney says. “That is why people might look to a children’s product company and say, ‘Not only did they sell me a good product at a reasonable price, they also gave me advice on how to use it and additional parenting information.’ It sends the message that you understand me and want to create a customer for life, not just conduct a one-time transaction.”

Thrivent also believes in using public relations techniques to strengthen relationships with another key constituency: its own employees. The company holds monthly “employee discussion forums” where top executives talk with employees about organizational issues, and then open the floor to questions, Skogrand says. Conversing with senior leaders and airing their concerns can lead to improved productivity and morale, and increased retention of key talent, he says.

PR-savvy companies are realizing that successful public relations relationships are about engaging in mutually-beneficial dialogue with a host of stakeholders. “Companies that have been successful over the long run understand they have to participate in their marketplace in more than just a sales or marketing capacity,” Schermer says. “It’s like any neighborhood or community—you have to be visible, you have to volunteer, and you usually have to give to get.”