Ask around in any industry, and most professionals will affirm that relationships are key to success. This is especially true when enhancing your public relations, marketing or strategic communications strategy. In today’s world, PR is integrated, which creates countless opportunities to cultivate important relationships, both internally and externally.
Below are four relationship categories that, if intentionally developed, could strengthen your public relations and presence across the board. While this list is not exhaustive, it lays a groundwork for maintaining the relational aspect of public relations.
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- Internal: Your internal audience (i.e. staff, volunteers, board members) are your primary brand ambassadors. As ambassadors, it’s important that they maintain a positive attitude about your organization. Cultivating internal relations is key to achieving such success. I discuss this more in depth in my book PR That PRopels: A Proactive Guide to Building Winning Public Relations Strategies.
- Media / Social Media Influencers: Get to know the media and social media movers and shakers in your field and give them an opportunity to get to you know—with no strings attached.
- Community: There are multiple ways to develop relationships in the community. The first step is simple: show up. Meet with the leader of the community organization you’ve been following to see if there’s a volunteer or sponsorship opportunity. Share your experience or expertise as a speaker. Or, simply attend the event to meet other community members. Make your presence and community concern known to expand your network of community partners.
- Competitors: Wait, did you say competitors? Yes. There’s more than enough work to go around, and it’s a good practice to retain cordial relationships with competitors. This can result in teaming or referral opportunities that create win-win experiences in the future. Here’s the catch: this will only happen where relationships exist!
Nayita Wilson is President & CEO of NVisions Communications & Consulting, a vision driven public relations firm headquartered in Louisiana that specializes in media relations, messaging, strategic communications, talent management and brand positioning. She is also the author of PR That PRopels: A Strategic Guide to Winning Public Relations Strategies and can be reached at Nayita@NVisionsCommunications.com.
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