Storytelling will set the right tone and act as an effective medium to send out the brand message
Komal Lath, Founder, Tute Consult (a Mar-com consultancy)
Storytelling:
The role of public relations has been to drive the brand image and during this unprecedented time, its importance has increased to help brands steer through the challenging pandemic situation. There has been a change in the consumer buying behaviour and effective storytelling will ensure to navigate through that specific challenge by building a strong brand narrative to draw the audience in, get the brand message across and to create a positive perception. The consumers want are eager to hear from brands and know what they are doing towards society, employees and the solutions brands offer tailored to them. Storytelling will set the right tone and act as an effective medium to send out the brand message.
Media agnostic approach:
There have been several complications in the media planning processes, right from print to television and now digital. Brands need to understand their main objective and set their goals accordingly. This will enable them to invest appropriately in the media mix. Though the digital media has a vast landscape with a highly scattered readership base, other mediums too have audience-consuming content on these platforms. Content consumption is not limited to one particular media and their buying behaviour is different from one another. In order to reach out to all potential audiences and increase brand equity in the long term, it is essential to strategically convey the brand message across these mediums.
Data dashboards in PR:
Data dashboards enable in estimating the success of any PR activity on brand awareness and reputation. With the increase in the amount of data both online and offline, it is very difficult to calculate or measure the success of any activity on a real time basis. Dashboards will guide us in understanding the trend and help build strategies to optimize future opportunities. The data dashboards will give you a real time analysis of your brand activity, learn your competitor’s position, learn who covers a topic in the media and track important conversations happening in the media within your industry. It not only helps in providing the reach of the activity but also enables you to connect to the various key factors associated with your brand and help strategize your content across mediums.
Influencers, video-commerce and social commerce techniques
Social media’s growth is gradually leading social and video commerce in playing a vital role in online shopping. Consumers are learning about brands & products through social media and make it easy for them to buy from these channels directly. The less number of procedures will ensure more conversions and drive sales when the consumers are more engaged in the content. With the right influencers and easy buying processes, brands can yield maximum ROI and boost their sales. In the future integrating social and video commerce with social media strategies will ensure more engagement and capitalize on the new buying behaviour.
Leaner teams and global teams for PR and Integrated comms
Since the world around us is changing fast, we believe it is important to adapt to the new norms which means adapting to new ways of working. It will be necessary to map the processes and the workflow of your organisation. As there has been a shift in the communications field, adapting and making changes in the new work environment will ensure better functioning and result in creating more value for your clients and stakeholders. Assembling a leaner but diverse team of professionals from different areas and different field expertise will help in solving problems and executing plans quicker. Connecting with team members across the globe will be easier through technology and enable them to connect with each other on a real-time basis. Also, to adapt to these changes it is important to train the team and promote a learning culture within the organisation.
