Business tips: How can PR help me to stay ahead of the competition?

More than ever before, the hair and beauty industry is now fiercely competitive. Wherever you look – TV, magazines, social media channels – consumers are bombarded with stunning, cleverly-planned visuals and text, as well as endorsements from celebrities and influencers, trying to persuade them to choose one brand over its rivals. But it takes more than one celebrity nod or clever advert to really convince today’s media-savvy shoppers that a brand is a must-have or the next best thing –and this is where PR, if used expertly, can help. A fantastic PR strategy starts with an in-depth understanding of your brand and before putting together a detailed plan, your chosen PR professional(s) should be completely knowledgeable on aspects such as the brand’s USPs, the ethos behind the brand, the PR budget available, the target demographic and, crucially, your brand ambitions – both short and long-term. Once they understand this, they can begin to explore the different possibilities for your business and devise a personalised strategy that will engage and excite you – after all, if it doesn’t engage and excite you, how can you possibly expect it to engage and excite the people you are trying to reach? In today’s marketplace, individuality is vital and a great plan will ensure you stand out from your rivals. A one-size-fits-all plan, where the same tried and tested PR activities are rehashed, may not bring your brand the kind of attention you want, so it is very important that your plan is full of fresh ideas. This means that your plan should be flexible – not set in stone. A good PR team will have no problem amending a plan of action to avail of terrific opportunities that may arise and enhance awareness of your brand and propel it to the next level. For instance, an opportunity arose for one of my clients to be involved in a global event and I jumped at the chance as I knew it would be an unprecedented opportunity for the brand. This meant that I had to cast aside all the activities I had planned for two months and embark on putting together a new framework to capitalise fully on this brilliant opportunity. When it comes to choosing a PR agency, again the idea of relationships should be pivotal. It is very important that your PR team takes a vested interest in your brand, that they view your brand as their own and that they are passionate about it. This will ensure that you can completely trust them with your brand’s reputation and be sure that they will always put the best interests and needs of your brand first. For instance, be wary of an agency who agrees to take you on as a client if they already have signed one of your competitors. How could they possibly passionately push you to media and influencers if they are also endorsing one of your rivals? Your chosen PR should also have brilliant relationships with a wide range of media, bloggers and influencers that are relevant to your industry. They should have a strong reputation as the “go-to” PR person if the media need urgent assistance on a feature, with a very tight deadline, even if it is out of office hours. If you speak to the media, surprisingly there is only a handful of PRs in the whole of the Middle East who actually fulfil this criteria. By employing such a PR team, it will put you firmly on the radar of media who can shine a spotlight on your brand by giving brilliant editorial coverage.

Maria Stapleton is managing director at CARA PR (www.cara-pr.com).

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