human

Defenders: Age of Respectron — 5 Tips for PR Superheroes

Anyone get the pun?

No?

Oh well. I tried.

Besides coming up with lame attempts to reference this famous movie, everyone should know PR professionals are superheroes.

We face challenges left and right, equipping ourselves with the utmost, state-of-the-art tools when utilizing our unfathomable writing and communicating skills. We take time to draft plans looking for the best strategic approach to defend our world (or, at least, our brand).

However, when we’re faced with “battles” that can tarnish your brand’s reputation, it’s important to remember these five tips:

5 Superhero Tips to Defend Your Brand

  1. Respect Concerns

    It’s important to defend your brand’s views whilst respecting concerns because you want to maintain a positive image. Genuinely listening to concerns and being open to differing opinions is an amazing ability all PR superheroes should have. Simple, positive acknowledgement can go a long way. Your brand becomes reputable in valuing the opinions of other. Respect should be given and when you’re honouring another person, you become respectable.

  2. Protect the Brand’s Vision/Mission/Values

    It’s also important to uphold your brand’s vision, mission and values. These principles are the core of your business and if controversy easily persuades you, then you may want to revisit your beliefs.

    Whether a concern is positive or negative, your brand should align with it’s principles. Of course, if it’s a grave concern and your brand is liable, then it’s probably time to take a step back and re-evaluate your organization.

  3. Listen to Your Stakeholders

    Extremely important. Cannot stress this enough. The #1 rule of PR is to know your audience. Your stakeholders are the driving force of your organization. Without them, where would you be?

    There’s incredible value in listening to your stakeholders and applying their feedback to your organization. You want them to know that you genuinely care about their views. Your goals should always be to build positive relationships, retain trust and gain support.

  4. Be Transparent

    Concerns will arise no matter your level of transparency. However, more concerns will arise due to uncertainty. If you’re not actively communicating with your stakeholders, then you’re on your way to losing their trust.

    People respect integrity and (especially in the age of social media) tend to question organizations more often than before. There’s a plethora of information right at our fingertips. You don’t want to hide valuable information because, in one way or another, the truth will come out.

  5. Don’t Come Off Too Defensive

    Lastly, don’t be that person who needs to defend every single point just to prove they’re right. Sometimes, you’re probably wrong. Coming off as too defensive leaves a negative impression. You don’t want to be seen as rude, stubborn or suspicious.

    Be polite. Acknowledge the person. Formulate key messages, for any sort of concern, prior to responding. Be timely and be sure to address concerns with respect and honesty whilst maintaining a positive brand image.

Every organization is different. There may be differing opinions to this blog post; however, one important takeaway is to be human. Humanize your brand—don’t be a robot. People relate more to genuine traits than traditional “push selling” ways of doing business.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree/disagree? Can you add one more tip?

Are you ready to protect your brand?

PR superheros, UNITE!