BOTOX FOR YOUR BUSINESS

As the new girl on the block I thought it best if we took things back to basics, exploring exactly what public relations is and what it does for businesses. After some fourteen years working in the finance industry it is safe to say there is a lot I still don’t know about PR, but like any good fashion-concious girl, I know all about how to make things look good! If cracks appear PR can help smooth these away, drawing attention to your better features. If things start to slump and sag, PR will help build these back up again - and PR has even been known to turn back the clock should your business need a youthful dose of the “millennials”. Essentially, PR is Botox for your business!

Like any type of surgical enhancement, some still argue that PR is shrouded in secrecy. Despite the profession’s best attempts to quantify it, some people are still flummoxed by the concept and the value it can add, no more so than in the finance industry where everything needs to be measured and analysized, before attributing a value to it. So who are we, and what is it exactly that we do?

We are here to tell a great story. That story can take many shapes and forms; it could be company news in the form of a press release, it could be the story of your brand through website content or it could be the personal story of the many faces that make up your business. It is the voice of your brand that is heard in the public domain and one that carefully balances the postitive against any negative in order to shape debate in a constructive way. It needs to resonate and it needs to be persuasive.

Good PR declares that your firm is the best place to work and achieve success. It is that catchy promotion video that everyone is sharing and talking about. It is that voice at the back of people’s minds that says, “philanthropic structuring? I recall that firm that was doing a lot of this work and making headlines about it.” It’s all about familiarization, and planting that seed in people’s minds, to be realized next week or maybe next year, you never quite know!

Some finance professionals consider PR a lot of fluff and nonsense, and so unnecessary to their flourishing business. They may be growing and achieveing a steady flow of new business but they should also be asking themselves the following:

• What do our staff think of the firm, and are we perceived as a great place to work on the Island?
• Is new business won, the type we were hoping to target and secure?
• How are we viewed in the industry and what does our reputation say about us?

Addressing these questions will see you lay secure foundations for the future of your business and we are here to provide the right answers.

Once considered a cocktail of parties and press releases, the scope of public relations has expanded and continues to evolve in today’s era of digital communication and social media. Today, PR still rests on the power of the written word but also encompasses live streaming video, promoting content on social media and event planning. It’s about standing out from the crowd and standing apart for the right reasons.