Meghan VanSpriell, our Managing Director for North America, recently sat down with Rich Williams, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Witz Communications to discuss how clients can get the most out of their investment in PR and this blog article outlines the key takeaways from that conversation with Rich.

Making an impact with PR isn’t as simple as issuing a press release and hoping everyone is watching. Making an impact requires interaction and engagement with a wide range of people, including journalists, partners, influencers, analysts and many others. To do this effectively, you must start by building the story and then follow through.

A company’s story is about much more than what it makes. It’s also about the team in place, their experience and approach to solving the problems faced by their customers and prospects. Chances are, your company competes in a crowded marketplace. This means you need to elevate your share of voice so that you’re heard when your company does have news.

To elevate your share of voice, consider these three best practices:

1. Make sure that the platforms you leverage have your customers and prospects as an audience.
2. Plan for your products and services to be placed in a narrative that fits what your customers need and are framed in conversation that focuses on what they are trying to do or problems that they are trying to solve.
3. Make sure that your brand, and the people that support it, are trusted, credible and viewed as experts.

How is this done? The truth is there is no magic wand to wave. It takes work and, in our experience, an integrated strategy that includes industry and local awards, expressing a unique point of view, showcasing domain expertise, and showing that your customers can trust that your company’s products, services and team that can be relied on to help move their business forward.

The added benefit to this customer-centric, narrative-driven approach will appeal to candidates that are looking to join such an engaging, authentic company. Happy, driven employees will feed back into the communication loop through social media channels, as part of articles and awards on “best places to work,” and in their own engagement with customers and prospects.

The important thing to remember is that communication has to be two ways and ongoing. We’re never done in terms of how we communicate, evolving the narrative, and finding opportunities to showcase the direct and lasting impact our customers have on their customers and the broader market.