The most common theme among CEOs and Founders is the desire to build the value of the firm. They may define this in terms of revenue, number of clients, brand awareness, market share, or a variety of other metrics depending on how long they have been in business and what they are planning to do next. When selecting a PR firm to work with, the conversation is often around how the agency of record can help drive those initiatives over a set period of time.
To be most successful, while building strong PR portfolio for the company, a strong brand awareness campaign around the CEO, and potentially the rest of the executive leadership team should be driven at the same time.
4 Reasons why a great PR firm will build personal brand as part of your firm’s PR Strategy:
1. Authority – becoming known as a authority for a niche, such as an industry, topic, field, etc… takes time. PR firms create this persona by continually having you quoted in stories, interviewed in progressively more wide-reaching and respected publications for this genre, and then creating curated content that is proactively pushed out to evidence this position. Becoming an authority not only creates credibility for the person, it builds value for the brand represented, especially if you are founder. Everytime time the PR agency can have you presented as an authority in the press, the goal is to then tie back those appearances to the brand and get additional press without overt publication. As people who may not have been familiar with the brand, or may not have felt they had a need for the product/service, come to engage with you as a person – they will become more inclined to re-evaluate their desire to engage with the firm as well.
2. Trust – We all rather do business with people we like and trust. This is particularly important in highly-fragmented and highly competitive consumer segments which generally see price as a deciding factor. When a new decision-making tool can be added to help make a differentiating argument — such as, I really like the CEO and what he stands for, you are more likely to win over the hearts and minds of the consumer. Of course, the only way they can know if they trust you is if they get to know you!
3. Recruitment – let’s face it … it is really, really hard to find great people to work for our business today. And while you can share all kinds of stories about your company, great press about what the CEO is like (and his/her leadership team) is really going to set your firm apart. PR is a key ally in the war for talent, and one that is often underutilized. Tell your story about why you started the company, what you are hoping to do. This PR message is going to help you bring in the best and brightest talent
4. Exit Strategy Support – Another piece of the PR puzzle that if often forgot is how your PR partner can help you when you are looking to make sure you and your leadership team are highlighted for management excellence as part of an exit strategy. We can be exceptional at making sure we share the right stories around everyone’s strengths and abilities so that strategic acquisitions put you on their radar.