Thinking Beyond the Press Release: 4 Growth Hacking Strategies to Up Your PR Game

Brands that succeed in separating themselves from their competitors are the ones that have used growth hacking strategies to get to the top and push the boundaries of traditional PR. The post Thinking Beyond the Press Release: 4 Growth Hacking Strategies to Up Your PR Game appeared first on AllBusiness.com The post Thinking Beyond the Press Release: 4 Growth Hacking Strategies to Up Your PR Game appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Drew Hendricks.

Even with a top-notch product and a beautifully designed website, if customers aren’t aware of your business, you’ll never achieve your goals. And this is where public relations comes in.

The practice of PR is dedicated to building relationships with the public through content and media campaigns. Thanks to social media, the realm of PR has expanded infinitely; what used to be a practice dependent on press releases and media relations now has multiple channels to connect with audiences organically.

Although the avenues leading to public awareness have grown, the competition remains stiff. In fact, with so much content flooding blogs and news feeds today, it can be tough for brands to break through the noise and demand the public’s wavering attention spans. Brands that succeed in separating themselves from their competitors across digital outlets and social media networks are the ones that have used growth hacking strategies to get to the top and push the boundaries of traditional PR.

The term growth hacking is traditionally used in the context of product marketing and user acquisition, but the same principles can be applied to generate PR buzz. While the definitions of growth hacking vary, the essence of the practice is to explore and experiment with new ways of expanding a user base.  

It’s no secret that customers love unexpected rewards. Even something as simple as a free t-shirt can stop people in their tracks. In 2016, JetBlue took the idea of rewarding its customers one step further through its Mother’s Day FlyBabies campaign. The airline company knows that one of the most common grievances on flights are crying babies; parents are embarrassed and frustrated, and their neighbors are usually feeling disgruntled from the excessive wails—even if they try to smile through it.

On Mother’s Day 2016, JetBlue offered a 25% discount to passengers on a flight from JFK to Long Beach every time a baby started crying. The clever promotion not only garnered media attention, but it also positioned JetBlue as a family-friendly company that is sympathetic to its customer’s pain points.

Airbnb has no trouble amassing media and consumer attention, but in 2016, the home swapping company took a decidedly playful approach. One day a listing for an igloo in Brooklyn with a $200 per night tab appeared among the network’s listings. The igloo immediately attracted the attention of digital outlets and social media as people assumed the listing was put up by a couple of pranksters.

As it turns out, Airbnb, engineered the elaborate prank all on its own. Airbnb recognized that audiences like to share clever and funny content with their own social networks. While the listing may have been short lived, the trending moment lives on in PR stunting infamy.

Although companies shouldn’t need incentives to give back to their communities, charitable events and promotions are also great ways to drive organic consumer awareness and appreciation. In an effort to support its local region, Google allotted $5.5 million for Bay Area charities. But the search engine didn’t just send out checks; instead it involved the entire Bay Area community in the initiatives. Residents were given the opportunity to vote for recipients of the grants through interactive posters placed in bus shelters and restaurants across the city.

By encouraging the participation of an entire city, Google was able to seamlessly promote its philanthropic arm and bring more awareness to nonprofit organizations across the region.

Thanks to social media, you can effectively involve audiences with practically any PR initiative. In 2016, Disney didn’t just want to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation, it wanted to spread awareness for the foundation through user-generated content. The House of Mouse promised a $5 contribution to Make-A-Wish for every piece of content posted across social media with the hashtag #shareyourears. The campaign drove 220,000 impressions on Instagram and a total donation of $2 million, which far exceed the company’s original projections.

Another example is Hairfinity, a hair-care products company, which used a personal hair styling quiz to get more qualified leads and increased engagement on its site. There’s a huge correlation between the amount of time users spend on your site clicking around and the amount of conversions you get. Incorporating your PR in a variety of ways on your site can help boost the engagement and overall lead generation process for your site.

Although each of the aforementioned campaigns are wildly different, the one thing they have in common is that they broke new ground for their brands. Each brand wanted to increase public awareness, and knew that it had to think outside the box to spark a high level of interest and engagement. While each campaign was different in its own regard, they both stayed faithful to their brand’s unique story, which is the key to generating valuable public interest.

The beauty of PR growth hacks is that there’s no right way to execute them.

The post Thinking Beyond the Press Release: 4 Growth Hacking Strategies to Up Your PR Game appeared first on AllBusiness.com. Click for more information about Drew Hendricks.