Photo taken by Rachel Thexton
5 Reasons Leaders S5 Reasons Leaders Should Consider a PR Strategy
When you saw the photo attached to this article, you likely noticed it. Why? Perhaps because it’s an unfamiliar scene, there is emotion behind the visual, and it implies there may be a story connected to this photo that you want to know more about.
This is a photo I took of a ‘taxi driver’ in the Dominican Republic. They call these drivers ‘motoconchos” as they are quick and easy rides for the public to hire via motorcycle. This particular driver is stationed in a popular centre of town where people often get off a bus and need a ride to their nearby neighborhood home.
There is likely an amazing story behind this man’s life, and the history of the culture of ‘motoconchos’.
People take notice when there is a story that stands out. It’s not an advertisement that is clearly trying to sell them something or share corporate or nonprofit news, but instead something that appeals to them as a human. Stories are powerful. Stories are a significant part of a solid PR strategy.
PR is often misunderstood and undervalued. This month, I will be sharing specific client case studies that show the significant ROI of PR. In the meantime, here are five reasons that PR should be a part of your 2026 business plan or your organization’s marketing strategy.
- People are currently more skeptical and jaded than ever before. Your reputation matters. Given the political climate, division amongst Canadians, and other factors, people find it harder to trust than ever before. Leveraging the power of building relationships, storytelling, engagement, and sharing facts, you can build trust with various communities. You do this by humanizing your brand, telling stories of your team members and clients, and highlighting the amazing things your company or organization is doing. PR and communications are vital tools while executing the tasks above.
- There is an overabundance of information in the digital age, and you must break through the noise. Now that everyone is a “content creator” and can share their thoughts, stories, and business news online, it’s harder than ever to stand out and be truly seen by communities that are relevant to your brand. A solid PR professional will help you develop a strategy, and they will leverage their strong relationships with media and digital leaders to help you stand out in memorable ways.
- People want engagement, and they want to be heard. Advertising has its place and value in marketing. It’s also vital that people feel that businesses are hearing them, listening to how they feel, what they need, and what is valuable to them. This can be done via authentic social media strategies, finding creative ways to ensure that client communication is present long beyond the sale or connection point, and by sharing changes being made as a result of hearing from your customers or other partners.
- PR professionals can guide your social media strategy to align with your marketing. Social media is a part of your PR. Your marketing efforts should never function in silos. This results in inconsistent communications, weak strategy execution, and mistakes. When PR comes on board and works closely with your marketing team, they can help to guide messaging that resonates, manage your social media strategy to ensure that solid relationships are built, and listen/share in an authentic way that is consistent with your brand goals. PR can also help to connect your brand with media and digital leaders who have influetianal reach with large and/or niche communities.
- Both traditional media and digital content creators are powerful conduits of information. Depending on your marketing and communications goals, a varied mix of communication with traditional media, such as local morning radio, digital publications and bloggers, and social media content creators, sometimes called influencers, all matter. The ideal PR professional will have solid relationships with all three, without forgetting the diversity of Canada, while ensuring that all information conduits above include a diverse mix of multicultural contacts with various backgrounds. If you are not communicating with media, digital leaders, and content creators, your brand is missing massive opportunities to build visibility and trust with millions of Canadians who consume their news and information in different ways.