4 Benefits of Corporate PR

Updated 11/10/2023

How companies conduct themselves and how they respond in times of crisis shape how people perceive them. Consequently, it can have a big impact on the company’s brand image and, therefore, sales.

By investing in public relations, companies hope to improve their reputation and convert customers.
Whether your company is wrapped up in a scandal or is simply trying to improve its brand awareness, an internal or external corporate PR team can help you grow your business.

Looking to hire a PR agency? Check out top-ranked public relations experts on Clutch.

What is Corporate PR? 

Corporate PR is the strategic communication of company goals, messages, values, and more. The goal is to create a favorable public image of the business and build relationships with stakeholders, such as customers, employees, media, and investors. 

Public relations in general, is a broad term and encompasses everything from media relations to internal communications and reputation management.

As such, corporate PR includes: 

• Crisis management
• Media relations
• Investor relations
• Digital strategy and content marketing

Crisis Management

Crisis management is how a business or organization responds to an emergency.

In just about any type of crisis — such as a security breach, a tech issue, a poorly received ad campaign, or personnel turnover — could justify crisis management.

Crisis management is incredibly important because a recent study revealed that nearly two-thirds of people would consider how brands responded to a crisis and that their response would impact their relationship with them afterward.

Additionally, corporate public relations efforts can help companies recover lost business after a crisis situation.

Additional reading, ‘Crisis Management Examples: Learn from These 7 Brands.’

Media Relations

Media relations is when a business works with media outlets, such as journals, magazines, newspapers, podcasts, and broadcast journalists, in order to deliver their message.

Often, this includes hiring media coverage, scheduling interviews, speech writing, and organizing news conferences.

Many businesses rely on media relations to promote new products, make announcements about their business, or address issues in a crisis.

Investor Relations

Investor relations is the communication of company affairs to both private and institutional investors.

This includes coordinating shareholder meetings and press conferences, releasing financial data, and publishing reports for the SEC.

Digital Strategy & Content Marketing

Digital strategy and content marketing are closely tied with public relations because they’re used to communicate messages online to a business’s target market.

PR companies can write press releases, develop copy, support social media campaigns, and conduct outreach, to boost the company’s brand image and awareness.

Benefits of Corporate PR

1. Build a brand image 
2. Improve credibility 
3. Engage with target audiences 
4. Enhance lead generation 

Build a Brand Image

While many people assume that PR is simply responding to a crisis or promoting a new product, PR teams also support maintaining a company’s brand image.

A company’s reputation is multi-faceted and corporate PR is all about maintaining a public image. People form opinions about brands over time, using information they’ve seen from ads, in the news, or even from direct interactions with brands.

This means that a simple interaction online or whether a company comments on a news event, can have a lasting impact on whether or not a consumer decides to work with that brand in the future.

For example, corporate social responsibility is becoming increasingly important for consumers. — 75% of people are likely to buy from companies that support issues that they agree with. For many, this means buying cruelty-free, ethically sourced, or sustainable products. For others, it means providing living wages and safe workplaces for employees.

Being dedicated to ethics and social responsibility is a core tenant for many brands. For instance, the beauty brand, L’OREAL has built a brand image focused on supporting sustainability, climate action, and animal welfare.

Source: L’OREAL

For the last two decades, they’ve been dedicated to reducing carbon emissions and have committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2025. Additionally, they have plans to create refillable and reusable packaging to cut down on waste. To support animal welfare, they also haven’t tested on animals in over 40 years.

For companies that are dedicated to business ethics, like L’OREAL, a PR team can help them showcase their commitments. They can put them up for ethics awards, get them included in media lists about sustainable products, and much more.

As a result, L’OREAL’s brand awareness is likely to increase and how consumers perceive the brand will be strengthened. As a result, some consumers will choose L’OREAL products over other brands that aren’t as environmentally friendly.

Over the last few years, there’s also been a growing emphasis on how a business responds to new events — 71% of people think it’s important for businesses to take a stance on social movements.

As a result, many businesses have come out to support social movements such as the 2020 protests for racial justice.

At the time, many companies released statements, updated their website, and spoke with their employees about how to promote societal change. Amazon, for example, changed its website header to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement

Source: Clutch

More recently, many companies such as Lyft, JPMorgan, Yelp, Ellevest, and Dick’s Sporting Goods spoke out about how they were responding to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Many expanded their healthcare policies to cover travel expenses for employees seeking abortions outside their home states.

Public relations teams can help in these situations. They’re capable of handling delicate issues without sacrificing a company’s brand image or corporate reputation.

They’re particularly good at writing press releases, reaching out to media outlets, or crafting the appropriate language for websites and social media.

Improve Credibility

Publicity can boost visibility for a business and improve their credibility.

Credibility is defined as the perceived trustworthiness and expertise of a brand, and it is highly impacted by brand name recall, industry leadership, integrity, consistency, and testimonials.

A consumer research study revealed that credibility influences consumers’ choices through “perceived risk, information costs saved and perceived quality in most categories.”

In other words, consumers want to buy the products they believe will provide the best value. This isn’t always based in fact. Instead, people will choose brands they trust — usually those they’ve heard of before and are reliable.

In the realm of corporate PR, establishing thought leadership is a powerful strategy. Thought leaders within a company can influence public opinion and contribute to the positive brand image. Thought leadership initiatives, when integrated into the broader PR strategy, position the organization as an industry authority, garnering trust and credibility.

Unlike advertising or marketing, PR seems more authentic to consumers because it’s not overtly promotional. However, it still gets a business’s brand name in front of potential buyers and boost brand awareness, which can add an extra layer of credibility.

PR teams may employ strategies such as:

• Press releases
• Speeches
• Public outreach events
• Networking
• Content marketing

These efforts can boost credibility by demonstrating expertise and showcasing industry leadership. Maintaining a strong online presence is imperative for effective corporate PR. Ensuring visibility on search engines is a fundamental aspect of modern PR strategies. Strategic optimization of online content contributes to positive search engine results, reinforcing the organization's standing in the eyes of the public.

Consider how Bill Gates and Microsoft used public relations to build their credibility — they’re household names now, but they weren’t always.

Back in the early days of Microsoft, many people never believed computer would be a household item. Many naysayers were quoted by the media, which impacted the credibility of Microsoft itself.

In response, Gates invited each critic to Microsoft’s headquarters and met with them individually. Afterwards, they each became supporters.

Source: MajorPR

A big believer in the power of publicity, Gates used public relations to grow the credibility of Microsoft and its ventures.

Engage with Target Audiences

Just like advertising, a great public relations strategy will target audiences within a company’s ideal market.

As such, many public relations companies and in-house PR teams will conduct thorough market research before launching a new PR campaign.

Even though it’s not an ad, the goal of a good PR campaign is to connect and resonate with potential customers. To do so, they need to create language that appeals to them and appear in publications or media outlets that they use.

For example, there’s no better platform for a fashion brand than Vogue, the iconic fashion and beauty magazine with over 11.1 million monthly readers. An open print ad in Vogue costs nearly $200,000, but being featured in an article is priceless (and free).

Earlier this year, Vogue published an article highlighting female CEOs in the luxury fashion industry, including Anne de Vergeron, the CEO of the high-end jewelry company Repossi.

As a female CEO, she spoke about the importance of women in leadership and how she views her role at Repossi, saying, “Sharing, educating, and learning always are, for me, the keys to access positions with leading roles while keeping an entrepreneurial mindset. Like the Repossi women, I keep looking forward to staying assertive and progressive.”

The article itself had very little to do with fashion or what Repossi sells, but the brand gained invaluable exposure. Vogue’s readers, who are interested in luxury products learned more about Repossi and their leadership.

This is a great example of media relations. PR professionals can curate this type of content by working with media to schedule interviews, promote new products, highlight people in leadership, and more.

Beyond traditional marketing efforts, corporate PR also extends to community relations. Engaging with the community, whether through nonprofit collaborations or startup initiatives, adds a human touch to the brand. LinkedIn, as a platform, plays a crucial role in connecting with stakeholders and reinforcing the organization's commitment to social responsibility.

Enhance Lead Generation

Media placements, press releases, public outreach, and other content produced by PR professionals help companies expose themselves to large audiences, which can help generate leads.

Generally, consumers trust businesses that they’re familiar with and have a solid reputation. By investing in PR efforts that improve brand awareness and enhance credibility, more potential customers are likely to visit a business’s website or reach out for more information.

As a result, PR efforts can have a meaningful impact on a business’s bottom line.

Corporate PR Will Enhance Your Brand Image

Crafting a robust marketing strategy is essential for any organization seeking to enhance its public image. The benefits of a strategic approach to public relations are manifold, ranging from improved communication strategies to crisis communication preparedness. Incorporating digital marketing into PR efforts further amplifies the reach of key messages, contributing to the establishment of a positive brand image.

Corporate PR teams are able to provide a wide array of services, including crisis management, media relations and investor relations, as well as insight into digital strategy. 

By investing in a public relations strategy for your business, you’ll be able to boost your brand image, increase brand name recognition, and improve your reputation. 

As a result, you’re likely to appeal more to customers, increase leads, and ultimately, improve sales. 

Looking to hire a PR firm? Check out top public relations agencies on Clutch.