We’ve all seen brands thrive and others fall short, often because they didn’t manage their reputation or communications strategies well enough. But how does corporate PR fit into all this? Whether you’re in healthcare, tech, or finance, corporate PR aligns your company’s narrative with its long-term goals, and in this article, we’ll unpack how it can be a game-changer for your business.
Corporate PR in diverse markets: Adapting to fit your industry
Every market comes with its unique set of rules and expectations, and corporate PR needs to fit like a glove. Let’s dive into a few examples:
- Tech and startups: In a fast-moving industry, corporate PR plays a crucial role in helping startups secure investor trust. Think about how brands like Slack or Zoom positioned themselves as essential tools for remote work during the pandemic—they told a story of innovation meeting a critical need.
- Healthcare: This industry demands trust above all else. If a pharmaceutical company can’t communicate transparently about regulatory approvals or clinical trials, it risks losing the confidence of both professionals and patients. Remember how Pfizer delivered updates on the COVID-19 vaccine? They used clear, consistent updates that helped them positioned themselves as both trustworthy and proactive in a moment of global urgency.
- Finance: In December 2021, BDO Unibank faced a significant cybersecurity after hackers accessed over 700 BDO customer accounts. The bank’s PR team acted swiftly by issuing prompt statements, reimbursing affected clients, and collaborating with regulators to tighten security.
Takeaway: Tailor your corporate PR to meet the expectations of your specific market. If you’re not speaking the right language or addressing the right pain points, your message won’t land.
Measuring corporate PR success: Practical KPIs and tools
Measuring PR success starts with understanding the right metrics that tie back to business outcomes. Here’s how you can do it:
- Employee and investor sentiment: One of the most overlooked areas in corporate PR is internal sentiment. If your employees or investors don’t trust the company’s direction, you’ll feel the consequences sooner or later. Use stakeholder surveys to gather direct feedback—Qualtrics is a great tool for this. For instance, we’ve seen how regular investor sentiment tracking has allowed companies to tweak their messaging and approach before minor frustrations turned into major issues.
- Brand perception tracking: Beyond media, you want to know how your audience’s perception of your brand is changing over time. Are you being seen as innovative, trustworthy, or socially responsible? Tools like Brandwatch can provide detailed sentiment analysis on this front.
- Website traffic and SEO impact: PR efforts that include media mentions, thought leadership articles and press releases can drive traffic to your website. Google Analytics is key here. It tracks traffic sources, allowing you to see how backlinks in news articles drive visitors to your site. Combine this with Ahrefs or SEMrush to measure improvements in domain authority and backlink profile from PR efforts.
Corporate PR tools for communication
We’ve tested and curated which tools work best to keep corporate PR strategies efficient and effective. Here are a few go-tos:
- Stakeholder engagement tools: For internal communications, tools like Poppulo and PoliteMail keep employees informed and engaged, which is crucial when your external messaging hinges on internal alignment. Plus, these platforms allow you to measure engagement and adjust your internal communications strategy as needed.
- Crisis communication tools: During crises, communication has to be fast and flawless. Signal AI and Dataminr help detect potential PR risks by providing early alerts of emerging issues, while also monitoring sentiment in real-time. This way, corporate communications teams can craft responses before an issue escalates.
- PR reporting tools: Once your PR campaign is complete, measuring and reporting its success is a non-negotiable. CoverageBook simplifies the process by automatically collecting media mentions, coverage, and key metrics like audience reach and media value. It compiles all this data into visual, shareable reports that make it easy to demonstrate the campaign’s impact to stakeholders.
Corporate PR vs. stakeholder relations: What’s the difference?
At this point, you might be wondering—aren’t corporate PR and stakeholder relations the same thing? Not exactly, but they are closely related.
Corporate PR holds a unique advantage: it shapes the narrative about a company on a large scale, creating trust and goodwill that go beyond individual products or services. Unlike product marketing, which targets immediate sales or engagement, corporate PR focuses on the long game—establishing a reputation that resonates across the public, media, and industry at large.
Think of it as setting the tone for your brand. For instance, when Salesforce talks about its initiatives around equality and sustainability, that’s corporate PR at work, projecting an image of a company driven by Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR.
Stakeholder relations is a more targeted effort, focusing on building and maintaining strong relationships with those who have a vested interest in your business—investors, employees, regulators, and partners. This isn’t just one-way communication; it’s an ongoing dialogue where feedback matters. For example, in the finance sector, maintaining clear and frequent communications with investors through earnings calls or reports is essential to keeping them engaged and confident in your company’s direction.
Common pitfalls in corporate PR and how to avoid them
Here’s what we’ve seen go wrong in corporate PR, and how to dodge these missteps:
- Reactive PR: Relying solely on PR to put out fires is a dangerous game. If your strategy is only reactive, you’re missing out on opportunities to proactively build your brand’s reputation. Take a cue from Patagonia—this brand continually uses proactive PR to communicate its sustainability efforts and corporate values, long before any crisis hits. For one, they publish annual environmental and social impact reports, offering a candid look at their supply chain, materials, production practices, and challenges.
- Inconsistent messaging: It’s tempting to tweak your message based on the platform or audience, but if your internal and external communications don’t align, you risk confusion. We’ve seen this happen when leadership says one thing internally, but a press release tells a different story. Consistency is key.
- Ignoring cultural nuances: If you’re operating across different markets, tailoring your message to suit cultural expectations is critical. We’ve all seen companies stumble with tone-deaf campaigns that miss the mark abroad. Don’t make that mistake—ensure you’re adapting your PR strategy to the local context.
Ready to supercharge your corporate PR?
From aligning with your market’s specific needs to measuring your progress with the right tools, corporate PR builds the foundation for trust, credibility, and business growth. How is your corporate PR performing? Are you using the right tools to measure its impact? We’d love to hear your thoughts!
M2.0 Communications is a Public Relations Agency that specializes in business, technology, and lifestyle communication. We offer a range of PR services including corporate communications, media relations, social media marketing, influencer marketing, and video production. Learn more about our work on our case studies page.
