POSTED BY Jamie Hose

When forming a PR strategy, there can be a real temptation to bad-mouth your competitors. It stems from the mentality that there are a finite number of customers and resources, and that success is, therefore, a zero-sum game. Big corporations are often prime examples. Think of the public rivalries between brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, or Apple and Microsoft.

Writing an academic research paper can take a few months to several years. But the work doesn’t stop once the paper is published. Now it’s time to think about promoting your findings in the media and on social media.

McKinsey’s ‘war for talent’ isn’t restricted to businesses anymore; it rages throughout the business education sector too. Business schools compete to attract the most talented students into their flagship programmes.

If knowledge were a form of currency, business schools would be printing presses. These prestigious institutions produce hundreds if not thousands of research papers every year, most of which have the potential to significantly benefit societies around the world, covering topics as diverse as reducing tax evasion, environmental stewardship, ethical leadership, and much more.

The best research communications specialists are, to all intents and purposes, bilingual. To do the job well, you have to be able to converse fluently in complex academic terminology and translate it into the language of the everyday without simplifying or dumbing down.

Like Britain’s once ice-blanketed countryside, the state of the UK media landscape is always evolving. Polar bears no longer prowl the Scottish Highlands and town criers screaming “hear ye! hear ye!” have become a scarce novelty.

To borrow a phrase from Bill Gates, “Content is King”. Content marketing and copywriting are commonly used terms in a marketing context, but they often get confused for each other. While they are related activities, it’s helpful to draw a sharp line between them. So, what are the differences, and where do they overlap?

You would not wear the same clothes to visit Alaska and the Golden Coast, nor would you send the exact same press release to journalists in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Underlying both scenarios is the simple understanding that it is unsensible to approach a new environment if you are not properly prepared.

PR is, for the most part, a game of words. Sometimes, however, it’s necessary to crunch the numbers to work out how effectively you are writing and distributing pitches. Luckily, PR consultants aren’t always forced to whip out a calculator themselves – publications like Propel’s quarterly Media Barometer are valuable aggregators of statistics. Here are some of the most interesting trends and tips from the latest Propel report, spanning the third quarter of 2022 (July-September).

Results, sadly, do not speak for themselves. Make no mistake, they are still an important part of an institution’s prestige, but relying solely upon them to uphold a reputation is like constructing a one-legged chair: recline upon it at your peril.

Once upon a time, you may have heard a school of thought that PR and SEO were two different methods of promoting an organisation or website, and would always remain as such. That line of thinking has now been thrown out the window following the mass migration of media to digital platforms, leading to the birth of a new concept: SEO PR. But what is SEO PR, and how can it benefit your institution?

On the surface, PR and advertising look like similar beasts, but they’re actually quite different. Advertising gives you paid content that reaches as wide an audience as possible, but PR offers a more focused objective, targeting key publications whose readerships are more likely to engage with and act upon what they read.

Faculty members who are comfortable and experienced at dealing with media relations are an invaluable asset – largely because they are so rare.

“If I was down to my last dollar, I would spend it on PR,” as Bill Gates once said. When done successfully, a PR campaign is crucial to an organisation’s success, be it mopping up damage or establishing your place amongst more seasoned competitors.