Three Ways PR Can Pay Off For Your Construction Company

You invest in your construction company — time and energy, tools, materials and manpower. But what good is all that effort if no one knows your company name or what you do?

Construction public relations is one important investment that’s often overlooked in the industry. It’s considered a luxury. Contractors assume their business isn’t big enough to need it. They think the work they do will speak for itself.

But the marketplace is crowded. It takes a clear, strategic message to cut through all the noise and reach the audience that will help your business grow. The best way to do that? Working with a team of PR professionals who know your industry as well as they understand the modern media landscape.

Here are three ways an investment in great construction PR can pay off:   

Awareness

It’s hard to get your name out there. It’s even harder to differentiate your company from its competition. Building your company’s awareness and credibility takes time, knowledge and experience. A great construction PR agency will work with the right media outlets for your business — whether that’s trade publications, local newspapers and TV or national business magazines — to earn name recognition for your company and build credibility in your market.

Buzz

Social media connects you with your audience in more immediate ways than traditional print and broadcast outlets can. With creative content and expert engagement, an experienced PR team can deliver a consistent message, help identify you as accessible and responsive, and drive engagements that increase leads.

Credibility

In addition to traditional media placement, a PR agency with expertise in construction will be able to secure speaking opportunities at industry events and trade shows and help you and your company compete for local and national awards. These set you apart from your competitors.

Your business is one of the biggest investments you’ll ever make. Don’t let your hard work be lost in a crowded marketplace — an expert construction PR agency like Ripley PR can help you get the best return on all your time and effort.

Matthew Everett

This post was written by on March 21, 2019

Creating Trust in Your B2B Company Through Great PR

You may be good at pitching your B2B company’s products or services but how about marketing its reputation? In a world of polarized public opinion and skepticism of the government and media, consumers want to be able to trust businesses and will punish those they don’t.

Consumers Want to Trust Companies

It’s no longer sufficient just to promote products or services. Your company has to promote the quality of its business culture. The 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer, an online survey of more than 33,000 individuals, found that 67 percent of respondents agree that “a good reputation may get me to try a product, but unless I come to trust the company behind the product, I will soon stop buying it.”

According to the survey, the public wants to know that businesses will do the right thing, and that has to start at the top:

More than three-quarters (76 percent) of the general population concur—they say they want CEOs to take the lead on change instead of waiting for government to impose it.

Building Trust Through PR

How can your company start building that trust? Partnering with an experienced B2B public relations agency can help you start laying the foundation by:

  • Promoting your expertise
  • Writing and distributing press releases that target your key audiences
  • Securing interviews with the print and online media
  • Designing and implementing a social media strategy
  • Crafting expert bylines and thought pieces for corporate leaders
  • Creating and promoting corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives

Getting the Right Kind of PR Help

Finding the right kind of B2B public relations help doesn’t have to be difficult. For help with promoting trust in your brand, give the experts at Ripley PR a call at 865-977-1973. We have decades of PR experience in the B2B sector and are ready to assist.

Joel Davis, Content Supervisor

This post was written by on March 19, 2019

Need Leads for Your Senior Care Franchise?

Great PR Can Bring the Right People to You

Demand for senior care, especially home care, is on the rise, and the growing market offers prime business opportunities.

But, as more entrepreneurs enter the senior home care space, your home care franchise might find itself with more competition than ever before. If you’re not proactive about your message, you could find your brand blending in with other, similar services.

As the industry expands, it is vital to differentiate your franchise from all the rest with great public relations, marketing and branding. Establishing your franchise as an innovator or leader in your field, will help you generate leads and prospects that will keep your business model thriving.

A franchise public relations agency with experience in the senior care industry can help you keep your message on point and get it in front of the people you want to reach. Here are some of the ways we can help your franchise shine.

Know Your Audience

As franchise PR pros, we know your message has two audiences. You want to reach the consumer, the seniors and families who need your services. But you also need to reach potential franchise location owners to keep expanding into new markets. An excellent public relations strategy will take both audiences into account, crafting content and marketing deliverables that send a cohesive message to both audiences.

Break into New Markets

If you don’t have a presence established in a market already, it can be difficult to grow brand awareness there. But you need to do so if you want to attract franchisees in desirable locations and build a customer base once those locations are established.

A franchise PR agency can help by getting your home care franchise earned media in local newspapers or on local TV or radio. Social media posts and ads will also grow brand awareness before you arrive. Local speaking engagements can also help get your message out in a new market.

Thought Leadership

Great PR will leverage your franchise leadership’s expertise to establish them as thought leaders in the senior home care market space. With thoughtful and engaged social media presence, bylines and interviews in national media, and useful blog content, the world will be looking to you, not your competition, to set the tone for the industry.

This period of growth is the perfect time to make your home care franchise distinct, to cement your place in the minds of consumers and potential franchisees. At Ripley PR, we have extensive experience helping senior home care franchises carve out and expand market share, and we can put that expertise to work for you. Contact us online or call (865) 977-1973 to find out more.

Heather Ripley, Founder/CEO

This post was written by on March 19, 2019

Message Matters in Construction Tech Marketing

The construction industry may be booming, but look closer. If you’re a developer of construction technology, it’s not enough to find a booming market and sell into it. To be successful, you need to look for industry pain points, address those with your product, and tailor your marketing campaign around the problems you solve.

There are several interesting factors at play in the construction industry that will inform the direction of your B2B public relations and marketing. An agency with plenty of experience in construction public relations can help guide your message to give your product the best impact with decision-makers in the construction industry.

Industry Pain Points

All across the industry, construction professionals are striving for cost-savings and efficiency, and they are turning to technology to get them there. Some of the reasons include:

  • Labor shortage: Construction companies and the skilled trades are struggling to find enough qualified workers, and they’re paying higher wages to keep the ones they have. Short-staffed and paying more per hour, these companies are searching for ways to maximize job efficiency and eliminate wasted time.
  • Increased demand: Demand for new or renovated housing is sky-high. Knowing that the boom won’t last forever, construction companies are burning the candle at both ends, taking as many jobs as they can. They need to streamline and organize their operations to juggle that much work.
  • High costs: Costs of materials and land are also on the rise, so without finding efficiencies to trim expenses, construction companies’ profit margins will shrink.

To find traction in the construction industry, your marketing and public relations campaign should address these points, assuring potential buyers that they’ll see excellent return on investment with your product.

Partner with Experts

Public relations and marketing are not one-size-fits-all. Different industries and markets require unique knowledge or a different touch. Each industry has unique trade publications and thought leaders who influence who decision-makers trust and what they buy. Ripley PR is a public relations agency with a firm background in both construction and technology. Our experts can help you create your brand’s message and get that message in front of the right people.

If you would like to find out more about how we can help you, call us at (865) 977-1973 or contact Ripley PR online.

Heather Ripley, Founder/CEO

This post was written by on March 19, 2019

Into the Breach

How Will Your Healthcare IT Company Respond to Crisis?

As a healthcare IT innovator, you’ve shouldered a lot of responsibility. A flaw in your programming, or a flaw in your product’s security, could put patient records, or even patients’ lives, at risk. But you believe in your product, believe in your team. So, you take responsibility and do the best you can.

Healthcare IT company responds to a crisis

But what happens when your best isn’t good enough? When hackers or negligence or just plain bad luck strike? How you and your company respond to a crisis will say volumes about you. Your response may be the difference between keeping your doors open and closing up shop.

No one wants a crisis, but in this growing field it’s best to plan for the worst while you hope (and work) for the best. Crisis management should be an integral part of your healthcare IT public relations plan, and a professional agency can help.

Planning Ahead

If you create a crisis plan before a crisis strikes, you lower your chances of reacting thoughtlessly, and in the internet age, hordes of tweeters won’t let you forget a goof anytime soon. A crisis plan is a step-by-step guide to what you and your team should do in a tough situation, and your public relations partners will help you craft that plan.

It should include:

  • A designated spokesperson: One person should be designated to speak to the media and the authorities about the crisis.
  • Media training: A crisis management public relations agency will work with your designated spokesperson on what to say and how to say it. Good rules of thumb include being honest, transparent and sincere.
  • Staff training: Even though you’ve designated a spokesperson, the rest of your staff might get asked questions, too. A great PR agency will help train your staff about how to respond or not respond.

Aftermath

But don’t forget the follow-through. The aftermath of a crisis might be an opportunity for your company to rise again, learn from mistakes and come out stronger. Your public relations partners can help you craft that message, too. If you’re interested in putting PR to work for you, whether you anticipate a crisis or not, Ripley PR is here to help. We have extensive experience in the healthcare IT field, and our crisis experts will stand by your side before, during and after trouble strikes. Find us online or call us today at (865)977-1973.

Shannon Bryant

This post was written by on March 15, 2019

5G, IIoT and Big Data: Leveraging Your Tech Advancements through PR

two manufacturing workers with tech tablet

If you’re company is in the business of providing manufacturers solutions around 5G, IIoT or Big Data analytics, projections like these mean a bright future for your business. However, these forecasts also mean that fierce competition is on its way as more and more players enter the space. Staying ahead of the game is necessary to ensure you gain market share and decrease cost of client acquisition so that you can spend your resources on honing and developing even better solutions. One of the best ways to do that is through PR.

Interviews, features, bylines and other earned media placement with major tech and manufacturing outlets are a great way to stay top of mind and showcase your advancements for the industry. These opportunities help to differentiate you from competitors in the eyes of key decision makers and answer the “so what?” objections that often come from those hesitant to invest in early adoption of technology, even if it’s sorely needed.

As a global agency that specializes in manufacturing public relations, we understand the need for tech companies and startups to get ahead of the competition in order to become the solution or SOR for a particular process or industry niche. We craft stories that get at the root of the benefit of your solutions, cultivate trust and build relationships.

If you’re developing tech solutions that support manufacturing operations, we’d like to talk with you about how you can leverage public relations for maximum ROI. Contact us today.

JD Sizemore, Account Director, Client Services

This post was written by on March 13, 2019

Making the Leap from Business Owner to Franchisor?

You had a great idea, grew a successful business, and now you have dreams of making your business a household name.

The decisions you make early on as a franchisor affect your business for years to come. You are confident you have a great model, but how can you make sure that, after all of your investment, you can convince others to adopt it?

When you are trying to attract franchisees in the early stages, finding an experienced franchise public relations agency can help leverage your brand to build steady growth and success.  

How Does This Work?

  • Introduce your brand to your market: An effective public relations strategy can garner media in targeted local and trade publications to introduce your brand and solidify your message. This is an opportunity to share with your audience that franchise opportunities are available for prospective business owners.
  • Introduce yourself: To secure franchise owners you need to build their trust. Introducing yourself and telling your business success story will inspire prospective franchise owners to invest in your business model. Franchise public relations helps secure media opportunities for interviews to give you a platform to tell your story and encourage others to become franchisees.
  • Share your growth: Announcing new franchise locations in local media and trade publications helps both the franchisor and the franchisee. It gets the word out that your franchise is growing and attracts other prospective franchisees. Announcing the new business opening in local media helps the franchisee attract customers and grow their business.
  • Celebrate milestones: Have you expanded to a new region, won an award, or hired on new team members to support your rapidly growing franchise? These are all newsworthy achievements, and they deserve to be celebrated! Franchising public relations will help you gain coverage for your achievements and keep your business name in relevant media outlets. Your achievements and growth announcements will show your franchise is healthy and reliable to present and future franchisors.

Find Franchise PR Help

Help your franchise hit the ground running. Ripley PR has extensive knowledge of franchising, and we’ve worked with many franchise clients to help them gain brand awareness in the early stages and steadily grow their business. To start getting your franchise in the news, contact Ripley PR today.

Kaitlyn Clark

This post was written by on March 11, 2019

Have You Incorporated Social Media In Your B2B PR Plan?

b2b, pr, public relations, social media

Just about everyone from baby boomers to Gen Z is on social media these days. It’s safe to say that the new word of mouth marketing for B2B businesses is social media marketing. It is the perfect tool for enhancing your company’s B2B public relations strategy.

Social Media and Public Relations Need to Coordinate

The roles of marketing, public relations and social media have become intertwined. All of these avenues are used to build and maintain trust in a B2B company and their products and services. So, it is extremely important that all avenues of communications mesh.

Incorporate Social Media Into Your B2B Public Relations Strategy

Every social media platform is unique and can be leveraged to assist your B2B PR. Let’s take a look at the top platforms and see how they can be used to boost your public relations strategy.

  1. Facebook: Leverage all of Facebook’s tools to tell more people about your B2B company. Post consistently and use live videos to showcase your products and services. Be sure to add behind-the-scenes stories that highlight your company’s culture.
  2. Twitter: This is the best way to send a quick message about a new launch, promotion or press release. Hashtags are a great way to reach new audiences and also to track what people are saying about your B2B company.
  3. LinkedIn: Keep your messaging businesslike. Highlight your products and services and share commentary on industry news and happenings. This is the best place to find new leads at the executive level.
  4. Instagram: Everybody loves to look and pictures and videos. This platform is a great way to extend your reach and cultivate your audience. Showcase your company culture, trade show events, and behind-the-scenes sneak peeks to keep your audience engaged and feeling as if they are a part of your B2B company.

Social media is here to stay, and it will continue to evolve and grow. If you’d like to start using social media tools to boost your B2B company, consider partnering with Ripley PR. Our team of B2B PR experts can make sure your social media and PR strategies coincide for maximum effect. Contact us today.

Kristin Hankins

This post was written by on March 7, 2019

The Positive Power of Home Service PR

Home service is one of the most competitive industries around, as those companies are constantly competing with rivals for customers and employees. Whether you do heating and air, plumbing, electrical, garage doors, pest control or some combination of the above, you’ve likely got at least one competitor in your town for each service you provide.

Plumber fixing pipe

How to stick out from the rest

One way to get your name to potential customers and employees is to utilize home service PR to create what we like to call “top-of-mind awareness.” In case you’re not familiar with that term, it means that when someone has to name a plumber or heating and air company, they think of your company’s name first.

How does it work?

By utilizing home service public relations, of course! Getting your company’s name in the news, whether it’s a brief in the newspaper or a segment on the local TV broadcast, can pay dividends you may not see from traditional advertising. After all, they won’t let just anyone on TV, right? They have to know what they’re talking about! It builds trust with your customers who know that when they call you, they’re getting the best professionals in town.

Likewise, when skilled employees are looking for new jobs, you’ll be able to point to your press clippings to show how respected your business is in the community. You gain credibility and can show that you’re working hard to increase business by being in the news regularly.

In the end, you can find big gains in your business from home service public relations by generating more calls to your business and attracting the most skilled tradespeople in your area.

What to do next

Ripley PR has worked with home service companies big and small from across the United States, and we’ve seen the success home service public relations can bring. To start getting your home service company in the news, contact Ripley PR today.

Chris Martin

This post was written by on March 5, 2019

Franchise Public Relations Can Help Achieve Brand Awareness in Your Target Markets

Every franchisor has a list of markets or territories they deem perfect for their brand, but perhaps they’ve been more difficult than others to penetrate and find qualified leads. As an experienced franchise public relations agency, we know that some media markets are simply tougher to crack and that a truly one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t always work. The good news is that technology and our connected world have made it much easier to try different strategies and hit target markets with a multi-pronged attack.

Franchise now open in target market.
  • Thoughtful, targeted and effective content is a great place to start. Educational blogs and case studies should be posted to your site regularly, and by identifying and addressing a need in your ideal markets with your business positioned as a possible solution, your SEO will be enhanced and more qualified leads can be driven to an online contact form. Partnering with a franchise public relations agency with an experienced in-house content team can help ensure the best keywords are use and that your content is top-notch.
  • Formulate a budget for Facebook ads and take action sooner than later. Facebook ads are a great way to hone in on potential owners in your target market, and an experienced social media team can help target your ideal franchisee avatar. Direct mail certainly still has a place in the world, but Facebook ads are key because they can connect interested parties directly to your contact form, securing valuable information effortlessly.
  • Create news for markets you don’t operate in yet. One of the most difficult achievements is successfully establishing a presence in a local market you have no footprint in. Working closely with your franchise public relations team, though, can help identify opportunities to speak to potential leads in the area anyway. There may not be a local announcement to make yet, but offering expert commentary to current stories, providing bylined contributions and even planning a hyperlocal community event are all great ways to make your own news.

If you’re ready to expand your franchise system into new markets, contact Ripley PR today at (865) 977-1973 to get started.

Grayson Shockley

This post was written by on March 1, 2019

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