Public Affairs is more than just part of our company name, so it’s important to understand exactly what that encompasses. There’s many aspects to public affairs but it boils down to two – building relationships and managing perception.
Building Relationships
Relationships are at the center of all things public affairs, whether it’s with your audience, the media or potential customers or consumers. Relationships are vital to building trust and crafting a reliable base of support.
A relationship with the media can help on several fronts. First, the media can help spread the word about your business. If there’s mutual trust, reporters will be more likely to share releases and write stories about your work.
Second, good rapport with the media can be of benefit when crisis strikes. Negative press will get out to the public, but if a reporter is just a call away, you can mediate the problem by giving your side of the story.
But relationships span further than just the media. A healthy relationship with the public – particularly a target audience – can be a determining factor in your success. At Sinclair, we can help build your brand, target your audience, and improve your reach all while creating a social footprint and a sense of trust.
You can create relationships with the public through advertising, social media, direct mail, etc. We use these items to expand your reach and create reliable customers or clients out of your targets. If you stay in contact with your audience, a sense of familiarity and trust is created, which is essential for success.
Managing Perception
Building relationships goes hand-in-hand with managing perception – if you are trusted, people will perceive you in a more positive light.
Perception is always important, but never more so than in the midst of a crisis. At Sinclair, we have the experience and know-how to utilize technology, messaging, and relationships to rebuild reputations and shift momentum.
This ties back into relationships – if there’s a good track record between you and your audience, perception will be easier to manage, even in hard times. It’s important to communicate the situation to your audience – whether through social media or through the press.
You should constantly manage perception – not just during a crisis.
A social media presence, particularly on Facebook and Twitter, can do wonders for building your image. This is where you can showcase your personality and connect with your customers most frequently. Our team knows how to use these platforms for our client’s benefit, whether it’s furthering your reach or pushing a message for a campaign.
At Sinclair, we understand relationships and perception and successfully leverage both to position our clients as leaders and frontrunners by enlarging their spheres of influence in government, business and the public eye.
It made a lot of sense when you mentioned that managing one’s perception should be constant and not just during a crisis. I can see while public affairs consultants can be very beneficial for public figures in order to get the most out of their professional relationships with other entities. This is all so fascinating and is making me want to sit-in in public administration classes back in the university I used to go to.