For an education pr agency when it comes to branding, marketing and communication are two of the most important components.
In order to convey a product’s benefits, brand message, or company’s features to the public, specifically to the target audience, it must be communicated. This is the role of public relations.
Public Relations and Advertising are Different
Despite being used interchangeably, advertising, public relations and publicity are very different. Ads are paid advertisements.
Publicity consists of creating buzz about a product, company or public figure – when done incorrectly this could lead to negative public perception.
PR, on the other hand, builds strong relationships between individuals, businesses, organizations, and media/target audiences. Creating and maintaining a positive image in the audience’s mind is the goal of PR.
PR in the Education
With a growing number of schools, colleges, and universities in the market, educational institutes have become more competitive, and it has become imperative for them to differentiate their brand.
PR helps education institutes raise their brand awareness on the web, so that potential students are able to learn more about the institution without visiting in person. This helps maintain a positive image of the institution.
Also, by increasing brand visibility through PR, it becomes easier to attract individuals, corporations, and governments to donate to the cause.
Besides being an important part of our communication, it contributes to the dissemination of information regarding admissions, placement seasons, festivals, events, and crisis situations.
Today, every institution needs to build international academic collaborations. Institutions can benefit from PR by gaining international exposure and fostering academic partnerships with foreign universities offering programs for international student exchanges and professor exchanges, international accreditation, and international research partnerships.
To better understand PR’s role in reaching the institute’s target audience, let’s review briefly what PR can do:
By promoting the institute’s academic offerings, faculty, activities, and events, PR can cater to the needs of prospective students and even faculty. The institution will gain both domestic and international students as a result of PR.
Recruiters can also benefit from PR by establishing stronger relationships with industry, agencies, and prominent institutions. When it comes to driving campus placements and seeking rewarding career opportunities for students, the way an institute handles PR plays a major role in influencing decision-makers in its favor.
Following graduation, many alumni lose touch with their alma mater. Alumni can be invited back as faculty, industry experts, speakers, and help raise funds and facilitate placements for institutes with PR.
In continuous and consistent PR, an educational institute can change the perception about the institution among the target audience.
As a public relations professional, you use media such as press releases, interviews, articles, and television shows as well as digital platforms to connect with customers. Digital public relations has gained a lot of traction in the past decade.
Online publications, blogs, emailers, and social media sites are used to reach the audience with information about the brand.
Through the use of social media advertising, institutions can reach a wider target audience quickly and earn a better return on their marketing investment through boosting content on digital platforms such as Facebook.
The importance of finding the right PR agency for educational institutions is paramount when it comes to developing an effective PR campaign and promoting the right content through the right outlets and at the right time.
Read Also: 4 Tips on How to Promote Your Brand
