PR for Good: Contribute to the community with purpose

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, a question from within ourselves has constantly arisen: what can we do to help our local communities, especially if we’re not frontline workers?

As PR professionals and communication specialists, we can use our knowledge to assist not-for-profit organisations and brands to communicate societal issues that really matter, sharing the voices of the unheard, and contributing to the greater good of our communities.

Should your company wish to use its power and influence to do good in your communities and for the wider society, which hopefully many do, here are some work for good communication best practices to keep in mind.

Connect with purpose: For many brands and corporate organisations, having a CSR or Purpose-focused strategy in place is important and necessary, especially with consumers’ growing attention towards the role that businesses play in addressing certain societal issues. Careful consideration should be applied before jumping on the back of a charitable cause and societal issue, and the brand should aim to align the values of your (or client) company with your PR and marketing efforts. (Want to read more about Brand Purpose? Check out Why Doing Good Makes Great Sense.

Prioritise the positives: As communicators, we understand that ‘shock’ and ‘guilt’ can be attention grabbing tactics. However, these can often be quite negative and upsetting for the audience. Consider the sentiment of your audience; will they appreciate shock tactics or prefer to receive positive and inspiring content instead? Often, impactful content that matters is more memorable, well-received and more effectively generates change.

Always-on: Getting active, remaining active, and following through is crucial. Be persistent with your message and your actions in order to demonstrate genuine passion and create long lasting influence.

Do not just focus on the vanity of numbers: Behavioural and perceptional change is the key, but it is hard to measure soon after a campaign finishes. Measure what you can. To get people talking about something that they didn’t previously is an example of change. Remember what the real goal is and who you’re trying to help.

At Sinclair, we pride ourselves on our commitment to our local communities, dedicating our professional time through our Work for Good programme that supports NGOs and works with businesses that share our passion for creating positive impact. Reach out to us to find out more about our work with WWF, FWD X Special Olympics and ART Power HK, to name a few, all of which drove change in the community via public and stakeholder engagement.