When it comes to measuring brand image – credibility, trustworthiness, and expertise are essential factors that play a significant role in shaping public perceptions.
But with many important discussions happening around social and environmental issues, businesses that want to build trust and engagement cannot afford to sit on the sidelines.
For an industry at the nexus of many of these discussions, the oil and gas sector has a particularly complicated job when it comes to managing a public relations strategy.
Many factors play into building successful and ethical businesses in the 21st century; still, communications can play a vital role in how a company speaks to its community and, in turn, how they see themselves and their role in society.
This article will consider some of the strategies the oil and gas sector can use to build a public relations approach that reflects a positive and trustworthy image.
The first step of any public relations strategy is to understand and define your core values. By stepping up to be part of positive solutions, actions and conversations, your business can go a long way towards building positive public perception and engagement.
If your organization is doing good work in the community, you should be communicating that and clearly defining how that connects to the core of your values.
If you think you could be doing more, having some transparency around that and taking actions aligned with your values will go a long way towards building strong community relationships.
If another feature of brand image is trustworthiness, proving that you continually show up for your community is crucial to earning that trust.
This is why you should be connecting your corporate social responsibility efforts with your public relations and business strategy.
Dedicating resources towards community-led initiatives and charitable causes will keep your public relations strategies rooted in relationship-building.
Conversations between consumers and stakeholders will be happening regardless of how your business chooses to get involved.
Becoming an active participant in the conversation is a vital way to leverage your expertise about the industry as a whole and the ways in which the sector is working to address shared challenges.
There is no question that energy has a vital role to play in continuing to shape our world, and the oil and gas sector needs to be at the forefront of those conversations.
While striving to connect with consumers and stakeholders across a wide range of channels, from social media to the grassroots-level discussion, will require significant investment in resources – it will also move the needle when it comes to public relations strategy.
The energy sector has a complicated set of stakeholders when it comes to public relations. They must speak in equal parts to government, industry, consumers, activists and employees. That is a complex set of messaging to balance.
That is why defining and telling your story is an essential part of keeping your message focused and consistent. Your story should be an opportunity to inspire. If that isn’t the story you’re telling, it might be time to look at how you can shift that. Public relations is the art of story-telling, and a good PR strategy will help you do just that.
If you’re looking for support with public relations, media relations or crisis communications, the team at Alchemy can help create and execute winning strategies that build engagement, trust and credibility.
Reach out to us today to learn more!
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