Green Public Relations: Be Green, Be Seen

It is no secret that our world is changing. We’re undergoing a dramatic shift as consumers are behaving in more environmentally sustainable ways. Of course, while saving precious resources and our environment, there are opportunities for companies. Opportunities that have created another type of “green” for PR professionals – green public relations. Stop and consider that… *89 percent of consumers choose brands aligned with a social cause *74 percent pay attention to brands aligned with a social cause *69 percent shop for brands aligned with a social cause *And 66 percent recommend brands aligned with a social cause If you’re not engaging in green public relations, you may be losing sales each and every day and doing irreparable harm to your corporate reputation (and, perhaps, your company’s stock price). In undertaking a green public relations campaign, you should understand that it should be more than “window-dressing” or “lip service” – such as the annual clean-up day (which coincides with Earth Day and consists of employees wearing slogan-bearing T-shirt and photo ops for your CEO). Environmental activists as well as the media tend to see through such things. Instead, hire on a firm experienced in green public relations. Effective green public relations strategists specialists won’t just report your news, they’ll help you create it. There are many ways you can contribute to the “greening” of the environment and a savvy and experienced green public relations firm can help. If your product or service isn’t green, green public relations can get you involved in environmentally-oriented fundraisers or event affiliations. If your company is donating proceeds to environmental causes, green public relations professionals will make it known. A consistent release of news, blog posts and media pitches should be central to your green public relations efforts. Whether its placing stories covering the launch of a new product or service, investor events, fundraising and venture financing, staff announcements, strategic acquisitions, profit reports, or even benefit studies, generating consistent and positive exposure is essential for green public relations. All green public relations efforts should incorporate social media. Interacting with media and the public via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube content and involvement can only help burnish your reputation as a good corporate citizen. Gaining investor confidence and appeal for venture capitalists, private equity and mergers and acquisitions through successful green public relations efforts is also critical for advanced green technologies that require funding into order to complete studies and implementation. rnFor more information visit to http://www.makovsky.com