Prioritising ethics in PR: What every B2B marketer needs to know

What does responsible PR look like?

Responsible PR centres around four key pillars; transparency, honesty, respect and fairness and this starts with getting your own house in order. In the UK, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) sets out a Code of Conduct which all members are bound by. While not everyone is a member, it is a useful point of reference and freely available to read.

Moving on from that essential starting point, there are several traits that all ethical PR strategies have in common:

• Being open and forthcoming: even if a business has something difficult to communicate (i.e. admitting a mistake), providing clear, concise and accurate information is paramount.

• Providing the facts: avoiding any deceptive or misleading language that implies a more positive message than the one actually being communicated.

• Demonstrating consideration and understanding: whether a PR campaign is targeting potential customers, investors, community members or employees, a business will endeavour to listen to its stakeholders and respond appropriately.

• Adhering to industry codes of ethics and conduct: just as PR professionals have their own code of conduct (i.e. avoiding conflict of interest), ethical PR campaigns will adhere to fair processes, ensuring that any campaign treats all people with impartiality, dignity and respect.

• Aligning PR with societal impact: any responsible business today will be aware of social value so making sure that opportunities to make positive societal change are properly delivered and communicated is becoming standard practice. This can include anything from donating staff hours for volunteering to providing training opportunities or lowering emissions by sourcing locally.

Incorporating these elements into your PR strategy (if you aren’t already) will help to encourage genuine, mutually beneficial connections and contribute to building a more holistic, nurturing environment in which to do business.

Building trust from the ground up

As well as the more strategic aspects of responsible PR, demonstrating your integrity by running a reliable and responsive press office is a great start – whether it consists of just one person or an entire team.

It’s not rocket science, but there are several key practices that will ensure your business is remembered for all the right reasons. Responding to journalist enquiries in a timely manner is crucial. Issuing statements and opinion pieces on time and within the word limit is also important. Providing a selection of high-quality visuals and turning authentic responses around as quickly as possible will further enhance your reputation.

It has the added benefit of helping your spokesperson to become one of the first ports of call for industry comment. This helps further raise your profile and position your spokesperson as a trusted ‘voice of authority’. 

Building a good reputation takes time. But if your stakeholders and your target media know and trust you, they will become your champions.

Six tips for developing an ethical PR strategy

1. Know your stakeholders: invest the time in understanding what their priorities, concerns and opinions are. Respect their opinions and ensure the dialogue is open and honest.

2. Be authentic: know what your business stands for, what its core values are and avoid being distracted or persuaded into being disingenuous to fit with someone else’s agenda.

3. Ensure all messaging is clear and accurate: keep it concise, honest, straightforward and to the point.

4. Watch out for bias: ensure the strategy reflects the diversity of the audience and not just the cultural identity of the team.

5. Assess the opportunities to have a positive impact: it may not result in media coverage, but satisfied people speak volumes, whether that’s word of mouth or via social media.

6. Exercise caution when entering into partnership opportunities: do your due diligence on their background and always disclose a transactional agreement.

A quick word on crisis management

In this hyper connected world, it doesn’t take much for a business to suffer reputational damage - even if it is unwarranted. 

If your business is in a crisis, the same principles apply: be transparent, honest, respectful and fair. Trying to hide facts will only lead to further speculation and unwanted attention. 

And finally…

Responsible, ethical B2B PR not only safeguards a business’ reputation, it also maintains the integrity of the PR profession.

At Pod, we pride ourselves on doing right by others, whether that’s supporting our four legged friends at Birmingham Dogs Home, donating staff hours to create beautiful outdoor spaces for primary school children or simply reinforcing our values of being open, honest, caring and flexible to new joiners, we know how to prioritise the things that truly matter. 

If you want to talk to our award-winning B2B PR team, get in touch.