PR has lost its luster in the current political environment, with some nonprofits even swearing it off altogether. As a strategy often perceived to be focused on garnering increased attention, nonprofit leaders may be thinking that the best option is to lie low for now. But maintaining PR as a standard part of organizational strategy for nonprofit communications does not need to mean increasing the level of risk to an organization or its funders. When done right, public relations can be used to more firmly establish an organization as a go-to source, developing issue area recognition and mission clarity that elicit trust.
There is one very important reason foundations should encourage their grantee partners to double down on PR today: its value for establishing and maintaining narrative presence among audiences on particular issues. Of course, it’s best to avoid using PR in ways that draw negative attention or undue scrutiny, but withdrawing completely from the conversations that are animating an organization’s field of work means handing over the power to define the problem and solution to others—some of whom are likely to frame these essential issues in ways that are inaccurate, harmful, and in opposition to advancing progress.
What is more, PR continues to be a central component influencing the mechanisms behind AI search engines, even as search processes are being dramatically transformed by this new technology. According to Forbes, “PR can play a pivotal role in determining which sources AI uses to generate content in search for millions of people.” While there are a number of concerns about the ethical use of AI, the truth of the matter is that it is changing the way people find information. Earned media significantly increases brand authority with AI bots, which offers organizations an opportunity to actively shape a public narrative about important issues and increase public search rankings. Ceding the narrative space is not a winning approach. Instead, we recommend that organizations adopt a public relations strategy, speaking on key issues that help inform how audiences understand their issue area.
This can be done by simultaneously avoiding the most inflammatory topics if the organization is currently at risk. For example, for organizations working on child welfare, pursuing earned media that highlight topics such as these could be desirable:
- Warning signs for neighbors and family members to keep in mind, and how to safely troubleshoot in situations where children are at risk.
- The challenges extended family members face when navigating the child welfare system.
- Why the system functions in the ways it does, and how community members can contribute to increasingly better support for families and children.
- Highlighting stories of real people (anonymized where necessary) moving through the system, to illustrate how something better is possible, and the ways the organization contributes to that more positive future.
The value in these topics is that they are oriented toward the needs of your audiences and demonstrate the organization’s expertise, experience, and reliability as an expert on the topic. They help to fill out the context in which audiences understand child welfare and families in crisis. An approach of this kind can:
- Help ensure an organization is likely to be found in search results that contribute to AI Overviews.
- Establish the organization as a trusted source and shape the way that people understand the key issues relevant to the work your foundation is funding.
If your grantee partners are struggling with communications or using silence as their sole strategy, get in touch for a confidential, exploratory conversation.