Great publicity is more effective than great advertising because great publicity is cost efficient, if not free. A great news article in the local paper about your company and the work you do and the local people you hire will be remembered far longer than a small ad in the classified section.
For visual effects one of the best forms of public relations has got to be employee word of mouth. The artists and employees that you hire are the strengths of the visual effects industry, without them we would not be able to produce the high quality work that the studios do. The nature of the visual effects industry requires these employees to freelance and move from studio to studio depending on where the work is. So the best thing you can do as a company is treat these freelancing employees like royalty because they are the ones discussing your company whether it be in a positive or negative light.
If a company has poor management, employees become frustrated and vent this frustration, spreading bad publicity about the company. If a company has great facilities, a weekly meeting and ping pong Fridays, employees view the company favorably therefore spreading good publicity.
If a company develops a bad reputation via artist word of mouth then it is going to be difficult to employ these artists that often have multiple employment opportunities. At this point you may have to revert to offering artists a higher salary to compensate and persuade them to accept the job offer.
5 ways to improve you company PR
- Be more active on social media. Post updates on LinkedIn and Twitter about new projects, industry news and employment opportunities.
- Take a look at employee exit interviews or create an anonymous forum for employees to post comments about the company. Assess what may need to be improved.
- Attend local job fairs and universities. This creates a great community presence and builds professional relationships.
- Have frequent social events and functions. A weekly company meeting shows that you care and want to include your employees in company communication.
- Develop better relationships with your employees. Past, present and future. If your HR department has built trusting relationships with past and present employees then those employees will get in touch when they are looking for employment or they may send a referral.
When I think about companies in the industry that have great PR they all have similar ways in which they are achieving the status.
- They have a great recruiter. Someone who is a great communicator and is pro-active is sourcing and relationship building.
- They are present on all social media platforms and contribute professional and exciting content.
- They have a reputation for treating their employees well. There is a community presence that they feel a part of. They can contribute at meetings, they feel comfortable approaching members of management, there is the opportunity to socialize.
- Management is efficient and effective. They have a company structure where everyone knows their place and their duties. Managers and Supervisors have impeccable communication and time management.
Having good PR doesn't have to involve witty promotions or spending time thinking about how to spin some company hype. The best PR is honest and my advice to the visual effects industry would be to work on your employee relationships, build trust and treat them well.
