What Is Community Relations?

Com­mu­ni­ty rela­tions is defined by the rela­tion­ship between a com­pa­ny and its prox­i­mal com­mu­ni­ty or com­mu­ni­ties. Exist­ing as a brand with­in a neigh­bor­hood, coun­try or dig­i­tal hang­out is no longer enough to earn a com­pa­ny neigh­bor­hood favor. 

With so many resources avail­able, includ­ing mon­ey and large speak­ing plat­forms, com­pa­nies are seek­ing out ways to help nour­ish their com­mu­ni­ties and in turn, com­mu­ni­ties are scru­ti­niz­ing brands for what they bring to the neigh­bor­hood table.

Become the neighbor of choice

In any indus­try you’re in, you want to be your community’s neigh­bor of choice. When some­thing goes wrong, they’re look­ing to you; and vice ver­sa, when you need a lit­tle pull through a tricky zon­ing per­mit, your com­mu­ni­ty is there to help wave you to the fin­ish line. 

How can I earn that coveted neighbor of choice status?

Learn how to leverage your company resources to benefit your community

What resources do you have avail­able through your com­pa­ny that can be of assis­tance to your com­mu­ni­ty? Finan­cial allo­ca­tion is not the only way to help. Think about your reach on social media plat­forms, lead­ers who have per­sua­sive polit­i­cal pull or ser­vices that your com­pa­ny can offer to locals for free. 

Creating allies

Who in your com­mu­ni­ty do you want to be your allies? As you pour efforts into caus­es, estab­lish­ments or peo­ple in the local area, you are set­ting the ground for a return on your invest­ment. Con­sid­er wise­ly whom you sup­port and part­ner with — how is their neigh­bor­hood rep­u­ta­tion? Do they have over­sight of affairs you will be delv­ing into lat­er on? Can your rela­tion­ship be mutu­al­ly ben­e­fi­cial? By cre­at­ing com­mu­ni­ty allies, you earn pro­tec­tion against future inci­dences and reg­u­la­to­ry priv­i­leges or conveniences. 

Positive and sustainable relationships 

Cre­ate pos­i­tive rela­tion­ships with indi­vid­u­als, groups, and orga­ni­za­tions. These rela­tion­ships will last the length of your company’s life, so make them sus­tain­able. Con­sid­er your com­mu­ni­ty rela­tions in every mar­ket­ing and busi­ness decision. 

Community concern

Always address com­mu­ni­ty issues and con­cerns right away. As a pow­er­ful brand, you are part of the com­mu­ni­ty you’re invest­ing in — be sure to show it. Include news and sup­port for con­cerns in your social posts, web­site blogs, and newslet­ter con­tent. Pull resources togeth­er to pro­vide in times of need and always ask how you can help. 

Community programs

Set up or get involved in com­mu­ni­ty pro­grams through phil­an­thropy, vol­un­teerism, part­ner­ships and in-kind dona­tions. Task a team with find­ing new ways to improve the qual­i­ty of life in the com­mu­ni­ty. The more you do for your com­mu­ni­ty, the more they will have your back when you face a time of need or favor. 

Integrate the community vision into the brand

Once you write out your com­mu­ni­ty rela­tions vision, adapt it to every aspect of your brand strat­e­gy. Your com­mu­ni­ty is with you for the long haul — a rela­tion­ship that will well pay off in time. 

Include your community vision in speeches

When­ev­er address­ing the pub­lic, men­tion how your deci­sion at hand will affect the com­mu­ni­ty and how you plan to exe­cute what’s next together. 

By getting smaller, we get bigger

By focus­ing your efforts on your per­son­al com­mu­ni­ty, the world around us gets enriched by col­lab­o­ra­tion, com­mu­ni­ca­tion and an inter­weav­ing of resources. If you feel tempt­ed to expand your cause and your resources, check in first with your small­er, more sat­u­rat­ed com­mu­ni­ty efforts.

Work with Rosy Strategies

Rosy Strate­gies is expe­ri­enced in help­ing brands com­mu­ni­cate and work with­in their com­mu­ni­ties to bol­ster efforts and suc­cess for both par­ties. If you want to add a com­mu­ni­ty rela­tions strat­e­gy to your mar­ket­ing efforts, we encour­age you to con­sult with our team and build a smart, com­pre­hen­sive plan to make your brand the com­mu­ni­ty neigh­bor of choice.