Recently the CEO of Goya Foods, Robert Unanue, praised President Trump for his leadership. Unanue’s words got him and the company into big trouble with the Hispanic community and there were calls for a boycott.  In case you didn’t know, Goya, founded by Don Prudencio Unanue and his wife Carolina in 1936, is the largest family owned manufacturer of Hispanic foods in the U.S.

In an odd way, this boycott could end up benefiting Goya. Images of its product are in the news and it is leading some to try out some of their products. In fact, there are reports of Trump supporters buying Goya products and Ivanka Trump tweeted a photo of her with a can of Goya black beans. That tweet got Ivanka into trouble since Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a complaint against her with the Office of Government Ethics.  The group states that the post was in violation of federal ethics since federal employees are prohibited from endorsing “any product, service or enterprise.” Inquiries into Ivanka Trump notwithstanding, studies have shown that while boycotts can be effective in getting the targeted company to make concessions, their affect is more reputational, as opposed to financial.

Of course, you don’t want your business to be the subject of a boycott, nor do want your company’s products or services to be mentioned in a federal ethics probe. Yet, you should be more concerned about getting positive media coverage. How can your company do this? 

First off, let go of the idea that public relations is just a “firefighting” mechanism that you use when things go bad, like a boycott. Your company needs to be proactive in promoting things that are good and not just new products.  Have you figured out a way to reduce waste at your company?  Does your company donate a portion of profits to a nonprofit organization?  Is your product or service related to a specific time of year or do you want to let people know that your product or service can be used all year round?  Always watch for ways to tie your business activities to trending news.  As the former chief communications officer of Ford Motor Company, Ray Day said, “… just dousing the fire would only leave us with vacant factories, empty showrooms and a weakened company.”  People like good news, people like it when companies share good news and people will spend money with a company that shares good news.  So, share your company’s good news early and often.

It also helps to learn more about the reporter, not just their beat but what they like/dislike and miscellaneous interests.  One way to do that is to follow reporters on social media.  Doing that will help you to learn not only about the reporter, but a little about his or her work schedule and deadlines, so that you can send your news at a time when the reporter is most responsive. 

You don’t have to wait for a catastrophe to reach out to the media.  You can contact them with positive information.  Maybe you’ll get in the news and maybe not.  The good thing about being proactive with your media relations efforts is that you will develop relationships with journalists.  Eventually the editors or reporters will need information for a story they are working on and they could contact you for information and quote you in the story.  When reporters consider you a go to expert source, that’s good news for you and your business.