The softer side of PR.

The agency world has been called upon to lend a helping hand and provide pro-bono work for small struggling charities.

With the enslught of the economic crisis almost everyone was touched by it, with no exception for small charities. As some within the industry have explained, they are volunteer-led with little money and they need something to help them punch above their weight.

Step in pr agencies. Some say that to work best the charities need to use the stories of the people they help, which is their best resource and could significantly raise their profile and provide the potential to forge a bigger role in the current climate.

What is really required is that small charities need to get across key elements to build their brand: be authentic, be dinstinctive and most importantly, be compelling. An emotional engagement is vital, but not always focusing on a tear jerker.

So it is quite possible and not too much work for pr agencies to pass along some of their industry tricks and improve the standing of the struggling charities, not least in the influential digital field through different forms of digital pr.