Charlotte Desorgher on how to get the press and the public to notice your organisation
Falling grants, mergers, stock transfers and name changes have transformed the face of social housing and created intense competition among registered social landlords. In this crowded marketplace, how can an organisation stand out?

What makes you special?
The most important thing is to try to identify what makes you different from your peers – and every RSL has something that sets it apart. It might be superb tenant relations, a great track record of investing in non-housing-related projects, or excellent management systems. These distinguishing features or strengths should be communicated to as many people as possible at every available opportunity.

Work the media
If you want a high profile, you need to deal with the press. Your partners and funders, and local authority officers and members, read newspapers and magazines avidly. So work with the press, but be strategic. Don't make the mistake of thinking that press relations is about throwing out as much information as possible in the hope that something will get picked up. Try to identify stories that demonstrate one or another of your key qualities and then make sure these are clearly outlined in your press releases or conversations with journalists.

You also need to be creative. Look out for stories in the press on which you an "piggyback". For example, the publication of the national crime statistics is an ideal time to talk to journalists if you run a mentoring project aimed at stopping young people offending.

Your publications
Continue the strategic and creative approach in your publications. Ensure the message about your key strengths comes across in all your printed materials, from leaflets to tenant newsletters.

This is especially true in your annual report – usually the most expensive publication produced by an association but often the most unfocused. It is also a publication typically affected by the herd instinct that seems to take over housing associations at times. Pity the poor Housing Corporation officer in October, their desk groaning from the weight of annual reports titled Working in Partnership or More than Housing or whatever is this year's favourite theme.

Develop the theme of your annual report from your key distinguishing features. Brief copywriters and designers on these features and ensure they are woven through the report. This doesn't mean spin or puffery – of course you should still be reporting on the work done throughout the year and on your key performance indicators. But be aware that the annual report is a vital document for helping your readers understand what makes you tick as an organisation.If you want to stand out, be brave in your choice of design: no one ever got noticed by being boring.

Your people, your ambassadors
Don't forget your staff. They are not only the people that make your organisation work, they are its public face. They can be its best ambassadors too. Make sure they know what the organisation's key strengths are and encourage them to talk positively about their employer. But make sure your staff relations are good first in order to be sure of their honest support.

In summary, work out what your particular strengths are and see those strengths as the qualities that differentiate you from your peers. Then be focused about communicating these strengths to all your audiences in a regular and sustained manner. That way, no one will be in any doubt what you stand for – and what makes you stand out.