PR 101: Back to Basics

According to the Public Relations Society of America, “Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other.” But what does that really mean? Let’s explore who needs PR, what its limitations are and how (and when) PR can benefit your team and your company.

What is PR?
Public relations (PR) is the human side of marketing that builds a two-way street between an organization and its audiences. PR delivers the right messages to the right audiences, generating awareness and goodwill and attracting new business opportunities through targeted exposure. It can be a powerful tool for long-term, sustainable growth and success.

Activities often included in a PR program or menu of services range from media relations and press releases to financial communications, industry speaking opportunities and awards, as well as corporate and executive messaging, background, Q&A or issue response materials.

The communications focus of PR activity in general requires PR resources to know a client’s company and offerings well enough to emphasize the strengths and capitalize on and sometimes create opportunities that bring positive attention to the organization.

Who needs PR?
Any organization whose goal it is to sell something, to persuade someone to buy something, or to educate and influence a group of people to think a certain way or act on a particular belief can benefit from public relations. In other words, virtually any organization can benefit from some or all of the diverse services offered under the PR umbrella.

While some large corporations have in-house departments devoted to corporate or even product- or market-specific PR, smaller businesses or business units may not have internal resources available. In fact, some may be hesitant to invest in outside PR counsel due to uncertainty or inexperience about PR objectives, budgeting, reasonable value or even reliable measurement of results or ROI. So, it is important to understand the limitations and possibilities of PR to determine whether your organization is at a point where the investment makes good business sense. 

What does PR do (and not do)?
Public relations is not a short-term solution to increase sales and drive profits – effective, goal-oriented communications with specific audiences involves strategic positioning, relationship building and timing. However, it can, should and does influence sales activity by communicating the benefits of your product or service, highlighting customer successes and positioning your company and experts as thought leaders in your industry.

PR alone does not build brand awareness, but it is a critical and timely element of an integrated marketing communications program. More effective marketing strategies exist solely for building awareness – advertising, special events, direct mail, paid sponsorships and product placement, for example.

However, in the process of creating exposure and establishing context for your company’s value, PR builds credibility by way of third-party validation, which is something “pay-for-play” marketing programs cannot achieve.

Today’s PR is not self-serving or limited in its reach – it’s not merely finding attention for talking heads or “creating news.” Strategic PR is about earning a reliable reputation with every stakeholder your company may have: employees and candidates, communities, government, customers and prospects, vendors and partners, media, industry and financial analysts and stockholders.

What can PR do for you?
PR is one of the most interactive elements of marketing communications (or “marcom”), which combines activities such as advertising, collateral materials, Web sites, publicity (media relations), industry relations, promotions, packaging, point-of-sale displays, trade shows and special events to position and promote a product, service or idea.

“Reactive” public relations prepares a company to deal with the public and the media in the event of a crisis. This is a crucial aspect of PR – one that we hope you never need – but not the only one available for managing a company’s image and market perception.

A strategic, proactive approach that leverages corporate expertise, industry opinion and current news and events can be closely integrated with advertising, direct mail and other marketing elements to provide even more exposure and coverage.

More than just writing a press release and distributing it on the newswire, successful public relations is dependent upon building and maintaining relationships – with a clear understanding of how the various elements work together and support your goals.

The various elements of public relations may be used in any appropriate combination for an organization, company or individual – most companies vary their programs quarterly according to marketing objectives:

• Counseling – Providing advice to company management
• Audience/Market Research – Determining attitudes and behaviors of audiences in an attempt to influence them
• Media Relations – Leveraging media relationships to garner publicity and build understanding of your target issues with key audiences
• Publicity/Outreach – Distributing editorial messages to media without payment to further public interest in an organization through news or trend stories
• Thought Leadership / Expert Visibility – Creating visibility and positioning for the organization’s leaders through speaking, awards, contributed article, column/opinion and executive exposure opportunities that highlight the organization’s strengths and values with key decision makers
• Case Studies – Emphasizing the shared successes of an organization with its customers through profiles featuring projects completed and results achieved
• Employee/Member Relations – Informing, educating and motivating an organization’s employees and members
• Community Relations – Participating in community events to benefit the community and the organization
• Public/Government Affairs – Working with legislative and regulatory bodies and developing involvement in public policy
• Issues Management – Identifying and addressing public issues with which an organization should be concerned and providing leadership
• Financial Relations – Creating and maintaining investor confidence and building positive exposure and relationships with the financial community
• Industry Relations – Building relationships with research, peer/partner and trade organizations within an organization’s industry
• Fund Raising – Demonstrating a need and encouraging an organization’s employees and supporters to contribute to the need
• Minority/Multicultural Relations – Crafting specific messages used to relate with minority or niche groups
• Special Events – Creating interest in an organization with a uniquely themed or value-added activity

Hiring a firm to create and execute a PR marketing strategy is one of the best investments a company can make because PR can positively impact a company’s bottom line.

Without it, you can’t be sure that your audiences know who your company is or what services you provide, or what your industry needs to know about those services.

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