How Public Relations Work
The PR or public relations can be seen as cheap advertising but also reactive to external events that may be happening in your organization – however, get it right and it can have the largest ROI in your marketing budget.
What is PR (Public Relations)?
In this media saturated world “Image is Everything”. The way that you present yourself to the world and their perception of you is vitally important. Public relations can turn nobodies into celebrities and saints into pariahs.
The History of PR
Public relations came along with the development of mass media, which allowed companies or individuals to communicate with a huge number of individuals easily and relatively cheaply. At first the medium was the printed word, newspapers, pamphlets and books. Now it is also the Internet, TV and radio.
At the beginning of the 20th century, journalists used their new power to stir up public dissent against powerful monopolies and wealthy industrialists who ran the country. Those attacked hit back by employing the embryonic “public relations” specialists to counter the bad press with positive news about themselves.
In the USA Ivy Lee became famous for using the press as a vehicle for his counter attacks on behalf of the rich and powerful, including J.D. Rockefeller. He became so successful whitewashing even the darkest corporate misdemeanours, that PR professionals gained a very negative reputation. The public came to know them as “spin doctors”, able to put a positive “spin” on even the most dubious of corporate shenanigans.
Public Relations in the 21st Century
The PR professional today may still carry the stigma from the early days of the discipline but they have become an indispensable part of modern life. They are no longer used exclusively by politicians and companies trying to present an honest and caring face to the world, but also by small businesses, charities, authors, activists, universities, and non-profit organizations. Anyone, in fact, who relies on the public good will to operate successfully.
What does a PR company do?
As Lord North once said “News is what somebody, somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising.” PR is, fundamentally, advertising. Being good at what you do is only the start. People need to know how good you are. No matter what business you are in, you’re selling an image of yourself, your products and your services and PR manages that image and presents the best possible face to your customer - the public.
Media exposure on radio and TV and in print increase your perceived worth, and the worth of your company. Even if your company is a relatively small one, good PR can help to level the playing field against much larger competition.
A PR consultancy will do many of the following:
- Write and distribute press releases: Local newspapers and magazines are perfect for low cost publicity and will usually gladly run articles about your company’s efforts in the local community. National exposure is always important and can lift a company in the public perception, giving you a higher profile with your suppliers and customers. You can use any positive articles published nationality as a marketing tool on your website or newsletter.
- Pitch articles about your company: Regardless of your line of business, PR representatives know there’s always a story somewhere; there are always opportunities for feature articles and profiles to give your business the kind of visibility that your larger competitors enjoy.
- Plan special events and community involvement: A creative PR firm will always be looking for imaginative ways too promote you. They can help you organize special events, community involvement, and philanthropic activities in the local community that will raise your company’s profile in a very positive way.
- Conduct market research: Without knowing how you are currently perceived by your public makes it very difficult to change that perception for the better. PR firms will be able to produce and assess customer surveys, focus group reports, and other market input to gauge the public perception of your company.
- Network with local businesses: Use your PR firm’s network in order to build your own. An established PR firm should have extensive ties throughout the business community. If they can’t promote themselves then how can they hope to promote you?
Remember that if you employ a public relations firm to present your business to the public, you’re forming an important strategic alliance. How much you gain will depend on how much you put into the relationship and a PR company cannot do good work without your constant input and information.
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Wikipedia’s entry on the history of PR provides a more accurate synopsis. The likes of Barnum’s circus and the US railway tycoons of the late 1800s were using publicity well before the 20th Century rolled around.
Secondly and most importantly PR is NOT advertising. At a basic level, advertising is paid space in the media and PR isn’t. At a less basic basic level, advertising is the best way to convey a simple idea to a large number of people and to create an emotional attachment to a brand e.g. the passion of Ford vs Holden (car) owners, the prices of goods at the Myer sale or Best and Less etc. Public relations builds and protects reputations of individuals and brands, raises awareness and educates. It takes longer to achieve but a brand or individual’s reputation can be a very powerful sales tool e.g. the power of the Apple brand attracts millions of customers to new product releases and lets it set its own prices, Arnott’s Tim Tam biscuits or Warren Buffet’s stock market investment tips.
The list of what a PR agency will provide is very tactical and marketing communications focussed. I’d prefer to suggest to your readers that if they are looking to hire an agency for the first time that they they consider the audience they want to reach first (who buys their products and services – or who isn’t at the moment), work out what their business does (the message to send) and needs to do (raise awareness, educate about a new topic, recruit staff, build the owner’s reputation etc.), and then decide the best tactics. You haven’t mentioned any internal communications tactics with staff and/or business partners or even ackowledged the specialised industry communications fields (e.g. Government, Healthcare, Technology, Financial etc.) with the specialist knowledge that agencies can provide to clients.
Jumping straight to a press release or opinion article, holding an event, networking or conducting market research serves the agency well (hours billed) but does it really solve the client’s business need?
I’d like to hope that as a profession in the 21st Century, we work with the client to diagnose the communications need upfront and then advise them of the best use of their limited marketing budget to achieve that goal. ROI should not be solely measured on the numbers of articles that appeared from a press release but rather the business outcomes you help achieve for the client.
Kind regards,
Anthony Lowe.