Why should you consider public relations and publicity?
What is Public Relations?
PR means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. When I ask audiences and clients what they think “public relations” means, I get as many different answers as there are people, sometimes more!
Even the experts have different definitions. The Public Relations Society of America, of which I am an accredited member, states: “Public relations helps our complex, pluralistic society to reach decisions and function more effectively by contributing to mutual understanding among groups and institutions. It serves to bring private and public policies into harmony.”
Wow! Now I feel like I’m working for world peace!
Merriam-Webster dictionary is a little more down-to-earth in its definition of PR: “the business of inducing the public to have understanding for and goodwill toward a person, firm, or institution”.
Blah…Blah… Blah. Yeah, that’s pretty boring and doesn’t tell you what’s in it for you.
One of the best definitions I’ve heard for PR is “the business of getting good publicity.” I like that because it sounds like what I do for my clients when I go to work every day. One problem is that it overlooks “crisis PR” which is one of my areas of expertise. Crisis PR is the art of avoiding bad publicity when something bad happens. But the bigger problem with this definition is that it feeds into the common confusion between the PR that I do and advertising.
Advertising v. Public Relations
Advertising Public Relations
1) Paid Placement Free Placement
2) Guaranteed to run No guarantee that story will run
3) Can be repeated as often Repeat coverage usually
as you are willing to pay requires new ideas
4) You control the content The journalist controls the content
5) Creates visibility Creates credibility & visibility
6) Consumers know you Consumers who trust the journalist,
paid for the message trust what they say
Let’s put it this way:
Most of what I do is PR, not advertising. To be candid, PR is harder than advertising, with less guarantees, but I know that with the right PR team it will get you more results for less money than an advertising campaign.
Why Do PR? What’s in it for my company and me?
The answer to this question is much easier to answer:
Public relations creates “buzz”. It’s the process that gets people talking about you, your product, your service, and your skills in ways that are favorable to you.
Public relations creates visibility. It places you at the top of their minds.
It’s why certain “experts” seem to get all the media attention while others toil in the background.
Public relations conveys transparency and credibility in a cost-effective way. It brings positive, Top-of-Mind awareness to you, your business, or your organization. Awareness brings a strong brand image. A strong brand brings new clients, new customers, and new opportunities.
Public relations conveys benefits not always found in conventional advertising:
- It leverages the credibility of third-party endorsement
- It is a process, not a product
- It builds visibility, familiarity, trust, and awareness
- It conveys a positive impression that shapes attitudes and perceptions
- It applies innovative awareness strategies via new and emerging media
- It’s accessible to smaller businesses and organizations
- It can increase sales in a target market.
People always get both excited and skeptical about the last bullet point – more sales. But it’s true; a great PR campaign can increase sales. Sometimes increased sales will come as a direct affect of a well-placed story. Sometimes it’s harder to prove a correlation, but if you have a few stories and a good campaign you are increasing public knowledge of your service or product, they will more than likely think of you down the road (assuming your service or product is relevant for them).
