There is a fallacy that most PR firms do PR. They essentially advertise. How is that possible, you ask? Well, this according to marketing gurus and what is stated on Wikipedia (below): “Public relations and advertising are not all, but many public relations campaigns include provisions for advertising. Advertising is the spread of information to raise public awareness about a product, person, service, cause, or organization, and can be seen as a result of effective public relations planning. PR, then, is the creative strategy of a story. It is focused on your target audience and with full use of the tools at your disposal, such as press releases, speeches, public service activities, among others, you can determine what and how people are talking about a company, a brand, a product. .
Steve Jobs and the new Mac successfully landed on the cover of more than 30 magazines in the year the product was released. That’s called “advertising.” However, the real challenge was creating the history of the Mac, through the history of Steve Jobs. That’s public relations work at its best.
Press releases in step with the times
The words “Press Release” or “Press Release” date back a long time, when such written communication was printed and given to the press to spread their news stories. These days, the more common term used is “Press Release” as it has a broader meaning. Materials are now published online, either through news services, within a company, and in other unpaid and to some extent paid sources. As for the term “Press Release”, it is like a short newspaper article that is sent to the media to gain their interest and if they accept it, they will run a story about it.
Demystifying the roles of public relations and marketing
In the same way that PR and Advertising are not the same, the same happens with the first and marketing. Marketing is interested in understanding the consumer to meet their needs/wants, the goals of the business, and helping the business find a way to meet those needs profitably. Public relations, on the other hand, works to build relationships with various sources, reduce conflicts, and improve cooperation between a company and its target audience. Marketing focuses on selling and packaging products or services, while public relations is more about reputation, crisis and image management, as well as brand building. As renowned marketing strategist Al Ries succinctly put it, “PR builds brands. Advertising maintains brands once PR builds them.” Smart public relations will certainly create a healthy environment for marketing. This requires a team with innovative minds.
Therefore, marketing and public relations work best when treated as separate organizational functions. However, they must coordinate in a team effort to ensure that they are working towards the same goals. Advertising is an effective marketing tool and is often used in conjunction with public relations, sales promotion, and personal selling strategies in a marketing mix.
It’s the silly picture
Any seasoned public relations professional will tell you that a favorable corporate reputation and image is an essential part of your mission, whether it’s to retain, restore credibility with your clients, or promote a favorable impression on a public company’s current and potential investors. Companies, however, should also be proactive and focus on their behavior rather than just their words. When it comes to brand building and awareness, a PR firm can implement a great brand story and distribute it through the appropriate targeted media that will be perceived as authentic and unbiased rather than a paid advertisement.
To preserve the shine of brand assets, companies are encouraged to chat frequently online, where people exchange gossip and insights. Without a doubt, prevention is better than cure. By catching problems early, you could take advantage of a deadlock before it spreads further and tarnishes your reputation.
The survey says!
To offer a notable justification for media exposure, depending on the industry you are in, companies should consider hiring a survey company to conduct a survey on some valuable trend that is relevant to their product or service and would be of interest to the general public or a niche market Credible survey results can be used as an ideal media story. One such example is Berlitz Canada, which conducted a survey, via Harris/Decima over several days in March 2008, via an online panel, sampling 1,277 adult Canadians on the benefits of being bilingual or multilingual. , especially with regard to career advancement opportunities. . The results were exploited by turning them into a publicity stunt that formed additional exposure that Berlitz would not otherwise have received in the traditional sense.
Customer service in an ideal world
What’s the point of paying a PR firm to glorify your reputation along with their product or service if they can’t deliver on their promises? Today’s consumer is not just sophisticated, but with fast access to the Internet they can express their frustration online through Twitter, blogs and many more social media sources. Companies advertise a lot about service/customer relations, but surprisingly only a few actually deliver on their promises. At first it seems many lack a vital customer relations policy, including inadequate training and coaching of staff. Picking up the phone and calling certain companies can sometimes be an infuriating experience. People love to hate the phone tree encounter where you have to go through a maze of menus until you finally get to talk to a human, assuming you’re lucky. It shouldn’t have to be like this. Dealing with a company’s customer service center should be an efficient and pleasant event. Businesses must place toll-free numbers in large, conspicuous type on their labels. Calls must be answered on the first or second ring and without a phone chain. The trained person handling calls should be courteous, apologize, and not argue. Amex and Apple are two such companies that seem to have accomplished this. Hire mystery shoppers to measure your service performance and report on your experience/feedback.
Whats Next?
Public Relations, New Media, and Hire Talent Over the years, customers have become more demanding of their service providers. They have come to expect more personalized interaction, personalized solutions, timely results and, without a doubt, “bang for their buck.” Public relations firms are expected to become more transparent, specializing in particular fields, rather than general practitioners, and embrace the new de facto media sources: online social media that is now being integrated with public relations. This includes blogging, Twitter, social media, and viral marketing, among others. That is, to be at the forefront of new fields of media and communication that will be fully utilized in the business of influencing perceptions.
Furthermore, another notable trend is towards widespread audio and video production and communication. From podcasting to mobile video, audio and video will rule our world. Public relations has traditionally been about effective written communications. While that will continue to be important, the new skills required to be part of a society driven by other forms of media will be critical. With the myriad of multinational and boutique PR firms out there, differentiation in service delivery, personalized service and focus on niche markets/industries will be the determining core value equation.
Hiring the right professionals should include candidates with a variety of business experience, especially in marketing, negotiations, including strong written communications. Additionally, future PR practitioners must possess soft skills, common sense, a gift for thinking laterally, and be someone who gets excited about ideas. A degree in communications or marketing should be considered an asset rather than a prerequisite.
Public relations professionals need more skills today than at any time in the past because there are more tasks, more media, and more tools. Therefore, a comprehensive internal training program, as well as external educational support and encouragement, should be part of a company’s incentives for its staff. The fact is that companies that invest in the education and training of their employees receive loyalty and better results from them.
