True Blue Communications Blog
What is Public Relations?
Transcript
Today we're going to have a vocabulary lesson. And the term is "public relations." What is public relations?
This is a term that I hear very frequently misused, sometimes, unfortunately, even among my peers. Many people think that PR is getting a company or a client's name printed or broadcast in the news media, which formerly we would call "media relations." Media relations is and can be a function of public relations, but that is not "public relations" defined. That would be like saying a point of purchase display or a direct mail piece is "marketing."
In my studies, I have come across many attempts to define "public relations," and here is my favorite. It says that "public relations" is the management function that builds and maintains relationships with the key groups of people, the "publics," upon which the success or failure of your business depends. In short, what that means is PR is all about increasing exposure and also staying on good terms with the people who could make or break your business.
A key phrase to pull out of that definition I just gave was "building and maintaining relationships." How do we go about building and maintaining relationships in our daily lives, professionally and personally? It's all about effective communication - and that's where a public relations professional can really help. A well-rounded PR pro knows that while media relations could be an important part of a public relations campaign, there are many other communications challenges and opportunities that they may be able to help a client or an employer address.
For example, other functions include internal campaigns - that might involve increasing employee moral or getting a board or key stakeholders to buy into a certain idea that an organization is proposing. It could have to do with crisis management. It could have to do with community relations and getting out there on a grassroots level to increase exposure among your community. But most importantly, it's about figuring out what you're trying to accomplish as an organization, who are you trying to motivate and connect with, and then you think about how you do that.
Public relations is not just media relations. It is about building and maintaining relationships with the key groups of people who influence your business.
