Five reasons why PR – public relations – matters now more than ever
While traditional journalism – news in print and broadcast formats – struggles for its life across the nation, some may wonder whether traditional public relations, or PR might be in the next hospital bed, fighting off the contagion. The truth is that public relations not only remains important, but it has acquired new levels of prominence with the plethora of social and online platforms now available to everyone.
1. Public relations retains many times the value of paid advertising due to its credibility. Public relations is the alignment of a business’s products, service and values with the needs of its customers. It builds brands through “earned transactions,” notably publicity through news, whether in traditional or social and online media, while advertising is based on paid transactions. Having been mediated by an editor or other objective party, public relations bears the stamp of authority of third-party endorsement or word of mouth.
2. Content rules the online universe, and who better than the professionals in public relations firms to provide quality, well-crafted content that delivers real value to readers? When a company has somewhere between 140 characters and a 300-word blog post to create a compelling, meaningful message, every word acquires more heft. No room is available for meandering prose that doesn’t captivate the reader and quickly make important points. PR firms hire pros who are trained in journalism and also have a spark of creativity that makes headlines and copy sparkle.
3. If content rules, search engine optimization, SEO, is the power behind the throne. Companies can’t just launch a website and hope for miracles. They need public relations professionals on their side who will assure every page is optimized for search engines, and news releases are delivered with judicious use of keywords. Reporters and customers are using search constantly – it’s the No. 1 online activity, and Google is by far the leader in this sphere. Even if your content is amazing, it may be lonely and undiscovered without the essential traffic direction of good SEO.
4. The “relations” in public relations are more important now than ever. Relationships with journalists and knowledge of the best ways to deliver the message are PR specialties. The mass emailing tactics of the past no longer work; public relations professionals not only have the media lists but also know how to segment them to reach specific editorial contacts with specific messages. A 2011 survey of journalists worldwide found that while social media is gaining in use, public relations firms were still the number one source reporters use for their stories, and news releases were cited as the first stop in writing a story.
5. Social media is full of possibilities and fraught with peril. Whether a company is a multi-billion-dollar brand or a local retail establishment working to build a brand, those in charge of the social media messaging need to know the rules of the road. PR pros can offer the counsel on how to use social media platforms to listen to customers, avoid pitfalls and, returning to the original definition of public relations, how to align the company’s values, products and services with the needs of its customers. Public relations is about building your brand through earned credibility and trust – and that can never be bought.
