Prs Figured

I got PR and it did nothing for me Whose fault is it?

Of course in my daily PR duties, I run across individuals and companies that have obtained PR services only to be disappointed that the heavens and earth did not move. Maybe the PR campaign did not accomplish their goals, maybe no one still knows that your brand exists, maybe you didn’t sell a single unit, or maybe you didn’t see any tangible results of what your PR pro said he or she would do. While I will admit, there are some janky PR and publicists out there, I want those considering obtaining PR-notice I did not say publicity, I’ll explain in a future blog post- to consider some very important points. I’ve said it time and time again, PR does not = sales but more importantly, PR is about building relationships. Think about some of your best friendships and most successful relationships. It took time to get to know that person. It took face-to-face interaction, talking on the phone, debating over differences, and finding similarities. Over time, you got to know that person inside and out like the back of your hand. While I have given you some common use examples of building relationships, lets think about relationships in terms of business and public relations. Trust and relationships are key to PR.

Let’s see what the experts have to say about building media relations from Public Relations Practices: Managerial Case Studies and Problems:

1. Media influence is cumulative and long-term. A single news report, even if covered by media across the country, or an item in a single medium, even if it’s the evening news, usually causes little if any behavior or attitude change. But when many media cover a subject over the years, perhaps expressing a viewpoint on the topic, whole generations can be influenced. For example, most of us have no personal experience whatsoever with communism, yet we strongly oppose it-because all our lives it has been a subject portrayed in a negative way in our media.

2. The main power of the media is to make us aware–of products, services, companies and ideas, and to provide information about them. By itself, awareness rarely moves us to action or even shapes an opinion. But as a first step in the decision-making process, it is vital. If we don’t know something exists, we can’t do anything about it. Scholars call this agenda-setting role of the media.

3. The media concentrate on reporting bad news–the errors, accidents and scandals of human society. As an early American political figure said, “In a republic based upon public, it is necessary to excite a spirit of inquiry–to furnish public men with information of their errors.” Today, this statement is true not only of elected officials but of all executives and all organizations as well. As educator Scott Cutlip said, “There are no private organizations today, even if they are totally owned by one of a few persons, because all must abide by the rule of public consent.” But research shows we prefer to hear about bad news rather than good news, by a factor of seven to one. In their own marketing interest, then, it follows that the media would feature bad news. It’s what their customers demand.

So whether you are considering obtaining PR services for the first time or think back on some of the challenges you’ve had with PR in the past, remember that you have to allow your PR campaign to grow and develop into something that is credible and highly trust-worthy. Relationships–especially with dwindling print media and the 24-hour cable news cycle- takes time.

About the Author

Lila Brown is the owner and founder of Ella Bee Social Media & Public Relations, a company that specializes in combining new media tactics with traditional public relations strategies. A graduate from Georgia State University with a B.A. in Journalism: Public Relations, Lila has worked in broadcast radio, print and online media and corporate communications. Lila has more than three years of public relations experience from working with companies like 180 Urban Design, American Football Coaches Association, Bloomingdale’s, Belk, Comcast, The TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, and the Atlanta Press Club. Not only has she work with large companies, but has been a great contribution to major multi-million PR firms in Atlanta.

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