Page 31 - PR Communication Age January-June2020

tions specialist drafts a specialized communication plan and relations is to inform the public, prospective customers,
uses appropriate support of media and other direct and investors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders, and
indirect mediums to create and maintain a positive brand ultimately persuade them to maintain a positive or favor-
image and a strong relationship with the target audiences. able view about the organization, its leadership, products,
Public Relation is the process of managing communications or political decisions. Public relations professionals typically
between a business and its public, or constituents, which work for PR and marketing firms, businesses and compa-
may include: nies, government, and public officials as public information
1. Customers officers and nongovernmental organizations, and nonprofit
2. Employees organizations. Jobs central to public relations include ac-
count coordinator, account executive, account supervisor,
3. Vendors
and media relations manager.
4. Stockholders
5. Influencers Public relations efforts (often called initiatives or campaigns)
are communications activities that enhance visibility, shape
6. Company / Government officials
public perception and affect change. These activities cre-
7. N.G.O.s/ Co-operative societies, etc. ate a positive public image for businesses, non-profit orga-
nizations, and individuals from rock stars to religious lead-
It is a marketing tactic used to inform and educate the ers. Public relation (or PR for short) is considered earned
public/ customers / consumers. Many people use the term media and differs from marketing which you have to pay
Public Relation and advertising as interchangeably, when for.
the terms do not mean the same thing. PR involves sharing
information with the public using platforms that do not There is a lot of truth to the old joke that public relation is
require a payment, such as social media or through press "the care and feeding of reporters." That's because the
releases shared with magazines and newspapers. PR pro- essence of public relations is to inform (and persuade) the
fessionals package information and disseminate it in the public using media like newspapers, magazines, television,
hopes that it will be organically shared. Advertising, on the and radio or social media via the web. Whatever media is
other hand, involves paying for space in the media, or on used, the PR professional needs to convince them that the
websites, and controlling the message that is conveyed. person or organization they represent has a good story to
tell, or a good product to share, with the journalist's read-
The goal of public relations is to shape public perception of ers.
a business, presenting a positive image through various
strategies to its various constituents. Public relations (PR) Public relations specialists establish and maintain relation-
and publicity differ in that PR is controlled internally, ships with an organization's target audience, the media,
whereas publicity is not controlled and contributed by ex- relevant trade media, and other opinion leaders. Common
ternal parties. Public relations may include an organization responsibilities include designing communications cam-
or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using top- paigns, writing press releases and other content for news,
ics of public interest and news items that do not require working with the press, arranging interviews for company
direct payment. This differentiates it from advertising as a spokespeople, writing speeches for company leaders, act-
form of marketing communications. Public relation aims to ing as an organization's spokesperson, preparing clients for
create or obtain coverage for clients for free, also known press conferences, media interviews and speeches, writing
as 'earned media', rather than paying for marketing or ad- website and social media content, managing company repu-
vertising. But in the 2010s, advertising is also a part of tation (crisis management), managing internal communi-
broader PR activities. cations, and marketing activities like brand awareness and
event management.
An example of good public relations would be generating
an article featuring a client, rather than paying for the cli- Success in the field of public relations requires a deep un-
ent to be advertised next to the article. The aim of public derstanding of the interests and concerns of each of the

"Relationships are like glass, complacent when cherished and irreplaceable once trampled on. It is advisable to let the
broken glass be than hurt yourself trying to put it back together."

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