What Is PR? What Is the Role of Public Relations in Business?
I will like to start this lecture note with this example
How often do you see Tesla, Apple or Amazon ads? Not too often, I bet. Since
these largest companies in the world know the power of public relations, it`s very
rare, if ever, to see their advertisements anywhere, but we hear about them mainly
due to their public relations activities. As more and more executives realize that
people have started to avoid paid ads, companies are increasingly dropping
advertising and starting to rely on public relations to get their message across and
appear credible. Unfortunately, many executives still have little idea of what
public relations is, what PR means, and how important and effective it can be for
their businesses and, ultimately, companies` bottom line. So what is PR and why is
it important to business?
Public Relations is one of the most effective strategies for building a lasting
reputation and brand awareness in a company, and for increasing trust without
breaking the bank. By keeping their ear to the ground with the help of public
relations departments, companies can actively shape their image in the eyes of the
public and maintain steady and favorable relationships with customers, investors,
or employees. Firms that have figured out how to make public relations work to
,their advantage are more likely to stay on top of their public reputation, which will
ultimately lead to higher revenues. What is Public Relations? Public relations
really makes the difference between a company`s success and failure by
influencing its reputation and relationships with the public. As you might expect, it
is a popular but complex and widespread field that is unfortunately often
misperceived and misunderstood as well. In fact, the multifaceted nature of public
relations left room for many interpretations, leading to a myriad of definitions.
In today`s world, public relations is widely perceived as the art of persuasion
aimed at prevailing on your audience to purchase your product, endorse your idea,
support your cause, or acknowledge your accomplishments. While this definition
sounds like it could be used to describe advertising, public relations differs
drastically from it, as public relations is about earned media, whereas advertising is
about paid media.
The Public Relations Association of America (PRSA) defines public relations as
"a strategic communication process aimed at building mutually beneficial
relationships between organizations and their publics." While another approach to
public relations was put forward by Ivy Lee, also known as the father of public
relations, who considered public relations to be “the art of communicating the
ideas and goals of public relations. a person to the public, or to act that interprets a
group in society. "While this may sound rather complicated, it highlights that an
, essential element of successful public relations is effective communication with the
target audience. Edward Bernays, a pioneer in the field of public relations, wrote,
"The three main elements of public relations are practically as old as society:
informing people, persuading people, or integrating people with people. Of course,
the means and methods of accomplishing these ends have changed as society has
changed."
The critical purpose of public relations is to frame and shape the public perception
of a company by engaging, impacting, and creating relationships with key partners
across multiple platforms. Furthermore, another important function of public
relations is to foresee, scrutinize, and interpret public opinions, attitudes, and issues
that might have an impact, either positive or negative, on the organization's
operations, strategies, and plans. To keep the image of the organization under
control, public relations departments work closely with top management to counsel
on critical decisions, courses of action, and announcements, including press
releases on crisis communication, to prevent any negative public ramifications.
The practice of public relations also includes protecting the reputation of an
organization by building, conducting, and assessing programs of action and
communications that inform the public and align with the organization's goals.
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