By definition, Public Relations is “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their audiences”, and there’s no problem if you don’t understand what that means! Most people who need or use Public Relation services don’t even know what PR is and what it can do.
For starters, you have to understand what an audience is. An audience is literally everyone that can connect to your business. If you own a bar, for example, this could include your employees, your clients, the press, the government, social media, influencers and more. Another way to easily define PR is as a “manager of public opinion” for a company or a person (i.e. an actor, singer, artist or politician).
In practical terms, a PR representative or PR Agency will manage your image among all the audiences connected to your business, which in most cases means the press. The press is very important for building an image. TV commercials are referred to aspaid announcements, while PR work is referred to as organic. Organic results means no money changes hands – when we send a news story to the press, they choose to publish it if it’s interesting. To be mentioned in the news, you have to create an interesting story and use a PR to inform the right journalist.
The true meaning of what PR is goes even further: it is based on creating several different strategies involving events, activations, awards, research, storytelling, content creation, crisis management and any other communication idea that you may have. These are the communications strategies that PRs use to promote their client’s image. For example, if you own a hair salon in your community and you are currently closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, you can publish activities in your Instagram inviting the hairdresser to explain how to take care of your hair at home. To engage your audience, you can reward customers by sending products to their homes. This PR strategy brings the business closer to the customer, and sends a message: “We are here to take care of your hair, even from afar”.
PR plans must always include strategies that recall the brand message. If you are a tour guide who can’t conduct guided tours during the Covid crisis, and your stated mission is to “help tourists and citizens discover the real Rio de Janeiro”, you have to create strategies that recall this mission. You can create content on touristic experiences that one could have without leaving one’s home, such as gastronomy. Maybe this could involve creating partnerships with restaurants and farms to deliver a taste of Rio to your clients.
A PR agency’s job is to combine communications strategies with a company’s mission. In times of crisis, this becomes even more vital, since ensuring that you are on your audience’s mind means you won’t be forgotten when the crisis ends. You can make sure that you will be remembered as a brand that takes care of its audience under any circumstances. Stick with your audience in any situation. It’s the difference between being a company and being a brand.
This quick guide on what PR means is the first article of many that Sherlock will produce to provide ideas on how to use PR in your business. Post-COVID19, Public Relations has become even more important for companies, safeguarding the organisation’s reputation at a time when every decision could potentially be damaging to one’s image. In this series of blogs, the Sherlock team will highlight and provide insights on PR strategies and ideas. Follow us on our social media channels (@sherlockcomms) for notifications on all our latest content!
