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Most entrepreneurs and business leaders already know they’re supposed to be doing public relations, but since few members of the C-Suite have a background in communication, it’s understandable if many have only a hazy idea of what public relations means.
However, the realities of today’s media landscape make it essential for business leaders to develop a more sophisticated understanding of public relations. Indeed, a public relations approach is often necessary to convince skeptical customers to listen to brands, much less purchase their goods or services.
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Public relations versus other strategic communications
The first thing to understand about public relations is that it’s different from branding, marketing, advertising and other forms of outreach.
Branding involves creating a unique, appealing identity for the business through the skillful design of visuals and customer service standards. It’s the “feel” the business wants people to get while interacting with it.
Marketing communications take the brand and deploy it into the world through tactics like advertisements, websites and social media. The goal is to connect consumers with products or services, raising awareness of how they can fix people’s problems or add value to their lives.
Businesses usually have a lot of control over branding and marketing. They decide what the logo looks like, what the ad should say, and where it should be placed.
Public relations is different.
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How positive public relations differ from other communication strategies
The entire purpose of public relations is to build mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and the public. The informed public’s understanding of what they want, need or what would be in their best interests at any given moment is paramount in public relations. In general, this means businesses must temporarily abandon self-centered messaging.
For instance, consider the following common PR strategy: a business executive is interviewed by a journalist writing a story about their industry. This is an excellent opportunity for the executive to shape public opinion. They can position their enterprise in a positive light and themselves as a credible authority and leader in their field.
Yet the journalist ultimately decides which parts of their quotes to use or whether to use their quotes at all. If the executive only gives the journalist promotional marketing messages in response to questions, the journalist will often refrain from publishing that content. Reporters look for unbiased — or minimally biased if necessary — information that would serve to inform the public. The executive understands the educational content the journalist needs and is willing to give it to them, as well as who will get quoted in the article.
While public relations gives business leaders a chance to influence public perception, it’s helpful to think of it as a demonstration of ethics, decorum and goodwill. By pausing the marketing messages and communicating things that help the public, entrepreneurs and executives show their sterling character. This makes the audience like them more, which makes them more disposed to purchase goods or services from their companies.
Given that the audience is central in public relations, the next thing to understand is that today’s media landscape is fragmented, which has significant consequences for business leaders and PR professionals.
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How public relations specialists understand today’s media landscape
During the heyday of legacy media in the early 20th century, most Americans could be counted to tune into the same small handful of outlets to get their daily news. That is no longer true. Social media platforms have taken off, the media landscape has become deeply divided, and viewers have splintered into increasingly targeted niches. Gaining public attention is no longer as simple as it once was.
From a public relations perspective, however, this fragmentation can be both good and bad. It’s bad because it’s harder to reach many people at once, but it’s good because niche audiences tend to be more homogeneous, which makes it easier to craft messages that will resonate with them effectively.
Indeed, if PR specialists can find the right small niche and land a compelling message there, they can sometimes see even bigger returns than a mention in a massive outlet. Niche outlets might get fewer viewers, but those viewers are just the right people.
Another important feature of today’s media landscape is that today’s customers ignore advertisements. Nielsen has found that 59% of survey respondents reported being “somewhat likely” to “very likely” to upgrade their streaming accounts to eliminate commercials, and 64% take other actions to avoid ads.
Today’s consumers are also more skeptical of businesses’ marketing messages. Indeed, according to professional services company PwC, only 30% of consumers trust businesses. Similarly, Marketing Dive reports that 71% of survey participants disregard businesses’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) claims, considering them empty promises.
This distrust even extends to influencer marketing. A 2023 study showed that only 12% of consumers would likely buy something because an influencer promoted it.
New tactics are necessary to attract today’s savvy consumers. Studies have found that customers now value brands that display authenticity and openness. They also look for brands that walk the walk, not just talk the talk.
These are precisely the kinds of different public relations strategies that leading PR practitioners offer.
Public relations professionals help you navigate today’s media landscape
Effective PR provides you and your business with ways to display your ethics and good character, as well as your goodwill toward the public. PR teams do a lot more than just handle media requests. They also help you get good press, maintain a positive reputation, participate in public discourse and build credibility and trust with the public. In short, building good relationships with today’s jaded audiences is their specialty.
Strategies like these are essential for overcoming the challenges of today’s media landscape. Claim your place at the forefront of your industry — reach out to a top public relations agency today and start the first of your many successful PR campaigns. It will be one of the best business decisions you’ve ever made.
