What is Public Relations? PR Definition Explained

Image is an important facet of brand awareness, which influences whether your imaginable customers know, like, and spot you. Where publicity is extracurricular a brand's control, public relations (PR) is an effective measurement to lend to nan conversation.

In this article, we'll specify what nationalist relations is and what to expect if choosing it for a profession path.

Skip to:

• Public Relations Definition
• Being a PR Professional
• Types of PR
• PR Damage Control

There’s an aged saying: “Advertising is what you salary for; publicity is what you believe for.”

Public relations isn’t an easy occupation to define. In fact, successful 2012, nan Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) accepted a fewer thousand submissions earlier yet agreeing connected one:

So really tin an statement return its beneficial narration to nan nationalist and move it into bully press? Are you really “praying” for something, for illustration nan aged saying goes, if you’re utilizing a strategical process to get results?

If nationalist relations is simply a span for that relationship, past nationalist relations professionals are nan bridge builders. Let's talk astir them a small much specifically:

What is simply a nationalist relations professional?

A nationalist relations master is successful complaint of creating and executing a PR strategy, helping a business aliases individual cultivate a affirmative estimation done various unpaid aliases earned channels and formats, including press, societal media, and in-person engagements. They besides thief clients take sides their reputations during crises that frighten their credibility.

Working successful PR

The way to becoming a PR master is not linear for illustration 1 for thing successful STEM. Instead, PR professionals often travel from a assortment of backgrounds including communications, governmental science, business, aliases journalism.

Despite having disparate backgrounds, astir group moving successful PR are scrappy, problem-solvers who tin deliberation of solutions connected nan fly. They person awesome written and oral connection skills mixed pinch an oculus for item and beardown critical-thinking muscles.

Since each organizations request immoderate shape of PR, those looking for a profession successful nan section person options crossed aggregate industries. This makes it easy to take a niche that interests you most. From tech to authorities to nonprofits — nationalist relations professionals are successful demand.

Public Relations Types

In larger companies, nationalist relations functions are often divided into different departments. Below are immoderate of nan astir common.

Media: Media relations is responsible for fostering favorable relationships pinch outer media for illustration news organizations, blogs, and industry-related organizations.

Community: This section focuses connected building a brand’s estimation wrong a circumstantial organization aliases niche. For illustration if a institution sells camping instrumentality and hiking gear, it makes consciousness to shape relationships pinch outdoor enthusiast organizations.

Government: Government relations is responsible for managing nan narration betwixt a marque and a governing body. PR professionals successful this domiciled purpose to power politicians and lawmakers to get favorable outcomes for nan brand. This could mean influencing definite policies aliases providing feedback to decision-makers astir industry-specific topics.

Investor: Found successful publically traded companies, investor relations departments negociate connection betwixt shareholders and analysts.

Internal: Internal relations is responsible for connection betwixt a marque and its employees. This section not only disseminates important institution information, but besides acts to quell worker dissatisfaction earlier it hits a nationalist forum.

Production: This section handles one-off projects for illustration caller merchandise aliases work launches, manages connection astir a peculiar merchandise change, aliases different typical trading campaigns.

In bid to understand really each these PR facets activity together, you must first see nan 2 sides of PR: nan affirmative storytelling broadside and nan antagonistic damage-control side.

Positive Public Relations

If an statement is proactive astir their image, they will apt beryllium investing successful affirmative nationalist relations wherever a PR master helps represent nan brand's reputation, idea, product, position, aliases accomplishments successful a affirmative light.

So, successful a sense, you tin deliberation of PR professionals arsenic storytellers. Unlike advertisers, who show stories done paid methods, PR professionals show their stories done unpaid aliases earned media.

These unpaid aliases earned avenues include:

• News and press
• Media outreach
• Social media
• Speaking engagements

Keep successful mind that a PR master isn’t conscionable trying to scope a paying customer ... they're trying to scope everyone.

Example of Positive PR

Let’s opportunity you activity for a mini interior creation company, and your business conscionable won an award: “Best Interior Design Company successful Chicago.” A PR master mightiness draft a property release and conduct outreach to reporters to constitute a communicative astir this accomplishment to dispersed nan news to nan public.

Along pinch building a reliable estimation for your interior creation business, nan PR master is besides helping nan nationalist person applicable accusation astir this accolade. If I’m a user looking for an interior designer, this announcement could thief me, too.

Public relations extends to government, too. PR professionals tin execute governmental campaigns aliases explicate a government’s caller argumentation to nan public. In this case, you tin spot really PR professionals activity to support a patient and productive narration betwixt their customer (the government) and nan wide public, who person a correct to perceive astir caller policies.

Damage Control successful PR (Negative Public Relations)

PR isn’t conscionable utilized for affirmative storytelling. It’s besides utilized to mitigate immoderate harm that could weaken a client’s reputation.

If nationalist sermon astir a peculiar marque has a antagonistic sentiment, possibly arsenic a consequence of antagonistic publicity aliases news, a PR professional's occupation is to counsel nan statement connected really to proceed.

After all, if conversations are being had, past an statement should stock its broadside of nan story. However, how they respond will person an effect connected nan public's perception. If done poorly, it could make nan business worse.

A PR master will past beryllium tasked with:

• Crisis communications
• Damage control
• Response and/or apology messaging
• Reputation restoration strategy

Example of Damage Control successful PR

In nan early 1980s, numerous bottles of Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol merchandise were laced pinch cyanide by an chartless person, sidesplitting 7 people. This led to wide panic and could person resulted successful nan extremity of Tylenol products.

Johnson & Johnson took fierce PR measures to mitigate nan damage: First, nan institution pulled each of its Tylenol products disconnected nan shelves and issued a nationalist connection informing consumers not to acquisition aliases usage Tylenol. Then, Johnson & Johnson created a caller tamper-resistant seal and instructed 2,000 income unit to present presentations to nan aesculapian organization to reintroduce these new, safer Tylenol bottles.

This effective PR strategy saved Johnson & Johnson’s estimation arsenic good arsenic their merchandise — successful fact, Tylenol shares climbed backmost up to 24 percent conscionable six weeks aft nan cyanide crisis.

In nan lawsuit of Johnson & Johnson, a elemental advertizing run wouldn’t person worked. Instead, PR was necessary: PR professionals were capable to dispersed a communicative that portrayed Johnson & Johnson arsenic a institution that puts consumers up of profit. Along pinch mitigating harm to Johnson & Johnson’s reputation, PR was utilized to prevention much group from consuming cyanide-laced Tylenol, and past utilized to pass nan nationalist that Tylenol was safe again. A win-win-win.

PR arsenic an Important Marketing Strategy

In these examples, you tin spot PR professionals are adept astatine handling a wide assortment of some bully and bad circumstances and must reside these events truthful nan nationalist and customer tin support a beneficial relationship. PR specialists besides play a domiciled successful advising guidance connected nan champion argumentation decisions aliases actions to return and conducting programs, specified arsenic fundraising aliases networking events, to thief nan nationalist understand nan organization’s goals.

PR isn’t conscionable utilized to power a communicative aft it happens — it’s besides utilized to constitute that communicative successful nan first place.

Editor's note: This station was primitively published successful April 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.