When most people think about public relations, they think about company representatives calling the media to pitch stories about their corporation. Although media relations are a component of public relations, it is not PR in its entirety. In fact, as the entire way we communicate continues to grow and change with technology, media relations will become an even smaller part of public relations as a whole.
Effective public relations are really about relationships and helping to deliver the right information at the right time. Here are some important aspects that span all areas of public relations.
Fostering Relationships
Public relations is about connecting people. Whether a company is trying to reach those consumers who need or want its products or services or a political group is trying to share its message with its constituents, public relations is about helping one group effectively communicate with another.
You want a public relations professional that can help you identify your target audience, discover how to reach them, craft the right messages, and create a unique and memorable brand and campaign to make those connections successfully.
Doing the Right Thing
Public relations should encourage all parties to do the right thing. Whether you’re promoting a particular cause or working through a crisis or an accident, you can always think about what is the right thing to do.
In many cases, this just means considering the human aspects of the situation, being empathetic, and putting aside image and profit. By using a little common sense, you will often generate more positive associations and genuine loyalty than trying to professionally manage a faceless corporate image.
Asking and Listening
In the world of social media, it is easier than ever to connect with your shareholders whether they are employees, customers, potential customers, stockholders, or suppliers. Take the time to reach out and see how you can meet their needs. Everyone likes to be heard and technology makes it easy to ask and listen to those most important to your company.
Working Together
More often than not, the public relations professional is the glue that holds a team together. Public relations has a way of reaching multiple levels and departments of an organization as well as external audiences, bringing together the executive’s vision, the challenges of the sales department, the public, the media and the customer.
In addition, a public relations professional can also be the point person, collecting the skills of the strategists, the creative team, the writers, the marketing folks, and the business professionals into one focused team working to implement a public relations plan that will meet business goals.
GYC Vegas is your firm for public relations in Las Vegas. Owner Gina Yager brings years of experience in strategic public relations, marketing, branding, community relations and special events to the table. Call for more information about how public relations in Las Vegas is more than just media relations.