The Power of PR & Why You Need It
Public relations is an essential tool to a person’s, brand’s and/or a company’s overall success. In today’s world, image is an important aspect of brand awareness, which in turn influences whether potential clients, customers, partners, fans and followers know, like and feel they can trust you.
As founder of a PR firm, I believe every person, brand or company can only benefit from public relation and strategic marketing services. PR is about managing how others see and feel about who or what you’re representing, as well as presenting the information in the best possible light. PR when implemented strategically will give you and your business more brand exposure to an audience of hundreds, thousands, or millions. Especially, if your business isn’t a household name-still relatively unknown- to the general public at large, then PR efforts can provide the immediate boost in awareness, credibility and impactful recognition that you need.
The media exposure that comes from PR serves a much broader purpose. When your business or brand is featured in a segment on TV, radio or print, it’s considered earned attention from the media. The media coverage that counts as earned media is when you are mentioned or written about without paying anyone to do so. For example, your product or book is listed in a gift guide or your company did something newsworthy and it was covered on a TV segment! This is where PR work comes in. You can certainly do outreach with press releases but it’s not up to you when or where media coverage takes place.
This genuine press coverage and exposure from major news outlets is reaching a vast number of viewers, including potential clients, customers and partners. Moreover, these earned media placements provide immediate boosts in brand awareness, credibility, and consumer trust. On the opposite spectrum, advertising spots, paid social media posts or sponsored articles are media coverage that your brand pays for and controls which is not ‘earned’ media.
A public relations firm aids in promotion by way of media placements, television appearances, radio and podcast bookings, and editorial coverage via interviews in print and op-ed placements with top-tier news outlets. And, an effective PR campaign is meant to look and feel natural, organic and targeted toward your audience. Your PR team should be focusing on well-crafted, creative plans to generate positive press, build brand awareness and manage the individual’s business or brand’s reputation in the eyes of the public including current or future clients, partners, and consumers. In summary, the main advantage of PR is that it can vastly improve your profile by elevating your credibility, reputation and awareness.