Public Relations (web article) PR is the Persuasion Business. You are trying to convince an audience, inside your building or town, and outside your usual sphere of influence, to promote your idea, purchase your product, support your position, or recognize your accomplishments.
Heres what the Public Relations Society of
America PRSA agreed upon after a few thousand submissions: Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.
PR people are storytellers. They create
narratives to advance their agenda. PR can be used to protect, enhance or build reputations through the media, social media, or selfproduced communications. A good PR practitioner will analyze the organization, find the positive messages and translate those messages into positive stories. When the news is bad, they can formulate the best response and mitigate the damage.
This sounds a lot like marketing your own
ideas. Like marketing, you are convincing your audience to believe in or buy into your belief.
The part about mutually beneficial
relationships is one way it is different than selling and marketing. Through having equal relationships its not a seller making customers buy into an idea, its more showing the audience something that can better their life.
I like how they are describing a Public
Relations worker as a storyteller. This makes sense because in order to gain the publics trust, you need to be able to explain to them the new ideas or the news you are sharing with them.
The Princeton Review notes that: A public
relations specialist is an image shaper. Their job is to generate positive publicity for their client and enhance their reputation They keep the public informed about the activity of government agencies, explain policy, and manage political campaigns.
This description of a public relations worker
reminds me of a PR manager for a celebrity. In shows when a celebrity goes off the deep end or messes things up, they always go to the PR manager to help fix their image. Usually it then cuts to a scene where the celebrity is helping out in a soup kitchen or at an animal shelter.
Advertising is paid media, public relations is
earned media. This means you convince reporters or editors to write a positive story about you or your client, your candidate, brand or issue. It appears in the editorial section of the magazine, newspaper, TV station or website, rather than the paid media section where advertising messages appear.
This sounds like an interesting way to
describe the difference between marketing and public relations. I wanted to go into marketing but never liked having to deceive customers into buying cheap products. Through this definition it explains how public relations managers work with what they have, or free types of marketing.
Public Relations (film) Quotations:
My thoughts:
During the research phase, the practitioner
will conduct research on every angle about the client,the product, or the service, or whatever it is that they offer, the problems that they're having, what needs to be done to build a better relationship between the organization and its publics.
I have been very curious about the work
Public Relations workers do. This quote about research is very interesting because I never thought about research being a key part of the public relations world
What I think is a major trend in the public
relations industry now is to take a step back and be more of a strategic consultant and to try and find out the best context within which to present that message. Do the research you need to to find out what the attitudes of your audiences are toward that topic, toward the company you're representing, toward the product or the service orthe result that you're announcing.
This quotation reminds me of how the aspect
of persuasion comes into play in this career. The research part comes into play because when trying to make your audience agree with you, you need to know about your audience and figure out how the best way to get the message across.
When you get down to crafting the
traditionally understood public relations
The different types of communication connect
back to doing your research. It would help to
campaign, which is what do we say, how do
we say it, to whom do we say it, the elements can include everything from writing materials intended for publication in newspapers to putting individuals-- corporate executives, celebrities, whomever-- in front of reporters on television, on the radio, to producing brochures or booklets to holding special events--marathons, what have you.
know what type of communication would
work best to get to their audience. For example, would newspaper be better or social media.
Some of the common elements are press kits
that would contain, say, a press release, for instance, that would talk about a newsworthy development at a client whether it be the launch of a new product, a new development in terms of the company's financial structure, or its financial results
When talking about press releases, I think of
when the police do a press release about new information on a specific crime or what their conclusion is. This connects back to the image part of public relations because they need to show their audience they are doing all they can to try and solve the crimes.
Todays Public Relations: An Introduction
Below is a list of personality traits and intellectual qualities identified by PRSA: analytic thinking, ability to work well under pressure, imagination and creativity, communication skills, self-confidence, diplomacy, organizational and planning skills (426).
I can agree that all of these traits are definitely
needed to be successful in most fields. This makes me feel good because I believe I have most of these traits.
Two high-tech skills are noted as well:
Internet research skills and the ability to utilize a wide range of software(426).
Now a days, it is very important that people
can use the internet efficiently and resourcefully. Since public relations uses a lot of communication ways that include the internet this skill would be very important to keeping up to date with the technology world.
You should be current on the events in your
community, profession, state, and nation. Senior practitioners believe that entry-level practitioners should read two newspapers each day. You should read one new magazine each
This idea is new to me but I definitely can see
why it is important. Being up to date with information in your own community can help if there is a project that is happening close to where you live or just in your nation. Being
week. You should consume radio and
television news. You need to be aware of all the sections of the news, including business and financial news (427).
on top of the news can help you work on
someones image or a businesss because you would already know the story and background information.
Writing new releases and word processing
are necessary for the entry level practitioner. Critical thinking and interpersonal skills are valuable in any workplace. The personal attributes are common as well; self starter, organized, flexible, and takes criticism Entry-level practitioners use the criticism to improve their writing and to adjust to the style of the manager (428).
For the beginners in this field(entry-level) it
makes sense that you would need to have these skills. Since you wouldnt be working alone on a case because your a beginner it would be helpful to know how to talk to people and get information to bring back to your team. Also, being confident and organized are qualities that will help you be successful overall.
Traits: Works well in team effort, handles
media professionally, demonstrates critical listening, has field experience in PR, knows crisis management, has research skills, knows issues management, knows PRs management team role.
I can agree with these traits being very
important for workers who have already been working for a while. The higher up you get in a company the more they expect from you.
US Department of Labor web
Public relations specialists typically need a bachelors degree in public relations, journalism, communications, English, or business. Through such programs, students produce a portfolio of work that demonstrates their ability to prospective employers.
It is good to know that I am on track with the
specific criteria to get a job in this field. I have read that you do need a bachelors degree but only recently learned that you need a degree in a specific type of communications.
Entry-level workers typically begin by
maintaining files of material about an organizations activities, skimming and retaining relevant media articles, and assembling information for speeches and pamphlets. After gaining experience, public relations specialists begin to write news releases, speeches, articles for publication, or carry out public relations programs.
This is interesting because I havent got to
learn much information about what I would be doing in this field as a first time employee. It seems like you really need to put yourself out there and do well with the tasks you are giving to make your way up in the business.
Internships at public relations firms or in the
public relations departments of other businesses can be helpful in getting a job as a public relations specialist. Some employers prefer candidates that have experience communicating with others through a school newspaper or a leadership position in school or in their community.
I have been very interested to learn more
about internships in this field and it seems like they are crucial to getting a job in this field. I have been eager to get into an internship while here at school but we have to wait until after sophomore year. Also, it would be very cool to be able to shadow and intern with big public relations firms. I have many leadership roles from high school and in college which I hope to grow upon before my first job to boost my resume.
Problem-solving skills. Public relations
specialists sometimes must explain how a company or client is handling sensitive issues. They must use good judgment in what they report and how they report it.
I feel that this topic of being fast to solve
problems connects to other writing about public relations and how you need to be able to work under pressure
Writing skills. Public relations specialists
must be able to write well-organized and clear press releases and speeches. They must be able to grasp the key messages they want to get across and write them in a short, succinct way to get the attention of busy readers or listeners.
Writing seems to be a huge part of the public
relations field. I never knew that press releases came under the work of public relations. I agree that people in this field need to know how to keep it short and concise while making sure they are addresses their audience appropriately.
How to Write a Press Release, with Examples
What's more, press releases are cost effective. If the release results in an article that (for instance) appears to recommend your firm or your product, that article is more likely to drive prospects to contact you than a comparable paid advertisement.
It seems that since publicity is usually free, I
dont understand why businesses dont use it more often. I guess I can see that marketing and advertisements are viewed more but I feel like I would trust publicity more than an advertisement.
However, most press releases never
accomplish that. Most press releases are just spray and pray. Nobody reads them, least of all the reporters and editors for whom they're
Press releases seem like it is just something
businesses have to do to cover their bases. It wont help their cause that much but can hurt it with one bad press release.
intended. Worst case, a badly-written press
release simply makes your firm look clueless and stupid. The idea is to communicate a message to customers and prospects, through the vehicle of a print or online article, hopefully adding the authority and credibility of the publication, website and/or reporter to the message.
A press release seems like it s a written article
trying to clean up someones act or try to persuade people to agree with an idea or something a business is doing. Ive seen press releases on tv so I am curious when you would use a spoken press release.
If your press release looks and feels like a
real article, reporters will often just file it as a story with minimal editing. Therefore, it's up to you to make sure that your press release looks and feels like a real article.
This sounds like a resume almost. Employers
only take 10-15 seconds looking at your resume so you need to either do something to make yourself stick out or make it seem very formal and professional so they can take you seriously.
In addition to sending a press release,
personally contact the reporters that you really want to cover the story. Send them something personal. You might even want to rewrite the press release to fit their beat.
Its interesting to hear about reporters since I
havent read that much about how they play into the public relations field. They are a huge part of getting your message across because that is how most people get their news information.