What Does A Public Relations Do?

 We don’t buy ads.

 We don’t write stories for reporters

 We don’t put up billboards.

 We don’t come up with catchy phrases to make people buy more products they probably don’t
need.

 PR agencies, as opposed to advertising agencies, promote companies or individuals via editorial

coverage. This is known as "earned" or "free" media -- stories appearing on websites,
newspapers, magazines and TV programs -- as compared to "paid media" or advertisements.

 PR agencies and advertising agencies share the same goals: promoting clients and making them
seem as successful, honest, important, exciting or relevant as possible. But the paths to creating
awareness are vastly different.

 Most people understand advertising is paid for by the client and should be viewed with
skepticism. Articles or TV appearances in respected publications have the advantage of third-
party validation and are generally viewed more favorably.

The Public Relations Society of PHILIPPINES defines the management of public relations as:

 Anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues that might impact,
for good or ill, the operations and plans of the organization.

 Counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses
of action and communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the
organization’s social or citizenship responsibilities.

 Researching, conducting and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programs of action and

communication to achieve the informed public understanding necessary to the success of an
organization’s aims. These may include marketing; financial; fund raising; employee, community
or government relations; and other programs.

 Planning and implementing the organization’s efforts to influence or change public policy. Setting
objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff, developing facilities — in short,
managing the resources needed to perform all of the above."

That's a good overview of the general functions of a public relations agency.  The tactics include some
or all of the following:

 Write and distribute press releases

 Speech writing

 Write pitches (less formal than press releases) about a firm and send them directly to journalists

 Create and execute special events designed for public outreach and media relations
 Conduct market research on the firm or the firm's messaging

 Expansion of business contacts via personal networking or attendance and sponsoring at events

 Copy writing and blogging for the web (internal or external sites)

 Crisis public relations strategies

 Social media promotions and responses to negative opinions online

 Firms and individuals should hire a public relations agency when they want to protect, enhance
or build their reputations through the media.  A good agency or PR practitioner can analyze the
organization, find the positive messages and translate those messages into positive media
stories.  When the news is bad, an agency can formulate the best response and mitigate the
damage.

 Effective publicists have great relationships with many different journalists in many different
industries.  Many PR pros are former journalists, so they know the best ways to pitch a story and
to reach editors and reporters.  Since they are not employees of the firm that hires them, they
can give an honest, outsider view of the firm and the potential for what story ideas will work.

 The relationship between client and agency should not be passive. Clients should inform the
agency what messages they would like to promote and make suggestions on where they would
like to appear. Very few stories make the front page of the MANILA BULLETIN, but with a media
atmosphere that includes blogs, websites, TV shows, magazines and other media that evolves
every day, a good PR agency will help clients increase their visibility via increased recognition on
as many respected editorial platforms as possible. Long term, public relations can be an
investment in the brand and the visibility of a firm or individual that results in increased
recognition and reputation.

LESSON 3