A Few Interesting Facts About Public Relations

Public relations or PR is all about being convincing. PR professionals persuade other people to do something for their company (or their client’s company) through effective communication. Here are some interesting facts about public relations: 

The term “public relations” used to be very hard to define. In fact, it took over a thousand submissions of definitions to the Public Relations Society of America before the term truly came into being. Public relations is defined by the organization as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

Image source: create.ou.edu/

Great PR people are masters of time management. They are expert jugglers of PR work for multiple clients and projects. This might seem easy on the surface, but the amount of time needed for research, which is a huge chunk of PR work, is a huge chunk of the challenge. Now multiply the normal rate by which a single employee can do research by a factor of four or five, because that’s usually how many clients and projects a PR person simultaneously handles. 

Technology has made PR work both easier and harder. Since public relations work can now be done effectively online, PR people now have several platforms at their disposal. They can convince an exponentially wider audience. The other side of the coin however, is that their clients face more negative publicity because of these same platforms, which makes the job of a PR person more difficult. 

Image source: varbuzz.com/

Marc Slavin is an expert at business communication. He has helped companies through various levels of PR work. For more discussion on public relations and business communication, visit this blog.

Crafting Effective Real-time Responses During Crisis

When faced with a crisis, whether due to a sudden event or bad publicity, companies are behooved to respond. In the age of social media, staying mum could further damage credibility.

The key is preparedness. An organization, no matter the size, is vulnerable to crises. The following are tips for crafting effective responses during crisis:  

Be open and honest. Honesty and openness are indispensable, and are still the most important virtues in crisis management. People’s reaction to say, a disaster or an accident, is all human nature. Allison Canty, a social media and community manager, in a blog post, explains, “Give your customers the information you have. If you don't have any updates, tell them that too. Your customers will appreciate the honesty –even if they don't seem like they do.”  

Image source: www.eurocontrol.int

Act fast. Today, with social media, it takes a matter of seconds for customers to share and respond to a bad review or news about a company. Hence, it is critical to respond in a timely manner. Address issues as soon as possible.

As stated, it’s all about preparedness. Anticipate potential crises and establish methods on how to deal with them any time they could occur in an organization.

Image source: www.recognitionpr.co.uk

Marc Slavin is a California-based communications consultant, specializing in organizational development, internal communications, and public outreach. Follow this Twitter page for more about communications and crisis management.