Minute Few Give PR a Bad Name

I recently read a blog post by Todd Defren on PR Squared about the dire need for public relations practitioners to document and show their return on investment (ROI). My public relations classes have always taught me that your ROI shows your client that your company is productive and successful. ROI shows the client why they pay you, the practitioner. This blog post addresses the issue of trust and emphasizes how displaying ROI fights the actions of bad practitioners.

When public relations practitioners present ROI, they separate themselves from the other practitioners; they offer a documented skill set, telling current and potential clients how they are and can be helpful. Over the years, public relations has gained a bad reputation by the few who have made poor decisions. With this bad reputation hanging over the heads of all upcoming practitioners, it is important to build a solid sense of morals, know your limits, provide excellent services and report them accurately.

Over this past summer, I worked at PR firm in New York City where I learned that providing ROI is a key tool to build relationships and keep a positive reputation. By documenting progress in a project and showing the client the results, a practitioner is clear and open. Transparency is key when dealing with clients, the media and the public.

Public relations has so many aspects and industries involved that it is difficult to be perfect in anything a practitioner does. In the article, Defren states, “for PR…any schmuck can call themselves a PR pro.” This idea that ‘anyone can do it’ inspires me to differentiate and separate myself from not only my peers but practicing PR professionals as well.

A key statement made in the article was that PR practitioners have an amazing opportunity to be clear and transparent by using social media. Social media allows the PR profession to be upfront about ideas and campaigns, and because social media is public it forces the practitioner to be clear and honest. The public aspect creates an ever-watching eye on our actions and should keep us in check. While that may not be the case, we should strive to always do so to eliminate the bad reputation practitioners have earned over the years. Public opinion is everything, especially in public relations, and as PR professionals we should be the most aware and cautious.

The Importance of Being Online and Knowing Your Audience

Today, in class, Professor Pat Curtin discussed the importance of being online and knowing your market audience well. As a student, I thought It was pretty straight-forward and simple to find out who the target audience and how to market to them

First and foremost, if a company doesn’t have an online presence, it is impossible to get a sense of the psychographics and online feedback. Companies need to engage consumers and audiences through social media. Social media opens up the opportunity for companies and their audiences to communicate. By creating an online presence the company will get a better sense of whom they are marketing to.

Caddis Fly Shop is a fly-fishing supply and lesson store in Oregon. At first, Caddis had a static website that didn’t allow consumers and customers to interact online. Realizing the problems with a static website, Caddis created an interactive website that allowed customers to post questions and comments, view instructional videos and participate in social media conversations.

From this online presence, Caddis realized that many of their customers were not fly-fisherman, but young women. Teenage and college women were coming into the store to buy feathers, which were becoming a fashion trend. Caddis was able to change their strategies to match the new target audience demands and the needs of the traditional audience.

The key message? Don’t assume that your product or service is targeted at a specific demographic and use social media to ensure you are reaching the correct target audience.

"Tradigital"

I learned a new word today: Tradigital.

Tradigital is a combination of traditional and digital media in public relations in today’s society. I was at a PR seminar given by Mickey Nall, the managing director at Ogilvy PR, where I learned about how to integrate traditional media with modern-day social media.

In all my classes about public relations, teachers, books and professionals have given me definitions about what PR is, but today I was really inspired by the definition Mr. Nall offered:

“Create masterful stories that raise awareness, shape and change opinions, influence all parties, build and connect communities.”

This statement created a positive definition about PR that I would like to implement in my career in the future, however, there are many other aspects that would define my career goals, but this one particularly offered a personal and emotional aspect for me.

Being successful as a PR practitioner in 2011 is about utilizing the tools and resources available in order to accomplish this idea of raising awareness, creating influence and building communities. As a student in 2011, I have been under the impression that newspapers and magazines are dead or dying, and this is a false notion. Although print media has had budget and staff cuts, the industry is simply undergoing evolution as a result of the emergence of “new” social media. It is our job as PR practitioners to find ways to work with this industry as it evolves.

Social media sites can help PR practitioners’ bridge gaps between clients and their publics. Social media can aid in answering questions, questions the client has about publics or questions publics have about a client. It is a cost effective and efficient to send messages, and all PR practitioners, old and new alike, should embrace the possibilities in social media. However, although I feel public relations practitioners should jump on the social media band wagon, I also feel it necessary to continue using traditional media as it is equally as important as social media; they come hand in hand.

After all is said and done I came away with three major aspects about PR:

1) Create awareness

2) Promote engagement

3) Induce action