PR: More than just media relations

It happens all the time. I talk about public relations and people immediately start asking about the reporters I know or what the media is saying about (insert your recent breaking news here).

Public relations has “public” in it for a reason. It’s not just media relations. It’s much more than that. It’s about connecting with the public in an authentic and transparent manner. You might think that sounds like marketing, but there’s a fine line between marketing and public relations.

Marketing in many respects is a way to sell something to a consumer and to get them to perceive a brand in a certain way. Sure, that’s evolving today and marketing is encroaching on the public relations space. In fact, many public relations professionals report up to marketing. I know because I was one of them.

But I was also a PR practitioner so I played the role at times of expressing during meetings what the consumer would buy or not buy from the marketing efforts. My healthy skepticism, I like to think, had the impact of making the messages more authentic or real.

PR isn’t necessarily about making sales. Sure, sales has to be part of the ROI on PR efforts or there wouldn’t be a reason for PR to exist. But sales are a product of the company and the public creating a mutually beneficial relationship. If PR can ensure that the company is creating benefits for the various publics they interact with, it saves the company money from unnecessary crises and it generates sales from the publics that have what they believe is a mutually beneficial relationship.

That’s why I’m such a believer in the PRSA’s recently published definition of public relations:

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

Jakel Communications is committed to this definition not just because it’s accurate, but because doing it well leads to significant value for both the organization and the public. If you need help making PR work, contact our Denver public relations agency today.