PR is More Than Media Relations

Public relations is more than press releases and earning media coverage.

While news media coverage is a valuable aspect of PR, it is just one of many strategies used to build and maintain relationships between an organization and its stakeholders.

PR involves actively managing the communication and reputation of your organization. Core efforts should include:

• Developing and executing strategies to enhance the image of the organization.

• Proactively managing crises.

• Building relationships with stakeholders.

• Creating messaging that resonates with the target audience.

Great PR professionals have continuously developed and leveraged ways to communicate directly with their critical audiences without depending on the news media and earned media coverage. By depending only on earned media coverage you are limiting your visibility and impact on stakeholders.

PR should be thought of as a holistic suite of different strategies working together to create and maintain the best possible image of your brand and reputation with critical audiences.

Expert PR firms specialize in helping organizations build a strong brand and great reputation by helping them earn awards and speaking opportunities, navigate crises, develop social media engagement and a community of followers, and much more. Other methods include events, sponsorships, community outreach, influencer relations, government relations, and more.

Overall, PR is a strategic communication function that aims to build and maintain mutually-beneficial relationships between the organization and its audience — media coverage is just one small part of that process.