The joy of PR! The pain of PR and the misunderstanding of what it truly means often intersects weekly.
People often feel PR is pointless or fruitful and depending on what way you look at it – you are right. Yes you read correctly. PR is pointless AND fruitful. Here’s why:
- PR does not take time. It takes week, months or even years to cultivate a message that people will love and remember. Remember hearing Got Milk or Obey Your Thirst? They spoke directly to us to get us to try something. Your PR outreach has to have a goal. What do you want people to do? What do you want them to know or try? What medium have you used to promote the idea? PR is proactive not reactive. Have a plan in place and roll it out.
- PR is cheap. Nope. Most companies charge at least $125 an hour. When signing a PR team to help you, think about your budget. How much do you want to spend and what are you getting in return. Create a budget that allows space for you to hire someone or a firm to bring life to your story, idea or problem. Your firm will be able to tell you why the $100,000 price tag for PR is worth it and what it can do for your company.
- PR is simply taking photos. NO WAY! Stop thinking this is the only element of PR. Somehow this myth is tainting the hard work women and men do daily to introduce or preserve images. PR is about the public. It is about creating and maintaining relationships before, during and after events or crisis. It means bringing a voice and helping people connect with it. It means listening and understanding what your audience wants and needs. Pictures are 2% of what actually happens behind the scenes.
What myths would you add to the list?
