Five Important Things Everyone Should Know About Public Relations

Public relations is often misunderstood. Sometimes you just know when you need it or more often when faced with the question of how to grow and reach more audiences, you’re told to seek out a PR team. But what is it really and how can it help your organization? 

The Fundamental Differences Between Public Relations and Marketing

1. Marketing And Public Relations Are Not The Same Thing

There is a stark difference between marketing and public relations. Marketing is targeted towards securing new paying customers and increasing sales, and it relies on paid tactics to reach an audience, for example through advertising.  

PR on the other hand is all about storytelling, reputation and most importantly, maintaining a good relationship with various stakeholders and investors. The magic of good public relations is that it builds trust with audiences and shapes the public image of a company. It does this by engaging third parties, such as news organizations, to tell their stories to audiences, strengthening organizational messaging and providing clarity and insight into an organization. 

2. Relationships Are One of The Most Important Parts of The Business

PR is all about relationship building. What does a client, donor or potential partner know and think about your organization? How do you get your target audience to understand who you are, what you offer and what you believe? PR. By telling the story of the organization, the impact it has had on its community and vision its leadership offers, you can build personal relationships with key audiences, moving far beyond transactional relationships. 

3. PR Works Best in Coordination With Your Existing Initiatives 

Public relations efforts will always be most successful when they’re partnered and coordinated with marketing, social media, web and fundraising and development initiatives. While PR can do immense good for an organization, it’s critical that the owned channels of an organization are relevant to the audience being targeted, offer clear and concise information and show demonstrated impact. 

For example, the first thing a reporter will do when contacted by an organization’s PR rep is to Google the organization to learn more and ensure it’s a trusted and reliable source. The same goes for audiences and critical stakeholders. If they learn about your organization through a segment on the news, it’s critical that the information they seek out on their own is consistent with the story they’ve been told. PR teams must work with internal teams and across existing channels to tell the holistic story of your organization.

4. Attention to Detail and Word Choice Are Critical

In today’s world, there’s little room for error for public organizations. Telling the right story in the right words requires the proper understanding of the politics of the moment and the interests and opinions of your audience. The role of a PR team is to understand what your audience cares about, where they get their news, how they understand your industry and what will move them to action. Through a properly-messaged PR campaign not only can you avoid controversy, you can change hearts and minds and convert audiences to your side. 

5. Any Business or Organization Can Benefit From PR Representation

Every business and organization can benefit from public relations. From social justice movements to for-profit businesses, engaging a PR team ensures that your message is being told in the right places to the right people, ultimately leading to social change, converted customers and goodwill for your brand and leadership. Reach out to learn more about how PR can serve you. 

How PR Can Help Your Business

Consider the plethora of ways public relations can benefit your organization. Maybe you’re planning a new expansion, seeking to rebrand your existing services or celebrating a major milestone to name a few examples. A talented public relations team can help your organization reach individuals and stakeholders unaware of your work, and help bring your programs and services to a new, broader audience. The TASC Group has been lucky enough to work with hundreds of grassroots organizations and movements. TASC knows what it takes to bring an organization to the next level with storytelling and strategic communication. Learn more about ways TASC can aid your mission.