Public Relations—When and Why
You should be thinking about public relations from the very beginning. Because people often believe what a third party says about you before they will believe you, mentions in the media are crucial to expand your reputation.
Public relations is not, however, a miracle worker. It will not immediately drive business to your door and it will not overcome shoddy business practices. What public relations can do is enhance the good business practices you already have in place by making you seem more credible, and by helping your customers get to know you by reading about you in an article.
PR—The Three Biggest Mistakes
1. Regarding public relations as a short-term fix. Public relations is a long-term investment and the relationship with the media—and with the customers who will be touched by that media—should be something that is allowed to grow and flourish.
2. Thinking public relations can replace good business practices. You can have the most glowing story in the world on the evening news, and if customers are disappointed by what you deliver, it won’t matter. You can’t hide behind public relations.
3. Not doing your homework. The first three letters in “news” are n-e-w and if your message isn’t fresh in some way, the media won’t be interested. Think about what you look for in your daily paper and what would interest you, then think about what your customers would be interested in knowing about you rather than in what you think they should know. That’s what would make a good idea for the media.
When to Outsource PR
You’ll know it’s time to outsource if you simply cannot do the job yourself, either because you don’t have the time, or because you don’t have the talent. Unlike what some people might think, public relations is difficult and, if you find yourself missing reporters’ deadlines, it’s time to outsource—reporters never forget someone who’s made them look bad by blowing their deadlines!
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