What is PR and what to expect

So, what is PR? Here’s the long answer

PR, short for public relations, refers to the managing and distributing of information for an individual, organisation, government agency or non-profit company. PR assists the aforementioned parties with coverage that’s of interest to the public, including information such as charitable contributions and success stories. Alongside this, you may also hear about events planning, trendspotting/ newsjacking and crisis management.

Sounds scary, doesn’t it? But trust us, it’s a breeze once you get the hang of it!

Below you’ll find a breakdown of the responsibilities involved with PR.

Organic PR

Organic PR refers to journalists using your story without paying them to do so. Being successful with earned media takes time as the PR specialist must write press releases that are thoughtful, factual and engaging. Whether it’s news or data, journalists are looking for stories that will provide their readership with information that they will benefit from or get them talking amongst the community.

Owned media

The opposite of earned media is owned media, where you write your own content and publish it in your brand-owned newsletter, blog, social channels, etc. The PR specialist will typically work with a wider marketing team as part of an omni-channel strategy to establish trust and thought leadership across all channels.

Paid opportunities

• Online - where money is exchanged for advertisements, this may be to increase the number of visitors to a website or to reach a wider online readership. Some publications charge a small admin fee to publish articles or press releases.
• Offline - paying for placements in print, TV or via direct mail are also examples of paid/bought media.

Reactive Opportunities

Another part of PR is leveraging reactive opportunities through things like expert comments and product placements. To help do this, you can use PR tools such as Response Source or social platforms like Twitter.

For example, has there been a hot topic in the media recently that can be linked to one of your clients? By making a well-timed comment your client/brand can gain more exposure.

Monitoring and analysing the success

Once a press release has been sent to a list of journalists or has been published, insights need to be drawn up so that you can analyse what is working. Some PR tools, such as Roxhill, will tell you which journalists have opened your story and whether it’s been used.

Other ways to monitor and analyse the success of your story include looking at the AVE (advertising value equivalent). By looking at readership statistics and tracking your UTM link, you can estimate how much your ads would have cost if you had paid for the exposure.

Event marketing

PR events need to have clear goals. It may be that you require X amount of products to sell or X amount of guests to use a certain hashtag. Whatever it is, a goal needs to be established if you want to be able to measure the success of an event.

Once a goal has been agreed, you’ll need to think about the date of the event, it’s best to plan in advance as this will ensure that you get as many RSVPs as possible.

Next, you’ll need to think about your guest list and consider which journalists and reporters you’d like there. Before the event, try to engage with their content, this will help build rapport and boost your profile.

Once the guestlist is together, you’ll need to think about the venue, food and drinks, and how to make the event as social as possible. In the lead up to the event, it’s good to use all social platforms and accessible news outlets to create a buzz.

Trendspotting/newsjacking

PR specialists will be on the lookout for new trends so that they can be ahead of the curve when it comes to news hijacking. By hopping on a niche trend, you can get more exposure and more press.

Crisis management

In the event of bad press, a PR specialist must be ready to manage the reputation of the client.

When managing a crisis, a PR specialist needs to respond quickly. A response team needs to be appointed, which will usually consist of an in-house professional and the PR team to ensure there is one, consistent voice. From there, all people in association with the organisation must be informed who the spokesperson is should anyone enquire, so all questions are directed to the in-house spokesperson.

Once the spokesperson has been appointed, the message needs to be created. The response message must address the concerns with openness and honesty.

A brilliant example of this is when KFC had to deal with their restaurants running out of chicken. Their PR and marketing team turned the situation around quickly and with a cheeky response that got people laughing:

‘FCK.

After issuing a well-thought-through response, it’s important to monitor what people are saying about it online.

However, in the event where the crisis leads to legal action, it’s important to remember that an apology can show guilt, so in cases like this it’s best to say nothing until advised otherwise.

After the bad press has died down, it’s good to look at what went well and what could have been dealt with better. By looking at the result of your crisis management, you can better adjust to a situation should something crop up again in future.

What not to do in a crisis:

• Go on the attack - even if the accusation is false, it’s important to answer responsibly and professionally.
• Opt for ‘no comment’ - saying that you don’t have enough information on the matter is much better than saying no comment, ‘no comment’ can be misconstrued.
• Respond too quickly/slowly - get all of your facts correct first before responding, the last thing you want to do is backtrack on your response. However, keep in mind that time is of the essence and that waiting too long to respond can be damaging.
• Dwell on a hiccup - all organisations are likely to endure a bit of ‘bad press’ but to ensure you stay on the track to success, you must learn from it and move on.

Need help with your organisation’s PR or wondering how PR can fit into your current marketing mix? Visit Digital Ethos’ website to learn more about who we are, what we do and how we can help you.