PR, which is an acronym for Public Relations is a very popular term. But, what does that mean? In this article, you will get to know about every essential thing you must know about Public Relations (PR).
What is Public Relations?
The field of public relations has nothing to do with handing out free samples or buying journalists or writing stories for their clients. All of this work is done by advertisers and not by PR agents. Says www.newswirenext.com.
The PR agents try to promote their clients and their products by persuading the internal or external media without any monetary payments. On the other hand, they promote their clients through various other trusted sources. Public relations is basically, the business of persuasion. In the field of public relations, the agents have to convince the audience, the media, and potential investors into purchasing what you are selling or to invest in your idea. A PR agent is like a storyteller, they use stories that effectively narrate their agenda. They also help in enhancing, promoting and protecting a positive reputation of their client. This is accomplished through the media, social media or a form of media created by own resources. Says www.edcalmedia.com.
A PR agent also has to be prepared for the bad times or crisis. In such situations, they have to come up with the best possible responses to mitigate and deal with the damage. A PR agent does not advertise, they basically shape your image in the public. The better that image is, the better your business is going to be.
What exactly does the PR agent have to do?
The PR agent has a lot of stuff on them to do list, some of the most basic tasks on that list are as follows:
- Build friendly and positive relations with various top-tier journalists.
- Pitch stories about their clients to these journalists.
- Draft press releases for their clients or for the promotion of a specific product.
- Build friendly relations with their clients so that they can effectively communicate with their clients as to what strategy they need to follow to maintain or improve their reputation.
- Maintain a report and track the results of the launched PR campaigns and then see where there is room for improvement.
However, your role as a PR agent can vary if you work in a large firm or a small one. In a small firm, you are going to work on a small campaign with other teammates. While on the other hand, if you work in a large firm then you will have to singularly manage a few campaigns all by yourself, which can be quite stressful.
What challenges will you face in this field of work?
Working as a public relations agent is not a very easy task. It is a very fast paced industry and you have to progress with it. One of the main challenges for a PR agent is to always keep in touch with the media and stay ahead of the news cycle which can be quite mentally draining. A PR agent always has to be on their feet and think quickly in order to satisfy with the demands of their clients. You also have to stay on top of the trends and constantly send out pitches which require a lot of work. Most of the times, no one even replies to those pitches which can be disheartening.
Even though this field of work has a lot of challenges yet, it has many benefits attached to it which makes it worth it.