What is the role of Public Relations?
Public Relations (PR) is often believed to be Press Releases but they are just one of the tools used to create good Public Relations. Public Relations is what is needed to create and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its clients (publics or stakeholders). It therefore has a wider remit than just press releases. Do not confuse publicity and Public Relations. Public Relations is used either to generate good publicity or to counter bad publicity. Public Relations is all about ensuring that target audiences are favourable and receptive to your organisation. The key is to change attitudes from: • Negative to Positive • Hostility to Sympathy • Prejudice to Acceptance • Apathy to Interest • Ignorance to Knowledge A good PR person will use a variety of tools to achieve the above which can include Media Relations and Campaigning, including Lobbying. By far the most useful of these tools for small businesses is the first. I have had over 20 years of working w
