A reconnection to purpose in PR
- 11 Comment
With the recent public bashing of PR by a well-known technology blog, it is both relevant and timely to for a little PR refresher. Even the best PR pros out there can use a reconnection to purpose. (I know I can.)
Yes, media coverage is important to me and the organization I work for. Nothing beats a great story, offering a credible, third-party perspective. And, nothing excites me more than when a reporter is excited about an idea I shared and that turns into the great story.
Perhaps I have it easier than most being that I work in a specific industry (i.e. higher education) with a very specific market (i.e. school district). Regardless, I treat my journalist relationships with the utmost respect. Spamming them for coverage is out of the question. Why? Because it means that by spamming them, I am saying, “I do not value a conversation with you.” Not valuing a conversations implies I do not value the relationship. These relationships, in my experience, are what allow amazing story opportunities to bloom.
While there are new tools, like social media, available to the PR pro of today, there are certain mainstays of the PR role itself which originally attracted me to the field:
- Share the stories of your organization or client
- Connect with your audience on an individual or deeper level
- Gain visibility
- Know when to admit a mistake and when to apologize
- Be able to answer, “why does this matter to me?”
I’m not a physician. Nor did I take an oath promising to “do no harm” upon receiving my degree. I do, however, feel a responsibility to treat a role and title with the key word “public” with the utmost respect.
The major responsibility of the PR role in the past has been all about the media coverage.
I suggest that today, the game is changing and it is all about the conversations you are creating. (Spamming, if I may add, is absolutely NOT at all a word associated with conversations.)
There are plenty of ways to come up with “tactics” to accomplish starting a conversation without a spam-like approach. While blitzing out information to everyone and their mother 15 times seems easy, imagine dedicating and harnessing that energy towards five people whose voice reaches those who care about your oganization or product.
Starting great conversations without spamming means putting our thinking caps on, NEVER losing site of guiding principles, not compromising our ethics and learning (or re-learning) the art of conversation.
11 Comments on this post
Trackbacks
-
reporterJack said:
Booooorrrring. Sorry, but this didn’t tell me anything new. Not your best post (but I do like you). Just being honest.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:02 am -
Danny Brown said:
Couldn’t agree more, Sarah.
I’d hazard a guess that even in the “old days” it was still (or should have been) about the relationship between PR and journalism. And what better way to foster relationships than with a conversation?
December 19th, 2008 at 4:04 am -
Julie Bonn Heath said:
Thanks, Sarah. Appreciate this post.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:05 am -
olivier blanchard said:
Good post. Great starting point too.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:05 am -
James Topham said:
Nice post. It’s refreshing to be reminded that new technology is the brush not the artist.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:25 am -
Michael said:
I’m new to your blog, and so I found this post on subject and a nice reminder of why we’re doing PR. Not at all boring or lifeless.
Yesterday, I went on a rant at wordymouth.com about the subject of embargoes, and while a I feel better, I could have done a better job explaining why building a relationship is far better than attempting to bribe a journalist. You covered it and I thank you for expanding on the subject.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:28 am -
Glen Turpin said:
Great post, Sarah. I appreciate everything you’ve written… except the title. I don’t think conversations are the purpose of PR. (Ink and eyeballs aren’t the purpose either.)
Conversations help build stronger relationships with customers, journalists and other key audiences, but those relationships are cultivated in support of the goal of driving business value to your client or employer.
I’ve read enough of your work to realize you know this, but I think we all lose sight of that from time to time, so it bears repeating.
December 19th, 2008 at 6:10 pm -
Buy Samsonite Bags said:
I was still considering PR for just media coverage, howver this post makes some focus in mind for real changing usage of PR in industry. Valuable post.
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:08 am -
Business Energy Conservation said:
I got a new website and a design. Should i distribute this news? I found people does it to get good visitors but how important it is as far as business concern?
February 9th, 2009 at 9:55 am -
Saglik Sayfasi said:
Thanks, Sarah. Appreciate this post.
December 9th, 2009 at 7:02 am -
Aluminum Laptop Cases said:
It seems like this post’s purpose was to drive home the fact that spamming and PR are not the same thing. I definitely agree with what you are saying. People won’t take you seriously if you abuse contact info with unnecessary spam.
February 5th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
