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In a small farming village nestled between two mountains, a man claimed to be a rainmaker. This man went around the village, splashing water in people’s faces and declaring, “Look! It’s raining! My powers made it rain!”
At first, villagers, desperate for rain to feed their fields, celebrated the rainmaker. However, as the weeks passed, the tanks remained empty and the crops continued to wither. A clever woman saw this and challenged the man’s rainmaking abilities, telling him to create a downpour that saved the crops.
In response, the man ran through the village, throwing much more water in people’s faces. But the villagers now saw what was happening and asked the clever woman to talk to the rainmaker on their behalf. A girl stood in the city center questioning the superficial claims of the rainmaker and said, “Don’t throw water in my face and tell me it’s raining.”
The villagers were disenchanted and felt silly for trusting the rainmaker. But the clever woman showed them the best way to get water and find drought-resistant plants. The villagers worked very hard and learned to trust the clever woman, because although her solutions were harder, their crops flourished every yr due to her methods.
This story is an appropriate parable for public relations because it illustrates the difference between quick answers and superficial results versus long-term solutions and authenticity. I share this because there are many misconceptions about PR. Some misconceptions have to do with the image of PR specialists in the media, and some of them result from misunderstandings about what PR is and what it is not.
Before you hire a PR firm, whether you have big ambitions or you’re in a crisis, it’s higher to know where PR can and can’t help.
Myth #1: Public relations is a shield against bad behavior
Disruptive behavior is different from an unexpected crisis.
We can predict the consequences of bad behavior; most PR professionals see them well in advance. Whether it’s unethical business decisions, inauthentic promoting claims, or rainmaker-tanning customers, there isn’t any avoiding responsibility. This is very true if you are attempting to gaslight a journalist. The Internet has been holding a grudge for a very long time, and journalists, like the clever woman above, will finally understand it.
Public relations is not about “spinning” or misleading journalists or the public. PR focuses on transparency and authenticity. It is freedom of the press – the First Amendment to the US Constitution – that provides PR its power. PR professionals cannot simply storm the newsroom or pay the editor to remove negative news. If journalists removed every negative (but accurate) news article from their newspapers or web sites because readers bombarded that person’s or company’s PR agent, there can be no free press and media reporting would have no value.
Public relations can help you deal with exposures of inappropriate behavior, but it cannot correct the decisions you have made. Typically, inappropriate behavior requires an apology. But consider it or not, an apology is just the first step in a long journey. And that path may or may not include press coverage in the aftermath. It is these next steps that are extremely situational.
Myth No. 2: PR and promoting are the same
Digital PR is necessary in today’s dynamic media world. In particular, content opportunities for thought leaders have undoubtedly increased. This does not mean, nonetheless, that public relations is a sales channel.
The biggest and most vital difference is that in each owned and paid media, you control the content. You don’t own the content or direction of the PR story. Public relations professionals use their knowledge and contacts to steer the coverage, but the editor chooses the consequence. I’ll repeat once again: the strength of PR is its independence – that is why it is so worthwhile. Provides a trusted third-party perspective; public relations is at the top of the consciousness path.
If you want PR to drive and track sales, it’s doomed to failure. There are several reasons. For earned stories, there is no guarantee that the link will appear in the article. Sometimes a link is included and sometimes not, but this is an editorial decision and not the responsibility of the PR team.
I’m seeing a significant increase in direct traffic through earned media. It’s hard to inform where your direct traffic is coming from, but we normally see a similar correlation. Does this traffic convert? This depends on many aspects – website, conversions, cohort and the visitor’s familiarity with the site. That doesn’t suggest it doesn’t make sense to trace it, but there are too many aspects at play to attribute all your website traffic and PR conversions.
There are opportunities where PR and sales can intersect, akin to consumer products affiliate programs, but ethical PR professionals will explain the differences. Does PR help with sales and business development? You assume. Presenting your presence in the media increases the credibility of your small business development and sales channels. It’s not unusual to see clips of media coverage used in advertisements.
Myth No. 3: PR is only about media coverage
You may very well be forgiven for pondering about PR only when you see media coverage. This is definitely the most visible and desired PR effect. The reality is that PR covers a big selection of activities and strategies designed to build and maintain a positive repute.
PR can touch every a part of your organization, from product development to interpersonal relations to, after all, marketing. PR involvement from the starting in any stakeholder-influenced initiative gives you an advantage. Not only will the program genuinely address building a positive repute from the outset, but PR professionals often have deep insight into consumer perceptions and media capabilities, which can impact almost any program.
Another use for continuous PR is to have a PR crisis plan. Most firms have exposure they do not even consider. If your team is on site, what happens if someone on site is seriously injured or worse? What happens if your product harms someone because of quality or manufacturing error? Once an identifiable crisis occurs, the first three hours after it would set the tone for how your organization recovers from the crisis. Having a PR team that knows your brand, understands your team, and has access and a plan to act quickly is an necessary asset.
While these myths may have modified your perception of PR, it is a powerful asset for any company, especially an ambitious one. When planning your PR engagement, remember these myths. Not only will they assist you determine a PR plan that is right for you, but they’ll also help you select the best PR agencies that can tell you truthfully about PR opportunities and the differences.