Literally, ‘relations with publics’ which today is more commonly referred to as ‘stakeholders’, such as media, pressure groups (aka activists), customers, shareholders or investors, and employees,communities,governments,suppliers, competitors and trade/industry/professional bodies. Everyone has PR, Having ‘public relations’ is not a choice, the choice is whether to identify and manage significant relationships or not. In the long term, managing relationships successfully requires ethical conduct. So effective PR cannot be about deception and manipulation, i.e., propaganda. Real PR builds Trust, and Credibility and real PR requires honesty, a genuine concern for the needs and expectations of the publics and dialogue, i.e., listening as well as talking.
PR is different from marketing and advertising. PR is often used to help achieve marketing objectives (MPR). But like media relations, marketing communication is just one of several major PR functions. PR can complement advertising and marketing but has its own identity as a profession. Consultancy, corporate, government and not-for profit are the four key practitioner categories. Marketing Communications (MPR) is one of the major areas of PR practice. MPR use PR strategies and techniques to achieve marketing objectives. Further major areas of PR practice are employee communications, investor and financial relations, community relations, government relations as well as issues and crisis management. The function of PR is to develop policies and products which, when exposed to various publics, will be well received; to develop programs to communicate the policies and products to publics that need to know in such a way that a good relationship is established and maintained; and to get planned results cost-effectively.
The business world of today is extremely competitive. PR provide a service for the company by helping to give the public and the media a better understanding of how the company works. Within a company, PR can also come under the title of public information or customer relations. These departments assist customers if they have any problems with the company. They are usually the most helpful departments, as they exist to show the company at their best. So the organisations use PR, and during the economic tough time, PR is there to protect the business in times of crisis. PR helps the company to achieve its full potential. They provide feedback to the company from the public. This usually takes the form of research regarding what areas the public is most happy and unhappy with. People often have the perception of public relations as a group of people who spin everything. Spin can mean to turn around a bad situation to the company’s advantage. It is true that part of the purpose of public relations is to show the company in a positive light no matter what. There are certain PR experts that a company can turn to for this particular skill.
PR has a positive image amongst the ‘general public’, because the public often think of PR as a glamorous job. PR people seem to have been tarred with the image of constant partying and networking to find new contacts. The reality is usually long hours and hard work for anyone involved in PR. Skills necessary to work in the world of PR include a very high level of communication skills, written and verbal. The PR person must also be very adept at and . He or she may also have some form of media background or training in order to understand how the media and advertising work. Organizational and planning skills are also important in PR. The PR worker must also be able to cope very well under pressure. He or she must have the ability to cope with a barrage of questions from the media and the public. If a company comes under critical attack, it is the PR department who must take control of the situation. They must effectively answer the criticism and turn it around in order to protect the company’s reputation.