Public Relations

Public Relations

Good public relations is key to the success of any business. A company must strive to make itself stand out in its particular field. The media can be a very effective public relations tool if it is used right.

A twenty first century company is not only going to need the ability to please their customers, but to delight them. In order to accomplish this goal, employees need to understand who the company is, and what it stands for. Not only do they need to understand these values, but an employee needs to be committed to upholding them on an everyday basis. Every employee represents their company individually, and the impression that they give the customer is the perception that the customer will have of the company. This is something that many employees don't think about, or don't care about. Many fast food restaurants are good examples of this. These companies are operated in such a manner that their employees don't have any pride, or satisfaction in what they are doing. If you have been to a fast food restaurant lately, you can see how that reflects in the service that you get.

Another method is to create a distinguished history for a company. This would include how the company was started, who founded it, accomplishments and contributions, and other bits of information that would complement a company.

The media happens to be one of the most effective tools. There is a very strong love/hate relationship between corporate communicators and the media. On one hand, communicators need to get their messages out. The media also needs news to report. When communicators have a story that they want to get out, they want the media to give them as much attention as possible. There is another side to this story though. The media reports on subjects that are considered newsworthy. This includes stories that not only could be beneficial to business, but they also report on subjects that put companies in a negative light. This is where the hate relationship comes in. Negative publicity is the last thing that any company wants, and it causes them to put up their defenses against the media.

Even though media can have a negative impact on a company, if it is used to its full advantage, it can be a very effective way of getting publicity. Newspapers are always looking for people and things to write about. Radio and television stations are always looking for people to interview and things to talk about. These stories are free of charge, and are of greater value than a commercial would be. People know that a commercial is paid for and designed under the companies own perspective of itself. People are more likely to pay attention to what a newspaper article, or a television interview gets across to them than a commercial. The reason for this is because the information is coming from a source outside of the company, and is therefore more trustworthy. This is not to say that advertising is not effective. A good publicity campaign should be worked in with an advertising campaign, not used in its place. Using these two elements together is