8: Writing for the Public Relations Industry
- Page ID
- 231627
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- Understand key terms related to public relations
- Learn the common roles and tasks in the PR industry
- Practice writing a news release and thinking beyond the basic PR pitch
Public relations defined
The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defines public relations as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”1 Simply put, public relations helps to influence an audience’s perceptions by building relationships and shaping public conversations about a client or company. These public conversations often take place through mass media and social media, which is why public relations professionals need to understand how to work with and write effective messages for the media.
Public relations professionals manage a wide range of communication activities that may include increasing brand visibility and awareness, planning events, and creating and seeking to place media content. Some PR pros also deal with crisis communications and help to salvage a brand’s integrity and reputation during a scandal or ongoing crisis.
The value of PR to industry
There was a time when many companies did not see the value of public relations, unless a crisis happened. Even now, some public relations professionals face challenges in convincing key executives of their professional value.
With an overwhelming abundance of information readily available to audiences worldwide, corporations and the brands that the public knows them by are more vulnerable than ever to misinformation. An audience’s attitudes and beliefs about a company can greatly influence its success. Public relations professionals can help monitor and influence conversations about a corporation, its many companies and brands, or individuals and their reputation in the marketplace.
Viewing public relations as a key management function and part of a cohesive overall business strategy is appropriate. Public relations professionals help accomplish important goals such as establishing trust among key publics, increasing news media and social media presence and maintaining a consistent voice across communication platforms.
For more on the impact of reputation on business success, take a look at this article from The Entrepreneur.