There is a saying in business that bad PR is still good PR. That means that as long as you get exposure in various traditional and social media, you are triggering a response from your target audience. Thus, your goal to boost your presence in the market is being met. While that could be true, it does not ring the same for businesses. A business must always have a good standing in Lakeland public relations because any negative comment or suggestion about a business could bring you down.
Just recently, Rihanna sent a tweet to her followers, asking them to take down and uninstall Snapchat from their smartphones. That resulted to Snapchat’s stocks plunging into the depths of unknown, further solidifying Rihanna’s success and influence as a celebrity. What does this tell about Snapchat? Its public relations team did not do well buffering the effects of Rihanna’s wrath. That bad PR turned to worst for Snapchat, but it could have been avoided by a good PR team.
Public relations is different from advertisements, though the cost may run the same. There is no free PR unless you can trust newbies and amateurs in the industry. If you want to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth, your business better invest in reputable PR firms that know what they should do under different circumstances.
PR needs intermediaries
Advertisements run on television, radio, print, and social media. They use these almost abusively, bombarding their target audience with messages that would trigger a positive (and even negative) response from them. The basis of PR, on the other hand, is to use reputable intermediaries to communicate with the audience and influence them. They don’t simply rely on billboards and ad spaces. PRs need “experts” such as industry spokespersons, investors, economists, stock analysts, trend setters, customers, employees, and electronic and print media. Unlike ad spaces like commercials, you have no control over these intermediaries. They say what they want to say about your business, and they have no regard for how their “news” could affect your company.
A PR company would craft strategies and messages that would “persuade” these intermediaries to think better about your company. Using their voices, a PR firm will be able to convince the market that they should support your products/services, follow your campaigns, and subscribe to your ideologies. It is marketing, yes, but it involves a lot of research and study before a sound communication strategy is crafted.
