The success of any business or organization partly depends on effective relationship building and its ability to effectively communication with its stakeholders/publics.
Marketing and advertising are also important elements of business success. However, when marketing and advertising dollars are low, an organization should still be able to rely on an effective communications method and relationships to spread its message, and earn media coverage and publicity, rather than having to pay for it. This is where public relations comes in.
Public relations is a management function that both establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and its publics on whom its success and failure depends on.
The public relations process consists of four steps---Defining the problem/opportunity, planning and programming, taking action and communicating, evaluating the program.
See a brief breakdown of the public relations process below:
1. Defining the Problem/Opportunity
What is the problem or what do you have the opportunity to do? Ex. You have a business, but what do you want to accomplish in the business (increased sales, more customers, program implementation, partnerships, etc.)?
2. Planning and Programming
After determining the problem or opportunity, it's time to plan what to do about it. Determine what needs to change within your organization, who you need to bring in to help, or who/what you need to get rid of.
3. Take Action and Communicate
Once you've planned what you need to change in your organization or what systems need to be implemented, it's then time to take action on how you're going to communicate the plan with the public, your target audience, or who has a stake in your company. While some announcements can be as simple as a press release or social media post, others can be more complex. Another course of action may have to be taken for situations such as partnerships/sponsorships and when community support is needed. Define your audience and then determine an effective and cost efficient way of communicating with them.
4. Evaluate the Program
Finally, determine how well you did and identify any mistakes. Determine if the problem was solved or if you were able to take advantage of the opportunity. Did your planning and communication work?
Visit www.oliviagunn.com to see how I can assist in your public relations efforts!