The importance of public relations

Picture via TheMarketingBit.com 

This summer, I had the pleasure of interning at a public relations agency in New York City. I am enthralled to say that I absolutely enjoyed every second of it and gained valuable experience and insight into the field. There are many different things I learned about the fundamentals of PR that I would love to share with you, but right now I want to focus on the importance of public relations. 

At any given agency, responsibilities consist of sending product samples to bloggers, pitching stories to editors, and monitoring media clippings. Additionally, PR professionals constantly give out advice to various clients as to why certain campaigns will be successful or why certain ones will fail. Clients are coached on how to handle interview questions and what to wear to certain television appearances. 

At this given moment, I can confidently say that I have finally realized the importance of public relations and I am not the only one! According to Kenny Goodman, "public relations can be used to ensure business owners broadcast the right message to their audience". This comment stems from a "Find the Edge" article which investigates the importance of public relations. According to the article, business leaders should see a successful PR campaign as an essential aspect to their business plan. 

So what exactly makes PR so essential to businesses? According to Goodman, it's all about reputation. In my PR Case Studies class this year, we learned a lot about crisis communications. This is something that is at the forefront of PR and something that can literally make or break a company or establishment. 

Whether internal or through an agency, keeping track of your public relations ensures that you hear your customers' messages and adapt accordingly. In the article, Goodman discusses what he considers to be the most important and profitable aspects of public relations- "having a strong and clearly defined strategy with established outcomes, making contacts with the media, and being able to generate creative news angles".

All of this makes sense to me and I feel that these findings are definitely worth checking out. I really feel that, although public relations is still relatively unknown to those outside the field, it is starting to make its name because it truly does make a huge difference. I am extremely excited to see the future of public relations and to one day call it my career.