The Private Nature of Public Relations

To do public relations well you need to have a critical mind -- to develop compelling content. You need to be able to see fresh angles and points of view in a company, product, or service story so that benefits to the reader come across in all their glory, without writing a sell sheet in a press release.

Today, you need a whole set of new skills. With new media, you need to understand the digital space a lot better, how to integrate marketing communications, the value of search engine optimization (SEO), who is influential in the niche where your client is, how you set up listening posts, how to measure the results of your strategies, and be comfortable with new technologies.

You also need to learn how to manage your client's expectations and deliver the hard message of putting skin in the game -- directly, or through you -- with your results. You may be called upon to be more than an adviser when it comes to managing communities, and helping in case of a crisis.

To be good at all of this, you will become emotionally vested in the outcome. While new media work may take you to a whole new level, it presents some challenges:

• you need to build your own brand to demonstrate expertise without creating friction at work
• online you need to toe the company line, and disclose when you're doing that
• you're called to draw from your personality, along with your experience 
• you're working at all hours and need to find ways to have a life
• you're looking to create new trends and the industry is stuck in old ways

Is new media allowing companies to benefit from people taking on more roles and work without proper recalibrating and compensation?

Many organizations are struggling with the fact that someone who is really good in new media helps pull the brand or company they connect by virtue of their own name recognition.

On the other hand, companies tend to be suspicious of PR professionals and agencies that, in their eyes, spend time gaining publicity for themselves. They think it comes at a cost to clients -- they will not get better results for the brand than those who focus on it exclusively, at the expense of their own popularity.

We talk a lot about the public nature of public relations, yet we spend little time thinking about the profession's private nature.

These are some interesting trends I've observed and discussed with practitioners. Companies struggle with loss of control the most, are we in danger of seeing that control shift from the message to the people who carry it?

What do you think?

[image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/atomicjeep/ / CC BY 2.0]

© 2010 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.

Comments

[Rick Morgan]

Control was probably an illusion anyway. I see the shift from corp. brand to "human face" as a real as a positive. Those who adapt and embrace this shift will be rewarded.

[Deirdre]

Hi Valeria! I was really happy to see your post this morning. You made some great points and raise an interesting issue about the private nature of public relations. First, I want to thank you for pointing out that in public relations you need a critical mind. After seeing Spindustry for the first time, I truly hope that people don't confuse pubic relations for publicity. In any case, my own personal opinion is that PR people must build their own brands, help to raise the reputation of our industry and spend a lot of time experiencing social media and creating new trends. By doing so, we are better able to serve our clients and educate them on the best way to engage with their stakeholders. I think that as PR people, we must practice what we preach. So, if we are advising our clients strategically to engage in communications in web communities, we must speak from experience and truly understand what it is like to "be the people we want to reach." Your post is thought provoking and I'll be following the other comments. Thanks for sharing your insight on the topic.

[Zachary Adam Cohen]

Valeria
Lots of truths in your post, especially the point that in order for new media professionals to be successful they'll need to be emotionally invested in the company, the product or brand that they have signed on to help. Also, the fact that new media requires one to be fast on your feet, responding to crises as they occur, which can mean middle of the night, or during moments when you are supposed to be working on other clients.
We don't get to control when and where the work goes down anymore.

Thanks for the post, i've retweeted as well

[Elizabeth Sosnow]

Hi Valeria:

A timely post, as usual. The privacy battle is a tough one. It's even tougher when you are trying to teach younger folks how to "walk the line." Many are coming of age without a recognition of what has changed - and what shouldn't.

The 5 bullets you list above might present very differently to a 40 year old vs. a 25 year old. We need to work together as an industry to develop a framework that feels right for everyone.

Hope your weekend was good...

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Rick - putting a human face to any business works. Thank you for stopping by.

@Deirdre - admittedly, there are several nuances in this post. Indeed, most demi-gods of product marketing see public relations and publicity and treat it that way. It's amazing the level of education still needed for this profession to break away from propaganda.

@Zachary - emotional investment comes at a cost, especially in these liquid times. Companies moved away sharply from commitment to employees at a time when they need to have relationships with them in order to reengage with customers. That's why I ended the post with the note about trying to control the very people who've become the message with social media.

@Elizabeth - these media have been disruptive to all industries. What's interesting to me is that young professionals experience disconnects as well, just not the same one more seasoned ones do.

[Rich Becker]

Valeria,

The real danger in attempting to sift the illusion of control from the company to representatives is that it breaks down the brand relationship, making the product mutually reliant on the customer's experience with the product and the peddler.

Think about that. Sure, the human face is always appreciated and is certainly needed from time to time, but you cannot make the company so reliant on the people that it overshadows the experience of the product on its own.

For example, I own a pair of Doc Martins. I love them. I don't care to have a relationship with someone at the company (or the hundreds of other products I buy). And, if I did have one, there is an equal chance I wouldn't buy another pair if I decided the human connection didn't have anything in common with me.

All my best,
Rich

[Ivan Walsh]

Valeria,

A good friend works in PR. She said her role was to keep people away from her clients as much as possible.

She is a buffer, not a conduit.

Think the old guard has to change attitudes before PR can embrace/leverage all that Social Media offers.

[Christian DE NEEF]

People Trust People, Not Companies. For that reason, one has to be oneself on social media, not only (or rather, on top of) being the voice of the company we represent. So indeed, you have to be emotionally (in)vested in the company/product, whether it's our own or someone else's. More than that, to allow for Trust, which grows from personal relationships, one has to expose part of our personal lives... I wrote something about that, a long time ago already: What can you share? And to whom? http://bit.ly/oKhhg

@cdn