Reputation matters. When you’re running a business, how your community sees your brand is a critical aspect that can either make or break your growth. A negative impression has the potential to shake the foundations of larger organizations, so having proper public relations strategies in place is a must.
Although public relations is a commonly used tactic in business, many professionals fail to utilize its concepts to their full potential. If you’re serious about creating a solid public relations strategy for your brand, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with the common myths surrounding PR.
We’ve debunking the most common PR myths below— breaking false perceptions and eliminating the idea that it’s only a promotion approach. Are you ready? Let’s dive in!
Myth #1: PR is All About Appearing on Different Medias
It’s true that media coverage can improve your visibility and put the spotlight on your brand, but PR is more than just showing up on TV or the front page of a magazine cover. Public relations teams work hand in hand with journalists to help pitch ideas and distribute press releases to improve reputation management.
PR aims to improve your content development, maintain stakeholder relations, and enhance visibility. As all relevant eyes are on you, PR can help intensify your relevance in public.
Myth #2: PR Isn’t Quantifiable
Measuring the effectiveness of PR can be challenging and vague. But thanks to the advancements in technology, it is now possible to track and evaluate business objectives, media outreach, and how your strategy affects your brand.
Tools and methods to measure PR effectiveness are crucial so you need to work with an established public relations agency for small businesses and then you can access accurate data that can help improve your PR strategies.
Myth #3: PR and Advertising is the Same
One of the biggest misconceptions about PR is that it’s entirely the same as advertising. Advertising and PR are both considered a marketing mix, but advertising is paid media.
On the other hand, PR gets you earned media without any payment. They’re not entirely similar, but they can work hand in hand to boost your reputation.
When you utilize PR, you boost your brand’s credibility as you work with journalists to help build trust in your brand. However, the results of your PR efforts are less controllable than that of advertising.
Myth #4: Digital PR is Better Than Traditional PR
While the myth stated above implies one type of PR is better than the other, we believe that both can serve useful.
Traditional PR usually focuses on press, printed publications and TV or radio. Digital PR has the ability to span across a multitude of channels including social media platforms, websites, blogs, influencer campaigns, online news and videos. So depending on the type of business you have and the bandwith you can provide, both methods may be useful or one could be better for you.
A good way to grow your reach is by expanding your SEO efforts and/or use paid social platforms and ads, mobile efforts, just to name a few.
Conclusion: PR Isn’t Only for Big Businesses
Whether you have a big company or small business, public relations is extremely vital to help establish your relevance, promote your brand, and share your message to the public. Ideally, you’ll want to team up with a credible public relations agency for small businesses to ensure that the proper steps and strategies are implemented to help boost and develop your brand in a competitive marketplace.
If you’re looking for a public relations agency for small businesses, Elly and Nora Creative can help you! We are a branding, content, and publicity agency in Phoenix, Arizona, and we help purpose-driven companies, experts, and entrepreneurs grow their business.
We provide public relations, content creation, and branding services that could give your business an edge in the competitive landscape. Learn more about how we can help you!