Why is Public Relations Still Important?

Why is Public Relations Still Important?

March 7, 2019

Why is Public Relations still important, you ask? For some reason the average small, start up business has trouble seeing the importance of having a good PR person or outsourced agency. A simple marketing person and/or department won’t be able to take on all of the key jobs and implementations in order to give companies the best chance possible. Here are a few reasons why public relations is still important, even crucial.

The Value

One of the most prominent issues with people who live in the digital marketing realm is the thinking that digital and social media marketing can replace public relations. Growth hacks are being sought out which in turn results in unrealistic expectations of followers. When you have fake followers, engagement is low and disingenuous. High level executives looking for this abnormally fast growth don’t realize that strong press along with third party validation are the best way to get a company’s history and story out there. This necessity falls onto PR professionals to get the importance of this drilled into the minds of their potential clients and customers. Taking the time to educate clients yield happier and less disappointed feelings, not to mention leave them feeling more confident in the PR service instead of solely relying on digital marketing to do all of the work.

Paid vs. Earned

Public relations professionals are typically versed and adapt well when it comes to capturing a client’s voice. This is a huge advantage for the PR world, but an issue that’s happening recently is the confusion between editorial and advertising content. Paid placements seem to be taking the lead, but the debate lies in whether or not it’s a good opportunity for the PR industry. Some belief that the old ways are the best ways and others are less resistant to the change. The old way consists of the mindset that PR should only establish earned media. Unfortunately, this conflict will continue on for a while. With so many industries, different beliefs work better. Paid might work best for one industry, but get no traction with another. This just goes to show that there is no one way of doing things.

Reputation to Protect

Some might say the biggest challenge is the loss of respect for actual experts in the media world. Major media has taken tons of blows over the past few years and many more people are starting to rely on smaller news networks instead of tuning in to larger platforms. Social media and places like Reddit have begun to develop a more reputable place to get information, even though most of the articles and posts are opinions, not facts. This makes it tough for a simple marketing team to deal with the advertising and promotions in conjunction with maintaining and presenting the ideal reputation for the company and/or business.

With all of that being said, we hope that you take a minute to consider the importance of PR for any businesses you want to grow, expand, and make a good impact on your audience and customers.

Interested to know more about Public Relations and how it can impact your business positively? We know exactly how it’s done. Click here to schedule a Complimentary Brand Consultation.