Discover Everything about Public Relations: What They Are, Areas of Specialization and the Labor Market
Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their audiences. Every business needs a good reputation to succeed and thrive. As a company grows, it becomes increasingly important to stand out in the field in which it operates.
Although a company’s success depends on many factors, such as the quality and reliability of its products and services, public relations is one of the fundamental pillars for managing and improving a company’s reputation. Public relations allow you to broadly communicate your company’s brand, its values, and create compelling narratives about your products and services. Good PR work helps the public understand what your business can offer, which can be decisive in attracting and retaining customers.
It’s a fascinating concept, isn’t it? But do you really know what public relations is?
Studies in Social Communication are divided into three main fields: Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations (affectionately abbreviated as PR). While most people have a clear idea of what a journalist or publicist does, the question often arises: what exactly does a public relations professional do?
Public relations encompasses a wide range of activities and strategies aimed at managing the public perception of a company. This includes internal and external communication management, crisis management, event planning, press release writing, media relations, social media management and content creation.
What is Public Relations?
Simply put, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) defines public relations as a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their respective publics. Let’s break down this definition to better understand the elements that define public relations.
What are the 5 Elements of Public Relations?
Organizations
An organization is a group of people around a common cause. It can take many forms, from a company to a government, NGOs and various other entities. Organizations are essential in public relations, since they are the ones that initiate the communication process to establish and maintain their reputation and relationship with their audiences.
Publics
Audiences, like organizations, are multiple and span a variety of social backgrounds. We can think of them as groups of people who interact with a particular organization. These audiences can be customers, employees, investors, the media, and the community at large. The ability to identify and understand these different audiences is crucial to any successful public relations strategy.
Communication Processes
Public relations involve communication processes that, like all forms of communication, involve at least two parties. In practice, these parties are multiple: organizations and their different audiences. They relate in various ways to establish exchange processes. This exchange can be information, values or perceptions, and it is bidirectional, allowing for a constant and fluid dialogue.
Non-linear processes
Contrary to what one might think, communication processes in public relations are not linear. Quite the contrary: they happen spontaneously and multilaterally. Public relations emerges as a way of understanding and optimising these complex and dynamic links between the various actors involved. This means that communication strategies must be flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances.
Exchange Relations
Exchange relationships are essential in public relations. Organizations and their publics are constantly connected through various dynamics that add value to both parties. Public relations organize these links and exchange processes, generating benefits and value for both parties. Organizations benefit by being able to convey their message and generate a positive perception, while the public gains a more transparent view and can demand services or interact positively with the organization.
How did Public Relations arise?
Public relations has a long history. According to James E. Grunig, one of the greatest scholars of the field, the Chinese aristocracy cultivated this art 5,000 years ago. However, public relations as a professional field has been studied since the beginning of the 20th century, mainly in the United States. This field arose from the need for companies to communicate with their audiences in order to generate a positive image during an era of accelerated growth and mechanization of processes.
The first recognized public relations professional is Ivy Lee, considered the father of public relations. Ivy Lee founded his own PR office and worked for large corporations to improve their image and increase their profits. He promoted the humanization of business models and advocated transparency, establishing the maxim: “The public must be informed.” This philosophy remains a cornerstone in the field of public relations today.
What Does a Public Relations Professional Do?
The public relations professional has the role of analyzing the organization in its various dimensions and establishing strategic plans to transmit the best message and image of the company. This role covers multiple areas of the company, from internal to external communication, and requires a holistic view of the organization.
Develop the Communication Plan
Developing an organization’s communication plan is a complex task that requires dynamism, critical thinking and responsibility. The PR professional designs a plan that covers the company’s internal and external communication, aligning the communications team (advertising, marketing, design and journalists) to work together in the same direction.
Writing Press Releases
A press release is an announcement or media release about a company’s activities. Writing and publishing a press release requires precision in the choice of words, the spokesperson for the message, the tone of voice and the right timing. A good press release can result in a positive image and favorable comments.
Organize Events
Internal and external company events have various objectives and must be well executed to meet those objectives. The PR professional organizes all the logistics of the event, ensuring that it is enjoyable and beneficial for the company.
Conduct Market Research
Understanding the market is essential for public relations. Market research allows us to understand the behavior of consumers and potential customers, providing valuable data for communication strategies.
Managing Contacts and Relationships
A company needs good relationships with diverse groups of people. The PR professional is responsible for establishing and maintaining these relationships, which include the internal community (employees), the external community (consumers, potential customers, etc.) and the media.
Content Production
Content marketing is an integral part of public relations work. The PR professional understands the language and positioning of the brand and transmits it through different channels, both internal and external.
Managing Crisis
No company is free from mistakes, and the PR professional must deal with backlash and control damage. This includes handling criticism and crises, anticipating the impacts of actions and working to resolve situations effectively.
Communications Consulting
Many of these activities are included in the communications consultancy, which connects the company with the public. Communications consultancy can be internal or external and includes press consultancy, social media management and management of the company’s image.
Public Relations in Marketing
A well-done PR job is one that helps the public understand a company, its values, its goals, and what it has to offer. Any good marketer reading this sentence can relate to it. In fact, these two activities come together in many ways. Both aim to establish relationships of trust and exchange between the company and the public through charm and effective communication. And most importantly, they provide long-lasting benefits for the company and its audience.
However, each has its own operating logic. Public relations works in a more direct, logistical and strategic way. The PR professional focuses on creating and maintaining a positive image of the company through managing communication with various audiences, organizing events, handling crises and writing press releases, among other activities. Marketing, on the other hand, acts mainly with the new, the risky and also with indirect elements. It focuses on attracting and retaining customers through creative campaigns, market research and endomarketing strategies.
The Intersection of Public Relations and Marketing
It is essential that PR and marketing teams work together, as both are critical to a company. For example, while a PR person works directly with employees to strengthen internal communication and improve the corporate image, the marketing officer is concerned with endomarketing strategies, which seek to motivate and engage employees with the company’s mission and values. This collaboration ensures that all communication efforts are aligned and coherent, strengthening the public perception of the company.
Public Relations Job Market
Many people claim that the job market in any field of communication is getting worse and smaller. However, the truth is that the ease of communication and the increasing complexity of the media environment make many companies understand the urgency of hiring professional solutions for this sector. This is no different with the public relations professional. The market is constantly becoming more professional, as it is a relatively new and expanding activity, which points to more opportunities.
We have already described the main activities that PR professionals perform. These professionals can occupy various positions, such as communication consultant, press consultant, event manager, customer relations officer, institutional communication, and brand journalist. These are just a few options. Of course, as in any other profession, PR professionals will not perform all of these functions at the same time, but these areas represent possible fields of activity in which they can specialize.
The Public Relations Course
Program
The public relations course program covers a wide range of topics covering social communication, management and administration. These three main areas are essential to train a good professional and provide an overview of the field of knowledge. Among the subjects included in the program are:
- Communication Theories: This subject provides a solid theoretical foundation on how people and organizations communicate, exploring various models and theories that explain the communication process.
- Public Relations Processes: This section examines the specific techniques and strategies used by PR professionals to manage communication between organisations and their audiences.
- Event Planning: Students learn to plan, organize, and execute events that reinforce the organization’s image and messages.
- Organizational Communication: This subject focuses on internal communication within organizations, ensuring that employees are informed and aligned with company objectives.
- Communications Consulting: Students learn to provide strategic advice to organizations on how to manage their communications and engage with the media.
- Media Management: This subject addresses the relationship with the media, teaching students how to manage interactions with journalists and other media professionals.
- Marketing: The principles of marketing are explored here and how they apply in the context of public relations.
Duration
The public relations course lasts approximately four years. Classes are usually concentrated in a single term, allowing students to undertake internships and gain practical experience in the field while studying. This combination of theory and practice is crucial to forming competent professionals who are well prepared to face the challenges of the working world.
How public relations help
The area of communication is very broad, and public relations occupies one of the main fields. By combining strategy, communication knowledge, economics, management and administration, the PR professional obtains a holistic view of the organization and is able to make the best decisions for its benefit. If you are interested in this area, it is worth investigating more about the universities available and which ones are most interesting for your professional goals, since the field of activity is very broad and offers numerous opportunities to develop and grow.
