Guest Writer: Heidi Wilson
Website: hwilsonpr.com
Twitter: @hwilsonpr
Are you an entrepreneur, business owner, artist ect. and constantly hear the words, you need Public Relations, but have no idea what it means? Well, join the club. Research shows that half of America have a misconception of PR. They think it is all about writing a press release, when in fact, it is a process and all about strategy. You often hear Public Relations mentioned in movies and TV shows such as Young and Restless, but do you have any idea what it involves? If not, no worries because I’m here to save the day! I consider myself a Public Relations guru. I like to explain Public Relations in two words, image and money! How well a product or service sells is determined by how the company of that product or service is perceived in the public. PR practitioners work non stop to make sure your company or organization has and maintains a positive image throughout the media and community.
Once you’ve set the tone for the image you want to portray, watch the dollars come rolling in! Now, the image of a fortune 500 company may be a little different an entertainer who has his/her own brand. For an example, lets take Phillip Morris US and Lady Gaga. Phillip Morris is the nation’s leading cigarette manufacturer, we all know that cigarettes is one of those controversy topics as smoking them can lead to cancer. Since this product is so controversial, Phillip Morris wants to make sure it keeps a positive image. In order to do this, Phillip Morris make sure that some of their key messages are that the product they are selling is legal, all health risks are written on the labels of all boxes, people buy the product at their own discretion and Phillip Morris does not advertise to solicit sells. Now while Phillip Morris is fighting to keep a positive public image within the community, Lady Gaga is doing her own thing. If you’ve seen pictures of Lady Gaga or seen her in concert, you noticed that her image is a bit edgy and some would say over the top! It’s not unusual for an entertainer to select a stage persona and hey, if it’s reaching her target audience and making her money, go for it!
So lesson of this blog post, if you have a product or service that you are selling, take a step back and look at the image that you are portraying to potential customers. Is it one you want people to perceive? If not, run and find you a PR professional quick!
Next time, I will take you into the different areas of Public Relations.
