Blog written by Thomas Short
I was surfing through some public relations industry news and came across an article talking about how PR is dying and “had a good run.” Mike Magee, the author specifically stated, “We can do without the middle person, or why deal with PR people when vendors just send out news releases or advertise themselves?” The “middle person” they are accusing is actually the link to credible news. PR is two-way communication between a PR professional and their client or media. Rather than companies sending out news releases to every media outlet in the world, you have a credible PR professional researching, building a relationship with a reporter and presenting the facts through a specific channel to build awareness. Now don’t get me wrong, we all know advertising is a great form of building awareness, but how many advertisements really make you take action? There is always a story behind the advertisement and PR professionals tell that story.
PR is more personable than any other form of building awareness. Once you build a relationship the facts become credible and believable. Reporters do not want to be bombarded with news releases, they want to have relationships knowing pitches are factual, news worthy and research is already done. If there is no “middle man” where does the credible relationship building take place? I can only imagine a reporter’s day with no facts or credibility. PR is real. Spinning the media can only allow your audience to think twice when it comes to your company’s reputation.