The public relations industry is quite old, but that doesn’t mean it’s antiquated as it’s always changing and evolving to keep up with the rest of the world and what companies need.
Public relations itself is a very comprehensive subject that provides companies with a number of different strategies that they can use to influence or even change the opinions or preferences of their target audiences.
A lot of people tend to misunderstand what public relations are all about, or even why it’s so important for businesses, especially those in the B2B industry.
Importance
There are many different reasons why companies should be investing in and relying on public relations efforts in an attempt to spread the word about themselves and their solutions.
After all, public relations is all about getting other people to talk about a company and its solutions, which generates more trust and credibility with the target audience and positions businesses as industry leaders. The reputation and public image of a company can only be improved if a media outlet or other credible and authoritative organization speaks positively about that company.
The core reputation of any brand is built on its public relations efforts, which is why companies need to invest in public relations to reach their target audiences, establish their brands, make sales, and grow.
The most efficient and successful campaigns in public relations are able to help companies generate more leads, increase website traffic and brand recognition, and help them build more brand equity in the market. To be able to increase the organic growth of a business, and establish a positive reputation with a positive public opinion, companies have no other option than to invest in public relations efforts.
Advertising
It’s important for companies to not make the mistake of confusing advertising efforts with public relations efforts. Despite the fact that advertising and public relations tend to have similar overall goals, they are quite different. On one hand, advertising is all about sponsored updates that companies need to make for promotion through paid media.
On the other hand, public relations is free, also known as earned media, where companies rely on editorial coverage from relevant outlets to promote themselves or their solutions.
People often tend to look at advertising efforts with a lot of mistrust and skepticism because they know that most ads tend to be targeted. However, with public relations, companies are able to reach those same consumers in a much more organic way, in a way that they’ll trust a lot more because companies get a lot of credibility when they’re featured in reputable outlets – both offline and online.
Despite the fact that issuing a press release in an outlet may not immediately motivate a potential consumer to make a purchase from that business, it does generate a more positive image of that business in the mind of the consumer, which influences purchasing decisions over a longer period of time.