Establishing, managing, and enhancing the reputation of a company, organization or individual is the prime function of public relations (PR). Public relations attempts to persuade any interested parties to see a client in a particular way. For example, polls may show a government figure to be losing relevance among the younger generation. It might be a good idea for this person to hire a public relations specialist to establish, manage, and enhance their social media presence because younger generations are highly connected in terms of social media and this may net positive results in future polls.
It’s essential to define what the “public” means in terms of public relations.
Expert political strategist and CEO Neal Kwatra states: “The ‘public’ is really anyone who may form an opinion about the represented client. It can be an endless number of media groups, organizations, voters, companies, online bloggers, and more.”
Who the client is and what they do professionally dramatically influences the number of potential groups that PR must cater to initially. For example, a singer/songwriter who has already garnered a reasonably large following before hiring professional PR will generally have more “up-front” groups to cater to than an unknown novelist who has recently written a best-seller.
The 3 main tools used in PR:
- The Press Release: Press releases give the media needed information so they can create news stories built around the client. A press release is valuable for increasing visibility in the public and attracting customers who may not have otherwise been aware of the client. Some clients need PR to manage overwhelming media demands, while other clients may use press releases to establish themselves.
- The Media Pitch: Media pitches are usually emails sent to journalists, producers, bloggers, radio hosts, etc. These emails will generally explain who the client is, what they do professionally, and why the media should care enough about the client to do an interview with them. Assuming the client does an interview; pitches are good for getting the client’s actual voice out there and should help the public connect with client depending on how well the meeting goes.
- Social Media Management: Social media management is vital for PR in today’s world. Just about everything and everyone is connected via social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.). Having a strong social media presence has become necessary for two main reasons:
- News organizations now cite “Tweets” and Facebook statuses as sources for news reports.
- Being active in the social media realm also shows the public that the client is relevant and that they care about connecting with their interested groups.
A public relations specialist can help establish, manage, and enhance a public figure’s image for any public that may form an opinion about the individual, company or organization. The increasing level of transparency in today’s world increases the need for PR to help manage the way public figures are viewed.
About Neal Kwatra
Since the founding of Metropolitan Public Strategies in 2013, Neal Kwatra has been at the forefront of the most hotly contested political and advocacy campaigns in New York and across the nation. Mr. Kwatra founded MPS in 2013 and has since been at the forefront of some of the most fiercely contested political and advocacy campaigns in New York and across the nation. He has fought to uphold his ideals with great tenacity and continues to expand the reach of MPS into the strategic management of nationally recognized grassroots and issue advocacy campaigns.