I’m often surprised at how intimidating PR is for small businesses. I think the mere fact that the premise is so simple, yet can produce such big results, makes everyone assume that there has to be more to it than there is.
A few definitions for “Public Relations�:
Dictionary.com -
1. The actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting good will between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc.
2. The art, technique or profession of promoting such good will.
If I were to break it down to its simplest terms, public relations is all about making friends. Anytime you are working with the general public and have the opportunity to build a relationship, leave an impression or impart
information, you are participating in public relations activities. At every level, public relations is far more personal than advertising and, when done correctly, is the most effective tool you can incorporate into your business to aid you in the quest of making your potential customers your friends and members of your community.
So if you’ve been a bit hesitant about public relations in the past–strip it down to its most basic terms, and get out there and make some friends this year. I know it’s kind of a “give the world a hug” approach, but it’s an easy starting point, and the best place to try it out is in your own backyard. Grow your skills locally and let that pave your way to national targets. Go make some friends.
Good luck in 2008!
This entry was posted on Sunday, January 6th, 2008 at 10:08 pm and is filed under PR Basics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.One Response to “Redefining Public Relations in 2008”
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January 8th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
[…] There has been a lot written lately – as there always is at the beginning of a new year – about change. That’s especially true in the PR world in 2008. Ogilvy announced today that it’s laying off 50-100 people in its New York office “primarily because the nature of the business is changing.” BullDog Reporter had this last week: Untangling New Media: Now Could Be PR’s Greatest Era of Opportunity in 100 Years; PRWeek had this: Editors’ Choice 2008: The Change Agent; and Entrepreneur chimed in with this: Redefining Public Relations in 2008. […]