What Public Relations Firms Offer

Anyone who is familiar with the world of celebrities have heard of public relations firms aka PR companies, but just what does such a company provide? Well, to answer that, one has to understand the term “public relations”. As one would suspect, the term implies a reciprocal relationship between two or more parties. Often, one of the parties engaged is the “public”. Via a second party, information is exchanged to said public. This information is processed and provided in a manner that expresses a certain sentiment in a succinct and understandable way. It is also presented in outlets that will obtain a vast amount of exposure for the individual or individuals seeking the services of a PR company.

In many occasions, the media is one of those outlets and is more commonly used to aid politicians, athletes, actors and musicians. However, it would be a mistaken belief that public relations is only utilized by stars and celebrities, in fact, this all important tool of communication can help various types of relation aspects such as:

Employee/Labor relations

A PR firm can become an extremely invaluable asset when it comes to the often tricky and volatile relationships between employers and their workers. Many people think that PR company services are only called into play when talks break down between union officials and businesses. It would surprise many to learn that a public relations firm can be employed to help employees understand their rights and what is required of them within a given company structure. Often time’s, business will hire a PR company when they have to address a body of people and give new instructions. Speeches, lectures and business conventions may lay claim to public relations involvement as well.

Media relations

with media relations, a PR company can act as a consultant to coach an individual on how to handle themselves when they are in the public eye. Although stars do often use this service, normal individuals, such as a suspect in a murder trial or someone who is looking for a lost family member can use a public relations firm to appeal to the citizenship. Although many companies will stoop to low ball tactics, a reputable PR firm abides by a certain code of ethics and tries to ensure that the information being put into the public arena is factual.

Investor relations

Investor relations are set up by a public relations firm to foster dialogue between a particular company and it’s shareholders. Unlike media relations or labor relations, the target audience is very specific and often times extremely educated on the topic at hand. In an effort to give those seeking information a glimpse into a companies stock offerings, investor meetings and conventions scheduled. In this way, analysts, shareholders, stockbrokers and the like can gather to learn more about investment prospects. For businesses seeking to reap new investment a capital, the use of a PR company is a very smart move.

Say no-to spin doctors

If you have done something wrong, it may be best to fess up eloquently than try to wag-the-dog. An ethical firm will not tell you to lie to the public. They may of course consult with you regarding the type of information you wish to make known, but today’s politically savvy populace can usually see through spin.

The right PR Company will try to combine tactics that will get attention or enable you to get your point across. They will also attempt to keep you from coming under fire for obvious ploys or publicity stunts by making smart assessments of the climate you will entering into. For these reasons, any person who wishes to grab the national spotlight, or foster better communication with employees or investors, need to l investigate the powerful tools that a Public relations firm can provide.

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What Kind of Things Can a Public Relations Firm Do For Your Corporate Business?

A company’s success can hinge on the relationship they have with the public and how they are perceived in the media. Some companies choose to try and handle all of these matters from the inside with their own PR department but others feel the need to enlist an outside service to ensure that all matters of public view and perception are handled by highly trained professionals.

A good public relations firm can take your businesses success to levels you never even imagined, but the question on many CEO’s minds remains, “Will the results obtained from enlisting an outside PR firm offset the cost we have to pay for the services?”

What can a PR firm do for You?

Establish Relationships

The key to success in any business is developing and maintaining solid relationships, not just with your clients, but with investors, vendors and employees. Most of the time an in house PR department can easily grow and maintain the relationships with customers and vendors, but it gets much more difficult for an inside department to handle relationships with vendors and especially other employees.

An outside firm can readily handle all of these relationships impartially, with only the company’s best interests in mind. This almost makes the company’s investment in an outside firm worth it without even considering all of the other positives they can offer – happy employees and investors make a much more productive work place and in turn can really drive the profits and, therefore, the success of the business.

Save you Money

It may not look like it at the outset, because the initial investment of enlisting a public relations firm can be reasonably high, but hiring an outside firm to handle all of your public relations can save your corporation a good deal of money in the long run.

Without a PR firm to do at least some of the work involved in overall company public relations, your corporation would need (depending on the size of the company) at the very least one, most likely several, full time employees. The hourly wage paid to these full time employees may seem like peanuts when compared to the dollars that would be paid out to a public relations firm, but when you factor in the benefits, paid holidays, paid vacations and overall annual salaries of these employees your corporation could end up saving thousands and thousands of dollars a year by hiring an outside public relations firm.

You can use the services of a public relations firm when you need them, and forego the services when you don’t. It’s not as if a member of the firm will be in your office collecting a paycheck – you pay for the services that you use and nothing more.

Diversity

A good public relations firm can often offer you much more than what used to be considered the basics of good PR. Many public relations firms today can offer everything your PR department and your marketing and advertising departments can do and more.

By enlisting the services of a good, reputable public relations firm you can effectively turn your own office into a lean and mean machine. You won’t have to cross train employees to take on roles that they are not comfortable or experienced with – your sales force won’t have to be concerned with any phase of marketing or advertisement. Your valuable sales staff can get focused on what they were trained to do – sell, while a PR firm takes care of developing the relationships and public perceptions.

Emergency Services

A public relations firm can bail you out of trouble in the event of a PR emergency. PR firm representatives are trained to handle all types of scandals or problems that crop up and can affect your corporation’s image in the public eye. Press releases can be quickly written and submitted and press conferences can be put together in short order to ensure that your company keeps its positive reputation with all of your current and potential clients, investors and employees.

Whether you decide to enlist an outside public relations firm to handle any or all of your company’s PR or marketing, solid relationships are the cornerstone of your company’s success. If you don’t have a rock solid PR department, than hiring a public relations firm could be the best decision for your company’s future.

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