This post is contributed post is by Jason Dirkham

Public relations (PR) is a branch of the business that is often misunderstood. It has been referred to as advertising but that’s not really what it is. Defining public relations is difficult but the best way to describe it is a process of communication that is designed to build a good relationship between a company and its customers. It’s not about selling them a product, it’s about shaping the public perception of your company.

The reason that it’s so important is that people’s perception of your company has a huge effect on their decision to buy products. If you aren’t seen as a modern business that produces products responsibly and treats their customers well, people aren’t going to buy from you even if they like your products.

The big problem with public relations is that you’re usually working through somebody else. A good PR campaign will find you spots on the TV or in newspapers where you can talk about your business, but the final cut is going to be up to them. They decide how you are portrayed so if your PR campaign isn’t right you can end up getting some very bad press. If you think that your public relations strategy could do with an overhaul, use these basic tips.

Know What You’re Doing

There’s a reason that PR agencies exist. It’s difficult to get right and not everybody is cut out for it. If you’re going to do it yourself you need to know what you’re doing. Communication skills are key so it’s worth doing an imc graduate program which can teach you how to effectively communicate with media outlets. It’s also vital that you have a good understanding of how the print and TV industry works. These are the people that are going to give you opportunities and if you turn up without a clue what you’re doing, they’re not likely to work with you again.

Have A Narrative

When journalists are writing stories they don’t want boring stories full of business statistics. Their readers aren’t going to engage with it at all so you need something more interesting. Having a strong narrative gives readers something to latch onto and encourages them to continue reading. Any problems that you’ve had to overcome in your business journey are part of that narrative, and so are your plans for the future. Bringing out this narrative when you communicate with the public is key to giving your company more personality and making you more approachable. People increasingly want the businesses that they deal with to have some character.

Avoid Spam

When you’re trying to make press connections the obvious thing to do is email every journalist and paper that you can get contact details for. If you do that, your company will quickly get a reputation as annoying and people won’t want to deal with you. You’re wasting a lot of time emailing organizations that just aren’t the right fit for your company and there’s always the chance that you’re dealing with a news source that can’t be trusted. What you should be doing instead is actually reading some of these publications and finding places where you think an article about your business would fit naturally, then contact those people. You’re far more likely to see a return that way.

Public relations is challenging and often you need to pay an agency to handle it for you. If you can’t afford that, always make sure you’re following these rules.