What is your job?
That question came up at a talk we did recently with a PR class at a local university.
For public relations practitioners today, and for many marketing professionals, the answer seems to be simple…
Our job is to facilitate change.
Depending on the scope of the strategy and the project, that change can come in a number of
different ways.
It can be a full blown change in perception. For example…Our company suffered through some tough times and was known for “x”, but we have turned things around and are now known as “y”.
It can include building relationships with targeted journalists. For example…Our company was just an afterthought with the media and our competitors were generating all types of coverage. Now we are being featured in a number of articles and interviews and have leveled the playing field from a brand awareness perspective.
It can include improvements in employee relations and recruitment.
It can include passing legislation or electing a candidate to office.
It can include helping charitable causes raise funds or secure needed food and supplies through a community awareness program, and…
It can include driving more traffic to the company’s website, increasing sales activity and generating more revenue.
The bottom line for public relations professionals is to provide the knowledge and tools (traditional, digital, social, video etc.) to encourage or inspire the targeted audience to take action.
By promoting these actions in the right way we are doing our job of not only serving our company and clients, but also bettering the communities they serve.
