Marketing on Sofa

PR as a discipline has existed for quite some time already. However, many companies still do not know what it is. Inspired by my ongoing studies and personal observations, I decided to elaborate on the PR profession and how it is sometimes perceived in the corporate world. If you put a tick to any of these points below, you definitely should not hire a PR manager. 

1. You do not understand why you need it

Imagine you have a toothache and make an appointment with a dentist. You know that dentists are the right specialists to treat an oral cavity; therefore, you do not ask yourself why you need one.

Same with a PR professional. PR consists of many elements: social media, event management, media relations, collaboration with opinion leaders, communication with different stakeholders and more. Do not take one on board if you cannot comprehend why you need it or the result you want to get. 

I often pop up on job announcements of a PR manager with an extraordinary task description. Sometimes, it combines work for at least five different persons, from the PR field and allied areas, like marketing or sales. What conclusion can I make? Well, there is an apparent lack of knowledge about the domain.

2. You are all mighty and can do everything 

Cool. I genuinely think some talents can write outstanding copies, talk to journalists, prepare and run unique campaigns, represent and develop mind-breaking narratives – all at the same time. They do exist, but these rare gems are hard to find. 

I worked with people who had zero PR experience, but they were positive to tell my colleagues or me how to do our job. Sometimes, it is hard to say “no” to a CEO, but PR teams should educate their co-workers and shed light on this mysterious profession. Do not keep a PR manager if you know better how to do it. 

3. You have no time 

PR managers work closely with a service requestor. They are like yin and yang, like soup and spoon, like tennis racket and ball. This means you must interact closely and frequently. If you have no time to discuss ideas, answer questions, and communicate regularly, probably you should postpone your PR activities for a while. 

4. You have no budget 

Once, a colleague told me: “Check out this video. We should do the same. I want to have it in a week”. Indeed, the video was terrific: short, simple, natural. Making a video is not just pressing the button on the phone. You have to involve several specialists to produce a nice story: a videographer, a scriptwriter, a PR manager, an SMM manager, a marketer, or hire an agency to do it for you. Of course, this requires a budget to pay them, not to mention promotion opportunities which is already a different expense line. Unfortunately, many companies today do not have a dedicated budget or are unwilling to invest.

5. You think PR solves all your problems 

This one is my favourite. And probably the most popular misconception of the PR. 

Do you want to increase sales now? Make your brand well known today? Sure, PR can help. But not overnight, unless it is a dark PR and your brand is involved in a massive scandal. Building a reputation, establishing and maintaining connections, making a brand recognizable requires a thoughtful approach, time, money and commitment.

So, will you take a PR manager on board?