What is Public Relations
the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends
How Does Public Relations Earn Public Understanding and Acceptance?
Public relations forms, builds and maintains relationships between your organization and publics by finding common interests. Failures usually stem from communication breakdowns.
What is the Social Significance of the Practice of Public Relations?
American business gave birth to public relations as it is practiced today. Growth and trends in business created the conditions for the public relations profession to develop.
How many typical functions of Public Relations
12
5 Competencies, the Public Relations Four-Step Process, and 3 others
The 5 Competencies of Public Relations
1. Trusted counsel�advise and anticipate
2. Internal communication�engage employees and build trust
3. Media relations�develop public trust and support
4. Community relations�establish public trust and support
5. External communication to customers/stakeh
Public Relations Four-Step Process
6. Research and strategize
7. Plan
8. Implement, execute and communicate
9. Evaluate
The 3 other Functions of Public Relations
10. Publicity and special events
11. Issues management
12. Crisis communication
Advertising:
Information placed in the media by an identified sponsor that pays for time or space. It is a controlled method of placing messages in the media.
Brand:
A product, service or concept that is publicly distinguished from other products, services or concepts so that it can be easily communicated and usually marketed. A brand name is the name of the distinctive product, service or concept.
Branding:
The process of creating and/or disseminating the brand name. Branding can be applied to the entire corporate identity as well as to individual product and service names.
Community relations:
An area of public relations with responsibilities for building relationships with constituent publics such as schools, charities, clubs and activist interests of the neighborhoods or metropolitan areas(s) where an organization operates. Dealing and commun
Controlled communication channels:
Self-sponsored communication channels, media and tools that are under direct control of the sender. Examples include paid advertising, newsletters, brochures, some types of e-mails, organizational websites and blogs, leaflets, organizational broadcasts an
Counseling:
Advising management concerning policies, relations and communications.
Crisis communication:
Protects and defends an individual, company or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation. These challenges can involve legal, ethical or financial standing. See Crisis Communication Management in this study guide.
Employee relations:
Activities designed to build sound relationships between an organization and its employees, and a critical element in fostering positive attitudes and behavior of employees as ambassadors for the organization.
Financial relations:
An aspect of public relations responsible for building relationships with investor publics, including shareholders/stockholders, potential investors, financial analysts, the financial markets (such as the stock exchanges and commodities exchanges), and th
Government relations:
An aspect of relationship-building between an organization and government at local, state, and/or national levels, especially involving flow of information to and from legislative and regulatory bodies in an effort to influence public policy decisions com
Grassroots organizing:
An activist practice for creating social change among average people. Grassroots organizing is based on the power of the people to take collective action on their own behalf. This public relations technique is often used to sway public opinion and move le
Issues management:
The proactive process of anticipating, identifying, evaluating and responding to public policy issues that affect organizations and their publics now and in the future.
Lobbying:
The specialized area of public relations that builds and maintains relations with a government or its officials for the primary purpose of influencing legislation and regulation. Also see Government Relations and Public Affairs.
Marketing:
The management function that identifies human needs and wants, offers products and services to satisfy those demands, and causes transactions that deliver products and services in exchange for something of value to the provider. Targets customers.
Marketing communications:
A combination of activities designed to sell a product, service or idea, including advertising, collateral materials, interactive communications, publicity, promotion, direct mail, trade shows and special events.
Media relations:
Mutually beneficial associations between publicists or public relations professionals and members of media organizations as a condition for reaching audiences with messages of news or features of interest. Maintaining up-to-date lists of media people and
Multicultural relations/workplace diversity:
Relating with people in various cultural groups. Understanding multicultural and workplace diversity continues to increase in importance. Diversity in the workplace continues to provide challenges and opportunities to public relations practitioners and ot
Press agentry:
Creating newsworthy stories and events to attract media attention and gain public notice.
Proactive public relations:
Taking the initiative to develop and apply public relations plans to achieve
measurable results toward set goals and objectives. Also see Reactive Public Relations.
Promotion:
Activities designed to win publicity or attention, especially the staging of special events to generate media coverage. Special activities designed to create and stimulate interest in a person, product, organization or cause.
Propaganda:
Persuasion based on appeals rather than on the merits of a case. Often gives only one side of an argument, making it deceitful and not in the public interest.
Propaganda devices:
� Glittering generalities (broad statements)
� Name calling (emotions)
� Transfer (guilt by association)
� Bandwagon (everybody's doing it)
� Plain folks (anti-elitism)
� Testimonials (if irrelevant)
� Card stacking (one-sided)
Public affairs:
A specialized area of public relations that builds and maintains mutually beneficial governmental and local community relations. Also applies to the military and governmental agencies due to the 1913 Gillett Amendment. Also see Lobbying and Government Rel
Public information:
Representation of a point of view in collected forms such as facts, news, messages, pictures or data; the process of disseminating such information to publics usually through the mass media; a designation describing persons charged with the task of such d
Publicity:
Information from an outside source that is used by the media because it has news value. It is an uncontrolled method of placing messages because the source does not pay the media for placement.
Reactive public relations:
Response to crises and putting out fires defensively rather than initiating programs. There are varying degrees of reactive public relations with some situations requiring implementation of an organization's crisis plan. Also see Proactive Public Relation
Reputation Management:
Reputation management has long been a function of public relations, which is often cited in the context of crisis management. The increased use of the Internet and related social media has given added urgency to the practice, as the immediate and anonymou
Special events:
Stimulating an interest in a person, product or organization by means of a focused "happening." Activities designed to interact with publics and listen to them.
Uncontrolled communications channels:
Uncontrolled communications channels refer to the media that are not under direct control of the company, organization or sender of messages. These include newspapers and magazines, radio and television, external websites, externally produced blogs and so