Definition Of Public Relations

Writen by Adam Yax

What is Public Relations

The difference between Public Relations PR and Advertising is simple, you pay for Advertising. The definition of Public Relations is 'Public Relations practice is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its publics.

Public relations is the more difficult "free" version of advertising. It turns out it's not free after all, however paying for advertising allows you to say what ever you want, public relations is different, this is when others say what they want about you.

When you are high in the search results for a search phrase, the vast majority assume you got there because the "public" put you there. This is not far from exactly why your site was in the result to begin with. Being listed on the top of a search that is relevant to your site is becoming one of the most sought after forms of Public Relations. Those who see your site on top assume you are the leader in your industry, that assumption is (and has always been) the direct result of good Public Relations work.

A Good Technical Public Relations Firm has resources in the industry and has professionals with experience in the agency. These Public relations tools and experience drives your company's profits forward when a prospect turns to you (the industry leader) for answers and advise. You provide them with the answers by way of your products or your services, or both.

Public Relations may not be focused on promoting products or services, but this is where the new media comes in. The new media that is constantly being "re-understood" everyday is the internet. With it comes many "public" opinions, those opinions are available to all and when those opinions are negative you would normally put forth "Public Relations" efforts to maintain the goodwill. When a complaint or a competitor comes up before your site on the internet, it's time to begin a technical Public Relations campaign. It's also very likely a sign that other PR Media Campaigns should begin. The internet is a sign of how the public views your company, or (in many cases) how it does not view your company. If you do not show up in the search results, an effort must be made to allow the public to begin forming opinions.

Adam Yax is CTO of http://www.phoenixsynergy.com, which provides internet marketing in Phoenix, AZ.