PR as a subject is commonly misunderstood and misused, but if done right can help attain business expansion.
If you really want to expand your business in today’s marketplace and have a safe radius to expand it is very important to have a really smart PR professional who knows how to create a win-win situation. A PR professional who knows what they are doing will work really hard to carefully plan your PR so your competition is no longer a problem and create a mutually-beneficial relationship between your business and the media. Does this sound too good to be true? Well it isn’t when you have a competent PR professional on your team.
A Win-Win Scenario
Of the myriad of experiences I have had in PR, one client I created a win-win PR campaign for particularly stands out in my mind. He told me he had a public announcement about to take place in the future that he felt could have been very detrimental to his company’s reputation if not handled properly. The company had the excellent repute of being very trustworthy and providing quality service and value to their customers.
This client understood the value of bringing a PR professional on board who knew how to plan ahead and mitigate any damage that could happen. He wanted a PR professional that could envision all kinds of different scenarios so the business was prepared for any type of situation that could occur and then put out the fire before it could cause any damage.
We masterminded the PR campaign and implemented it with many behind-the-scenes hours of careful planning - and instead of the company experiencing any impairment; they ended up bringing in over 2.5 million dollars just from the publicity that was generated by the announcement. This was simply out of taking the necessary steps to invest in first-rate PR to implement precautionary measures which would lessen the possibility of any future damage that could take place.
The company ended up with good publicity with the revenue to back up the claims. And how did this happen? By creating a situation where both the media and the client benefited - each got what they wanted and I am sure the media outlet also benefitted as a result.
It’s a Game where Both Sides Win
Highly-regarded PR professionals know how to envision many possible scenarios for their client and then work with the media to create a profitable situation for both the media and the client. When you assist the media by helping them acquire a story to improve their reader-, viewer- or listenership, they not only get more subscribers and sell more advertising, but you also get the profitable images that your client needs and wants to develop their business. All of this widens the radius in which your client can do business and where his competition is not a problem because the PR campaign created such goodwill for the company that it widened their scope of influence. This is a situation where both sides win.
Experienced PR professionals also understand that although you have built that positive relationship, the media will not always say what you want them to say. This may be ideal in the perfect world, but it would not be true to journalism since they have a specific protocol they follow and their job is to communicate the truth to their audience, not what you say is true. However, if a PR professional understands this and knows how to develop a relationship with the media they can be in control of this without turning the media into an adversary. This is a primary mistake that PRs often make by becoming the opposition to the media and then no one listens to them.
When you seek out a good PR professional they must be very intelligent and intuitive and be well organized. They should also be willing to do what it takes to accomplish the research and do the planning to create a proposal that will guarantee success. Knowledgeable PR professionals know it is not all glamour and that you have to do a ton of work behind the scenes to produce the 10 minutes of fame for their clients. And they know to then leverage that 10 minutes into hundreds of profitable images.
So when you invest in a PR professional, it can turn into a profitable venture for your company by increasing your return on investment. The example of the company gaining 2.5 million while saving an untold amount of money while trying to avert a negative is just one circumstance - and that was in two month’s time by the way! So what is the value of a PR professional who knows the ropes? That’s your value!
About Karla Jo Helms:
CEO, JoTo Extreme PR(TM)
After managing Public Relations for an Inc 500 company for several years Karla Jo Helms was ready to launch out onto her own and bring her unique take on PR to businesses both large and small. “PR is a powerful tool that can garner wide acceptance and delve into arenas that marketing cannot touch,” says Karla Jo, PR Strategist and CEO of JoTo Extreme PR(TM). Helms got her start creating and implementing PR Strategies for entrepreneurs and developed a keen eye for how to hone in on the best use of PR to increase the Return on Investment of one’s marketing dollars.
Helms’ ability to attain critical mass by utilizing all methods of PR allows her to put together complete strategies for clients that attain measurable results. A background in sales, business management and media relations has given her a well-rounded understanding of how to harness the power of PR for business...the end result being a wider sphere of influence and the invaluable commodity of goodwill garnered on a broad basis for her clients. Visit her at www.jotopr.com