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Unit 14: Public Relation and Marketing

public relations attempts to put the broad interest of the public first before the special interest of the Notes
organisation. By doing this, the organisation is indirectly serving its own interest; hence PR has
what is called “enlightened self interest”.
In the USA, public relations professionals earn an average annual salary of $49,800 which compares
with £40,000 for a practitioner with a similar job in the UK . Top earners bring home around $89,220
annually, while entry-level public relations specialists earn around $28,080. Corporate or in-house
communications is generally more profitable, and communications executives can earn salaries in
the mid six-figures, though this only applies to a fraction of the sector’s workforce.

The role of public relations professionals is changing because of the shift from
traditional to online media. Many PR professionals are finding it necessary to learn
new skills and to examine how social media can impact a brand’s reputation.

Methods, Tools and Tactics

Public relations and publicity are not synonymous, but many public relations campaigns include
provisions for publicity. Publicity is the spreading of information to gain public awareness for a
product, person, service, cause or organization, and can be seen as a result of effective public relations
planning. More recently in public relations, professionals are using technology as their main tool to
get their messages to target audiences. With the creation of social networks, blogs, and even Internet
radio public relations professionals are able to send direct messages through these mediums that
attract the target audiences. Methods used to find out what is appealing to target audiences include
the use of surveys, conducting research or even focus groups. Tactics are the ways to attract target
audiences by using the information gathered about that audience and directing a message to them
using tools such as social mediums or other technology. Another emerging theme is the application
of psychological theories of impression management.

Tools
There are various tools that can be used in the practice of public relations. Traditional tools include
press releases and media kits which are sent out to generate positive press on behalf of the
organization. Other widely used tools include brochures, newsletters and annual reports.
Increasingly, companies are utilizing interactive social media outlets, such as
• Blogs
• Social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, foursquare (social network), etc.) as tools in their
public relations campaigns. Unlike the traditional tools which allowed for only one-way
communication, social media outlets allow the organization to engage in two-way
communication, and receive immediate feedback from their various stakeholders and public.
Furthermore, companies can join discussions with multiple user identities to create a positive
image of the company (e.g., quantity of positive statements from different users). PR tools
have changed so much that some are even suggesting the traditional press release may be
dead. The company PR tools have to operate in networks, where their clients are.
One of the most popular and traditional tools used by public relations professionals is a press kit,
also known as a media kit. A press kit is usually a folder that consists of promotional materials that
give information about an event, organization, business, or even a person. What are included would
be backgrounders or biographies, fact sheets, press releases (or media releases), media alerts,

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