Before PR meant Page Rank, it was short for public relations. This century-old science not only has a place in the new field of SEO, but it plays a vital role if you want to get good buzz for your web site. Keep reading to learn how to get good PR for your company, and how to combine its effects with SEO.
"'Suits make a corporate comeback,' says the New York Times. Why does this sound familiar? Maybe because the suit was also back in February, September 2004, June 2004, March 2004, September 2003, November 2002, April 2002, and February 2002. Why do the media keep running stories saying suits are back? Because PR firms tell them to." - The Submarine
Public relations, PR for short, is the science of getting a message out to the public through offline and online media. Public relations are used to maintain a good image of the company, to build brand awareness or to cover up the wrong doings of a company. All of the brands you know do public relations, including Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo and even the US government.
How Does PR Work?
Each publication has writers and journalists. Those journalists specialize in topical niches like the economy, the Internet, technology and so forth. Many writers in large publications like the NY Times, USA Today and others are overloaded with work or are plain lazy, with short deadlines and little time for research. They are also on the lookout for the "hot" story that will help their career. That's where PR firms come in.
Public relations firms package a story for the client and pitch it to journalists in different publications, by phone or email. Good public relation firms are well connected with journalists across the media space, so they accomplish much more than anyone could without those connections.
Journalists are well aware that good PR firms value their connections as their lifeline, so they usually trust them. When they should be hunting for stories, journalists sit and wait for the stories to roll in through email. Of course, there's a down side to this. Here's how the article "The Submarine" put it:
"A good flatterer doesn't lie, but tells his victim selective truths (what a nice color your eyes are). Good PR firms use the same strategy: they give reporters stories that are true, but whose truth favors their clients."
So to simplify the public relations flow for you:
A company needs advertising, but has a tight budget, so it turns to PR.
A PR firm writes a story. For example: "In the small town of Caliburco, an entrepreneur with a big dream.... Blah blah blah"
The PR firm pitches that story to journalists.
If the story is compelling enough, it gets mentions in different publications, creating exposure and traffic for the advertiser.
If a story is professionally crafted and is pitched smoothly to the right journalists, a company can gain exposure worth much more money than it paid for the PR services. If a start up gets mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and other newspapers, causing smaller names to follow (smaller publications don't want to miss the "big stuff"), how many eyes potentially see the story and hear a new brand name? Many, delivering results that are more effective than spending dollars on other advertising, because PR is camouflaged as editorial news.
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