What is Public Relations?

Glad you asked that question! As an accredited member (thus the APR after my name) of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), I am often prompted to come up with a simple answer. People are generally unclear, and the lines between marketing and public relations are often blurred.

To help my readers understand what we do at Visibility Marketing Inc., I will share it in our upcoming weekly series on public relations.

The following information is an excerpt from PRSA’s national website (http://www.prsa.org):

PRSA’s Widely Accepted Definition of Public Relations

The formal practice of what is now commonly referred to as “public relations” dates to the early 20th century.  The earliest definitions emphasized press agentry and publicity, while more modern definitions incorporate the concepts of “engagement” and “relationship building.”

In 2011/12, PRSA led an international effort to modernize the definition of public relations and replace a definition adopted in 1982 by the PRSA National Assembly. PRSA initiated a crowdsourcing campaign and public vote that produced the following definition:

“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”

As a management function, public relations also encompasses the following:

• Anticipating, analyzing and interpreting public opinion, attitudes and issues that might impact the operations and plans of the organization.
• Counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to policy decisions, courses of action and communication, taking into account their public ramifications and the organization’s social or citizenship responsibilities.
• Researching, conducting and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programs of action and communication to achieve the informed public understanding necessary to the success of an organization’s aims. These may include marketing; financial; fund raising; employee, community or government relations; and other programs.
• Planning and implementing the organization’s efforts to influence or change public policy. Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff, developing facilities — in short, managing the resources needed to perform all of the above.

We hope this answers the simple question of, “What is public relations.” In the following weeks, we’ll discuss the process a little more. That’s the fun part.