What is the importance of public relations? Most small businesses do not invest in public relations (PR); however, as a small business owner, you must commit to a public relations program to grow your business. What is the return on investment for public relations? Building a stronger brand identity will result in increased awareness and credibility for your business and its products or services. Increased awareness will help you gain interest and credibility in the marketplace.

What is a definition of public relations?

Public relations is about using communication tools and strategies to build relationships with various “audiences” such as the business community, customers, suppliers, the media, government levels, and more. Traditionally this is done through press releases, radio, television, newspapers and magazines. However, in today’s online digital environment, social media and social networking have become part of an integrated public relations program. Public relations can influence people’s perceptions and opinions.

Your public relations plan should focus on building awareness and image for your business and its products and services by:

• Produce stories and articles for media outlets (both online and offline); Make connections with local media;
• Monitor relevant media channels (such as social media monitoring) for public feedback about your business, your market, and even your competition;
• Develop a crisis communication plan and manage crises that arise and threaten the image of your business and/or product;
• Engage with the community and target market through special programs and event participation;
• Develop a social media plan to connect with online social networks (there are over 300 but the main networks are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn); including social media press releases, blogs and forums.

Most public relations plans focus first on identifying the challenge, then building the campaign objectives, then building the communication tactics and messages, and finally monitoring the results and revising as needed. This work should be continuous: first one challenge (such as brand recognition), then another challenge (such as brand credibility), then another challenge (such as a new product introduction), and so on.

In today’s digital environment, PR campaigns can be implemented very quickly and the impact of the campaign can also be measured very quickly. Public relations will help you launch social media programs. Learning how to use public relations in your small business is key: Social media and social media give you low-cost channels of communication, but you still need to learn what to say and how to say it or you can damage your brand identity.

Successful small businesses focus on a combination of public relations, social media, online and offline advertising, direct marketing, and personal selling as part of their marketing efforts to build their brand. Strengthen your marketing plan by adding public relations to the plan and making sure to incorporate measurements into campaigns – you need to know what works and what doesn’t in communicating with your market and audience.